subject: Causes Of Hair Loss In Teens And Adults [print this page] Baldness is generally predisposed as hereditary. Heredity is an irreversible condition. You are a product of your parents, and hair loss is often inherited. However, just the presence of someone balding in your family is not enough to predict that you will also become bald. It is really hard to predict who will go bald and how fast will it be. There are also other factors which also include hormones.
Hormones are tricky, hidden things, and they have different effects on an individual basis. In a male, testosterone abides abundantly. There are also enzymes working on testosterone which produces a substance called DHT. DHT is now known to circulate in the blood and cause other conditions, one of which is the shrinking of hair follicles. When hair follicles shrink enough, they are unable to produce and push a new hair through. As old hair dies, it is then not replaced. In women, hormonal imbalances can also cause hair loss.
Normal men and women produce androgenic hormones: dihydrotestosterone, androsteinedione, testosterone (DHT) are the most common ones. For men, testicles and adrenals are the ones to produce the hormones. For women, ovaries and adrenal glands are the ones to produce. These hormones are important for both sexes but have different concentrations, and they are more predominant in males than in females.
Exposure of hair follicles to DHT, in a susceptible person over a period of time leads to baldness in men and women, or the so-called adrogenetic alopecia. There is no exact age for balding occurrence. Balding is a process, simple yet this fact is often ignored. This process can be slow or rapid. It usually starts at late teens.
Illnesses and medical conditions such as thyroid disease and diabetes also contribute to hair loss. Those people with liver and kidney diseases and lupus can also have baldness. Adult women and teen girls can have hair loss due to hormone imbalance in polycystic ovary syndrome.
Medications such as acne medicines can also cause hair loss. Amphetamines in diet pills can also cause hair loss. Alopecia areata is a skin disease than causes hair loss on the scalp and sometimes on the body. It is an auto-immune disease: when the immune system is the one to damage the hair follicles. Alopecia areata starts as small bald patches and can progress to total baldness.
Trichotillomania is a psychological disorder in which a person pulls his/her own hair. It can also lead to hair loss. Hair treatments and styling the hair gives tension to scalp and hair becomes damaged and leads to hair loss. Nutrition is also one factor of baldness as protein, vitamins and minerals sustain the hair.
Disruption of hair cycle growth like pregnancy, childbirth and menopause all cause significant hormonal change and imbalances with both physical and mental effects. These changes can also cause hair loss, both temporary and permanent.
