What Are Causes Of Hair Loss in Men and Women

what are causes of hair loss

Did you know, that humans can experience hair loss of 50 to 100 hairs per day? Even though it sounds creepy, hair loss generally won't cause thinning of hair (or even baldness). We have approximately 100 thousand strands of hair on the head and new strands of hair grow at the same time replacing hair loss.

What Are Causes Of Hair Loss in Men and Women

Men are indeed more likely to lose hair than women, mostly because of baldness. However, thinning hair and loss also often occur in women. The causes of hair loss vary greatly, from the simplest ones such as lack of vitamins to more complex problems, such as serious disease and bad mental health.

1. Stress

All kinds of physical trauma from severe stress, accidents, after childbirth, drastic weight loss, and serious illness can cause large amounts of hair loss, even temporarily. In fact, emotional changes due to divorce, mourning, and work problems can also cause these conditions. In medicine, a problem like this is known as telogen effluvium.

Women who experience telogen effluvium generally notice hair loss six weeks to three months after experiencing severe stress. The hair life cycle has three important phases, namely the growth period, the rest period, and the period of loss. Severe stress can disrupt the hair cycle, which speeds up hair loss.

Hair loss caused by stress will return to normal along with the body's recovery from stress. Therefore, make sure you avoid everything that can stress you out. Try to always think positively by doing yoga and meditation. The calm effect created by yoga and meditation will help you to think clearly.

In addition, make sure you get enough sleep at least for 7 hours, drink lots of mineral water, and eat foods that rich in protein and zinc. Nutrition is an important thing for hair growth. The relationship between food and hair is very close. Hair is made of a protein called keratin. Since now you understand what are causes of hair loss in men and women, now you better improve your diet nutrient quality.

2. Hair loss due to derivatives

The most common cause of hair loss is genetic. Genes can be lowered from one parent, but you have a greater risk of hair loss if both parents experience hair loss. Women who have genetic hair thinning (androgenetic alopecia) tend to experience thinning in the hairline. Although this condition generally arises around the age of 50-60 years, it does not rule out the possibility that symptoms will begin to arise and develop in the 20s.

In general, every time the hair experiences hair loss, it will be replaced with new hair of the same size. But in this case, each new hair will have a thin texture, because the hair follicles shrink and eventually stop growing at all.

Baldness can be prevented by taking hair growth drugs, although, in women, the dosage must be minimized. There are two types of drugs that can be used to repair hair loss, namely Minoxidil and Finasteride.

Minoxidil is safe for use by men and women but reported that Minoxidil, seems to be more effective for women who suffer from severe hair loss than men. If Minoxidil is more effective for women, finasteride is a hair loss drug that is widely approved for men. Before using it, you need to ask your doctor to get the best hair loss medication that suits your condition.

3. Excess vitamin A

According to the report published by the American Academy of Dermatology, taking too many vitamins A supplements or certain drugs can trigger hair loss. If the cause of your hair loss is excess vitamin A, then you need to reduce vitamin A intake until it returns to normal.

Before taking vitamin and mineral supplements, please pay attention to the nutritional value table. Do not choose supplements that contain 5000 IU vitamin A or 1500 micrograms, because these supplements exceed the daily vitamin A recommendation. It's better to choose a supplement that contains 20% of the daily recommended vitamin A per day.

4. Vitamin B deficiency

Vitamin B deficiencies are rare, but hair loss due to vitamin B deficiency also can occur. Regularly consume vitamin B supplements and change your eating habit with foods rich in B vitamins such as corn, fish, meat, pumpkin, potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes, etc, and non-citrus fruits containing fat such as avocados and nuts.

5. Protein deficiency

Another cause of hair loss can be a low-protein diet. Proteins are the body's main building blocks, including hair cells. Too low protein intake can weaken the hair structure and slow down hair growth.

The cause of hair loss due to lack of protein can begin to appear 2-to 3 months after a decrease in protein intake. The standard for protein sufficiency for women is around 56-59 grams per day and 62-66 grams per day for men. Protein intake is quite easy to obtain, including eggs, fish, and meat.

If you are vegan or vegetarian, fill your protein needs with nuts, beans, and seeds such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts, tempeh, tofu, and soy milk. In addition, you can also eat several high-protein fruits such as vegetables such as bananas, avocados, sweet corn, mangoes, dates, guava, bell pepper, jackfruit, broccoli, long green beans, edamame, mushrooms, sweet purple potatoes, and asparagus.

6. Anemia

1 in 10 women aged 20-49 years experiences iron deficiency anemia. Women who have severe menstrual bleeding or are insufficient iron will tend to be anemic. Anemia due to iron deficiency causes extreme fatigue, difficulty to concentrate, a weak body, and sluggish and pale skin. You may also experience recurrent headaches, cold palms and feet, and severe hair loss.

The body needs adequate iron intake to be able to carry oxygen to body cells through the blood, including to the hair follicles. That is why, if you experience anemia due to iron deficiency, your hair will be prone to fall.

