Hair loss - What causes Hair loss | AuQual Hair Services

WHAT IS HAIR LOSS?

NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

One of the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency is hair loss. In order to up your intake of vitamin D, get out more! Lack of exposure to the sun’s rays almost guarantees you to become vitamin deficient. However, if where you live, the weather is awfully cold and rainy, then you can supplement your vitamin D intake with a supplement. Read more about vitamin D in my article about the 12 common diseases caused by vitamin D deficiency.

PHYSICAL STRESS

LACK OF PROTEIN

If you don't get enough protein in your diet, your body may ration protein by shutting down hair growth, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. This can happen about two to three months after a drop in protein intake, they say.

MALE PATTERN BALDNESS

About two out of three men experience hair loss by age 60, and most of the time it's due to male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss, caused by a combo of genes and male sex hormones, usually follows a classic pattern in which the hair recedes at the temples, leaving an M-shaped hairline.

HEREDITY

Female-pattern hair loss, called androgenic or androgenetic alopecia, is basically the female version of male pattern baldness. “If you come from a family where women started to have hair loss at a certain age, then you might be more prone to it,” says Dr. Glashofer. Unlike men, women don't tend to have a receding hairline, instead, their part may widen and they may have noticeable thinning of hair.

FEMALE HORMONES

Just as pregnancy hormone changes can cause hair loss, so can switching or going off birth-control pills. This can also cause telogen effluvium, and it may be more likely if you have a family history of hair loss. The change in the hormonal balance that occurs at menopause may also have the same result. The androgen (male hormone) receptors on the scalp becoming activated.

EMOTIONAL STRESS

Emotional stress is less likely to cause hair loss than physical stress, but it can happen, for instance, in the case of divorce, after the death of a loved one, or while caring for an aging parent. More often, though, emotional stress won't actually precipitate the hair loss.

OVERSTYLING

Vigorous styling and hair treatments over the years can cause your hair to fall out. Examples of extreme styling include tight braids, hair weaves or corn rows as well as chemical relaxers to straighten your hair, hot-oil treatments or any kind of harsh chemical or high heat. Because these practices can actually affect the hair root, your hair might not grow back.

SIDE EFFECT OF CANCER TREATMENTS

It is well known that both chemo and radiation therapy causes dramatic hair loss. While the treatment kills cancer cells, it also damages the hair follicles. However, the hair loss is usually short lived and hair grows back after the course of treatment has finished.