subject: I'm A Female And My Hair Is Shedding, Falling Out, And Thinning. What Can Or Should I Do? [print this page] I get a lot of correspondence from women who are trying to figure out why their hair loss is happening and what to do about it. I recently heard from a female who said, in part: "what can you do when you're a woman whose hair is falling out,thinning, or shedding? Because so many treatments andrecommendationsare geared toward men, I feel left out and lost."
Female hair loss is somewhat of a difficult topic on so many levels. While men can just shave their head if they are dealing with this issue and be socially accepted, the same isn't true for a woman. And while there are plenty of straight forward treatment options for men, the same isn't always true for the opposite sex.
In the following article, I'll offer some suggestions that will hopefully help the female readers who are dealing with this situation.
Look At Potential Reasons For Female Hair Fall: When you're a man, it's a relatively decent bet that your hair loss is due to hormones (and most likely androgens.) But when you're female, this is only one option of many. With that said, it's become somewhat common to see androgen driven hair loss in both sexes, so it's sometimes a mistake to assume that you can just rule this out because you're female. And sometimes, this type of hair loss in women is diffuse rather than patterned, which makes it even more confusing.
Like men, hormonesare typically one place to look when women lose their hair. Sometimes, what you are dealing with is lessening hormones due to age. And other times, you are dealing with a sensitivity that develops over time. And it's also important to know that these lessening hormones can lead to medical conditions that cause hair loss like hypothyroidism.
Aside from hormones, there are medical and dermatological issues that can call your hair to fall out, as can reactions to medications that you are taking or to products that you might be using (especially on your scalp.) There can also be issues like yeast, infections, or ringworm. In short, there's no shortage of reasons that women lose their hair. Granted, some (like hormones or medical issues) are more common than others. But many potential answers exist.
Making Your Hair Look Better While You're Trying To Figure Out Why Its Falling Out: I often tell people that the most effective way to deal with female hair fall is to figure out the cause and aggressively treat it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more ground you have to make up.
Of course, this can be easier said than done. Sometimes, it takes a while (and a bit of trial and error) until you can figure out what is causing this and can successfully treat it. In the meantime, it never hurts to do your best to combat inflammation (which often occurs simultaneously with the hair fall) and boost regrowth. There are many treatments that help with both of these issues and are good for many types of hair loss. And, if you can get your hair to regrow quickly and vigorously, this will do a lot to help the appearance of your hair. if you can replace what's falling out, that's half the battle.
While you're waiting for your hair fall to improve, you can do your best to improve your hair's appearance. This means keeping it clean and free of debris that can clog your follicles and make things worse. I know it's tempting to cut down on hair washing since it seems to make the hair loss worse, but this is rarely a good idea. You can also usepowders that help your scalp to blend in and can make your hair appear thicker. A good hair cut, color, and perhaps some waves or curls can also improve your hair's appearance while you're exploring causes and treatments.
If the hair fall is really bad, you should know that hair pieces and toppers and wigs have come a very long way. Many look extremely real and better than your regular hair.
How do I know this? Because I lived it. I knew that the amount of daily hair that was falling out was too much for me. I knew that my hair was gradually thinning. In my quest to end my hair loss, I looked at my triggers, my iron, my thyroid, my adrenals, my hormones, and my scalp. It was a long, hard, frustrating journey which all but wrecked my self esteem but I finally found something that helped quite a bit. You can read a very personal story on my blog at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.
I'm A Female And My Hair Is Shedding, Falling Out, And Thinning. What Can Or Should I Do?