Women generally need 18 milligrams of iron every day, while at menopause the need is 8 milligrams per day. Iron supplements can help you overcome anemia. You may look for supplements that also contain biotin, silica, and L-cysteine.

Iron is abundant in green leafy vegetables, leeks, cashews, dried fruits, meat, poultry, fortified cereals, and pasta. For those who are vegetarians, fulfill iron intake from spinach. It is recommended to meet iron requirements accompanied by vitamin C, which can help facilitate iron absorption.

7. Disorders of the thyroid gland

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not work optimally to produce hormones related to metabolism, as well as the growth and development of the body. While hyperthyroidism is a medical condition in which the production of metabolic hormones is excessive, which causes heart palpitations, diarrhea, irritability, nervousness, skin feeling moist, weak muscles, and the expression of eyes that always look surprised.

Hypothyroidism may cause several symptoms, including weight gain without cause, fatigue, constipation, depression, and difficulty concentrating. Hair, skin, and nails are easily brittle and broken. Thyroid disorders are more common in women, especially in their 50s.

Both types of thyroid disorders can cause you to experience hair loss. Consult with your doctor about the treatment that is suitable for your health condition. Your doctor may prescribe thyroid hormone medication to restore hormone levels back to normal. Once your thyroid hormone levels return to normal, your hair will stop falling.

8. Autoimmune disease

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder in the body where the immune system considers hair as dangerous foreign particles and back attacks the hair follicles. The cause is uncertain, but alopecia areata can be experienced by women and men. Scientists estimate important factors for this disorder include stress.

This condition occurs in three forms. Usually, alopecia areata causes a small bald area on the scalp or partial hair loss on the eyebrows, or hair on the legs. Full baldness in the head is called Alopecia Totalis, while baldness that occurs throughout the body is called alopecia Universalis.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body's immune system to attack healthy tissue. This condition affects approximately 1.5 million people worldwide and tends to attack women during pregnancy.

Lupus causes extreme fatigue, headaches, mouth ulcers, and joints that swell and become painful. Many people show reddish rashes shaped like butterflies on the face and become sensitive to sunlight. Many people with lupus also experience hair loss, which may be followed by redness and irritation on the scalp.

If you are aware of a change in your hair loss, you should consult a doctor for more information about the exact cause of your problem. Autoimmune diseases can be treated with special therapy and treatment under the supervision of a doctor.

9. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a disorder of imbalance between female and male sex hormones. Excess androgen hormones can cause cysts in the uterus, weight gain, risk of susceptibility to diabetes, changes in the menstrual cycle, and infertility. Even PCOS can also be a cause of hair loss. PCOS in women can also cause undue hair growth in several body parts, such as mustaches and beards.

PCOS can be treated by taking prescriptions such as contraceptive pills containing anti-androgen blocking testosterone. As an alternative, usually, the doctor will prescribe spironolactone which also blocks male sex hormones, cyst removal surgical procedures, or changes in patterns and healthy lifestyles.

10. Unhealthy scalp

An unhealthy scalp can cause inflammation, making it difficult for hair to grow properly. Skin conditions that can cause hair loss include seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, and fungal infections such as dandruff.

Depending on the conditions you experience, treatment will certainly vary. For example, medication shampoo for seborrheic dermatitis and topical or oral medications for psoriasis. While if the cause of your hair loss is due to a fungal infection (dandruff), then use anti-dandruff shampoo containing zinc pyrithione, salicylic acid, selenium sulfide, ketoconazole, and coal tar.

If you have tried various methods above for more than a month and the symptoms have not improved, you should consult a doctor.

11. Too often using heated hair styling tools

Too often styling your hair using a hairdryer or hair straightener can damage the hair's natural properties. Especially if the temperature is too hot. That tool removes the natural moisture of the hair by reducing its water content. In the end, your hair will be damaged, dry, and branched. Not only that, frequent use of hairdryers, hair straighteners, or hair curling will lead to hair difficult to grow back.

To alleviate the side effects of hair styling products, always use a conditioner in the shower and protect the hair before being laid out using hot equipment with a heat-protectant conditioner. In addition, you should leave your hair dry and try to limit the amount of time to straighten or curl your hair (which contains high heat) at least once a week.

12. Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania can also be a cause of hair loss. Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder that causes a person to continuously and unconsciously (impulsively) pull out his hair. This plucked hair is not just hair on the scalp. The reason is, that people who experience trichotillomania can also remove eyebrows, eyelashes, and other hair.

If not treated, this condition will irritate the scalp and erode the natural protection of the hair which results in baldness in the area of ​​hair that is removed. Trichotillomania is commonly found in women and men.

Antidepressants are effective enough to overcome this condition, but behavioral control therapy is one of the most effective treatment alternatives. Please note that trichotillomania is not an abnormality that can be stopped just like that. If you feel you have this habit, immediately consult a doctor so you can get further treatment.

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