The reasons for hair loss in women are many and vary greatly from woman to woman. Normally, a woman loses about 50-100 strands of hair on a daily basis according to the American Academy of Dermatologists. Although this may seem like a big number, it really does little to change the appearance of our hair in general. This is because we have more than 100,000 strands of hair all over our scalp.
Hair loss in women over the age of 20 typically occurs in two ways; female pattern baldness (medically known as Androgenetic Alopecia) and Telogen Effluvium, which is when hair is “coming out in handfuls”.
In the first case, hair loss begins by thinning of the hair follicles mainly in and around the forehead and near the temples. This is usually a gradually occurring process beginning in teenagers and slowly increasing as women age.
Telogen Effluvium, however, typically affects the top of the scalp and is brought on by factors such as extreme stress, pregnancy, and other hormonal changes.
To answer the question of why women have hair loss can be tricky and contribute to a number of factors. Here are the top 10 reasons why I think women have hair loss problems.
1. Poor Hair Ettiquette
Surprisingly, most hair loss in women happens because of self-inflicted reasons. Certain hairstyles, like a super tight ponytail/bun/braids/cornrows, parting hair the same way, a tight headband, and using a wrong hair comb/brush can all contribute to repeatedly stretching or splitting out the hair follicle, thereby hampering hair growth. This is called Traction Alopecia.
Excessive use of hair styling tools like hair dryers and flat/ curling irons and hair products like gel, mousse, hair sprays, hair dyes, etc can further aggravate the condition. How frequently and infrequently you wash your hair, what shampoo you use (harsh chemicals), excessive brushing or towel drying wet hair can all make hair weaker, increasing more fall out.
2. Severe Stress
Our daily lives are full of stress and anxiety but the key is to manage these levels of stress even when life gets super chaotic. Certain kinds of life changing events like marital conflicts leading to a divorce, death of a loved one who was being cared for, losing a job, and even relocating to a new city or town can all lead to extreme stress that can cause significant hair loss.
Trauma or tragedy arising from an unfortunate event like a house fire, car accident, natural disaster, etc can all cause extreme levels of emotional stress that trigger a response in our body, stopping the cycle of hair growth.
Normally, our hair growth cycle begins with the growth phase, followed by a resting phase, and then ending with the shedding phase. These traumatic life events can trigger severe stress that pushes hair straight into the shedding phase.
3. Hereditary & Age
Genes have an important role to play in the process of hair loss in women. A higher family history of female pattern hair loss from either side of the family appears to be a risk factor for developing the condition (Androgenetic Alopecia) .
The onset is said to be seen in as early as teenage years and hair loss gradually increases as a woman grows older. However, genetic reasons for hair loss are more commonly linked in men than women, causing baldness or hair to shorten and resemble “peach fuzz”. Women rarely develop baldness from hair loss and tend to lose hair more slowly than men do.
4. Hormones
Androgen production
Female pattern hair loss in some women is a result of excessive androgen levels, more specifically dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a sex hormone produced from testosterone. DHT causes a disruption in the normal life cycle of hair, either killing off the follicle or causing less hair growth. Women with this type of hair loss usually notice a diffuse thinning pattern across the scalp.
PCOS
Pregnancy
Hair loss connected to pregnancy usually occurs after delivery (Postpartum hair loss). This is because the rise in female hormones during pregnancy keeps the hair in the resting phase and hair begins to fall rapidly 3-4 months after delivery when hormones are returned to normal levels and hair returns to its normal cycle.
Menopause
Menopause affects the body’s normal production of female hormones (estrogen & progestin), increasing its sensitivity to male hormones (specifically DHT). This triggers hormonal hair loss affecting the hairline and overall hair density. Depending on the age women tend to enter menopause, is when they will start to notice hair thinning (normally between age 50-60, but also as
5. Iron Deficiency (Anemia)
Anemia is when our body is unable to produce sufficient levels of iron. Iron is critical for the production of hemoglobin, a protein that helps red blood cells deliver oxygen all throughout our body. Most of the time, iron deficiency in women is a result of a poor diet that’s lacking in nutrients.
Another common cause for low iron levels is a heavy menstruation that reduces adequate supply of folic acid in the body. This results in low hemoglobin production, which means less oxygen supply to our vital organs. When oxygen is unable to reach our hair follicles, hair tends to become brittle and weak, thereby causing more hair fall than normal.
6. Protein Deficiency
Our hair is made up of a fibrous protein called keratin that forms the entire structure of our hair. Keratin is vital for healthy hair because it helps in creating and building hair follicles by providing it sufficient nutrients that help hair grow and stay rooted in our scalp. When we fail to have a protein-rich diet, the body immediately begins to safeguard the remaining protein in our body for our vital organs. Since hair is not vital for our survival, protein is depleted from our hair follicles, causing it to become weak and fall out prematurely.
7. Rapid Weight Loss
Sudden weight loss or losing an extreme amount of weight can cause physical stress leading to hair loss.
Women typically are overzealous to lose weight fast and consequently, try crash diets that deprive their body of essential nutrients. These strict diets place a ban on certain food groups that provide the body with much-needed protein, fats, vitamins, and iron.
Lack of these nutrients sends our hair into the dormant phase (Telogen phase),where hair follicles usually fall excessively or stop growing. Eating disorders like Anorexia also causes rapid weight loss and furthers the risk of increasing hair loss in women.
8. Injury or Infections
Physical trauma, surgery, or shock to the head can have an adverse effect on the hair follicles. It may either damage an area on the scalp causing permanent lack of hair growth or it may cause temporary damage to the hair follicles causing ripping/uprooting of hair strands. Depending on how severe the head injury is, hair loss will occur accordingly.
Scalp infections that are fungal or bacterial can enter the scalp through hair follicles or damaged skin. This can lead to a build up of sebum (dandruff) that causes the scalp to become dry, flaky, and itchy (a condition called Seborrheic Dermatitis). This in turn, dramatically reduces the health of the scalp, hair follicles and the overall shaft of the hair, promoting more hair loss.
9. Autoimmune Illnesses and Other Conditions
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles causing round patches of hair loss. This form of “spot baldness” is thought to be caused by hair follicles becoming dormant.
Lupus
Thyroid Disease
Diabetes
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin condition which usually occurs in the elbows, knees, knuckles but may also occur on the scalp. When the scalp is impacted, scaling is severe and as a result the diameter of the hair is affected causing hair breakage.
10. Medications
Hair loss is a common side effect of many medications. These medications oftentimes damage the hair follicles directly, disrupting growth at different stages.
Various hormone therapies produce hormone imbalances in women resulting in hair loss that may or may not be permanent. Women who are on birth control pills for contraception or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may experience hair loss as a side effect if they abruptly discontinue using them. Post menopausal women may also be affected by hair loss since they may be undergoing HRT. Chemotherapy drugs are notoriously known for causing hair loss because they are powerful medications that attack rapidly growing cells, including those in hair roots.
Final Takeaway
There may be many more reasons for hair loss in women but the important thing to remember is how much hair loss is considered abnormal. If you want to find out, you can do an easy at-home-test called the “Pull Test” where you take a small amount (around 60-100 strands) of hair in your hand, and lightly pull. If you see a fall out of more than 3 strands, it is considered positive.
It is imperative to determine the real reason behind hair loss so you can begin a treatment plan early. Good thing to know is that most hair loss is actually treatable if caught early. So make sure you seek medical advice by going to the doctor to determine what treatment plan is best for you.
10 Responses
I will have to say this is a very well written article. I never knew there were so many factors involved in hair health . Nor would I have ever thought having the wrong hair brush or loosing weight too quickly could result in hair loss . Would you think that these reasons could also cause male hair loss?
Thank you, for stopping by 🙂 Hair loss in men is quite different from hair loss in women. Not all of these reasons apply to men. The main cause of hair loss in men is genetics, family history of hair loss, and age, of course. Hope this helps!
Wow, that is quite informative. Took me right back to my dermatology lectures in Medical School. You have explained it so well. I’m glad I read it because it has widened my view and the next time a client asks about their hair as a side thought, I will be ready to discuss in depth and even give them a link to this article.
Hey Zay,
Thank you soo much for the compliments! I am so glad you liked the post! It is so sweet of you to refer your patients to my website- I really would appreciate that gesture! My ultimate goal is to help as many people as I can who are dealing with hair loss ? The more people this message gets to, the more accomplished I will feel.
Cheers,
Sasha
Hi Sasha, I never actually realised that there were so many factors that can lead to hair loss. I think it is invariably a topic that normally talks about men losing hair, rather than women.
My sister underwent major surgery last year and she was warned that it could lead to hair loss and that she shouldn’t worry too much if it does happen. And it did happen around three or months after the operation. Thankfully it was only a temporary occurence and she could use a special shampoo to stimulate hair growth.
I have noticed that I tend to lose more hair with the onset of warmer weather and summer, almost as if my head doesn’t need as much hair to keep my scalp warm. Could that be possible?
Thank you for such an informative post, Liné
Hey Liné, thank you for your thoughts:)
Hair loss in men is much more common and noticeable than it is in women, which is why knowing about the reasons for female hair loss is even more crucial.
Thank you for sharing insight on your sister.Yes, hair loss post surgery is nothing to worry about because it is temporary and usually that lost hair grows back. By the way, I hope your sister is well after her surgery.
Regarding hair fall in the summer months… believe it or not, it is true! We tend to loose more hair in the summer and late fall months. But this is not because our head doesn’t need all that hair to stay warm. Instead, it is because warm weather causes hair to go into a resting (telogen) phase, where hair stops growing. Lucky for us, our hair grows back in due time. Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Sasha
Very good topic I know that many women have a problem with this but unfortunately I have come to understand that nothing helps a lot here if your genetic code is like this then nothing will grow for you with the formula more hair will only get longer and I agree that stress is one of the biggest enemies in case of hair loss.
You are right- When you know that genetics is the cause of hair loss, there is little you can do because you are up against nature. Having said that, in situations like that it is imperative to find ways (medical or organic) to ensure the hair we have remaining to stay on our head. A doctor can help prescribe certain topical meds like minoxidil that can help with hair thinning in women. Again, it is highly in the discretion of the doctor based on what each person’s underlying reasons are for hair loss. I hope this helps!
Hi
I lost a lot ofmy hair a couple of years ago after chemo treatment and it still hasn’t regained it full thickness, my scalp also always itches but isn’t flaky. Is there anything you could advise to thicken it back up.
Hey Amy, I am so sorry to hear about your hair loss post chemo session. I would suggest you to try using tea tree essential oil mixed with your choice of carrier oil to soothe your itchy scalp or even add a few drops in your conditioner. But before you do so, please consult with your doctor to check whether essential oils are safe for you to use given your medical history.
I have an another post that you may find useful for essential oils and their benefits for hair health.
Here is the link: https://sashashairopshub.com/best-essential-oils-for-damaged-hair/
Hope this helps 🙂