Hair Loss Causes and Effects

The stress and frustration that accompanies hair loss can be even more upset when you don’t understand why you might be losing your hair in the first place. Fortunately, the more you understand about your issue, the more effectively you can take steps to overcome it. Let’s look at some the principal causes of, and mechanisms behind, the troubling problem of alopecia.

How It Manifests Itself

Alopecia doesn’t affect all of its sufferers to the same degree, or by following the same pattern. There are three main categories:

Alopecia areata – This common problem involves the loss of hair in patches from specific areas of the body, as opposed to sudden and total loss.

Alopecia totalis – Alopecia totalis occurs when you lose all the hair on your head, but not your body hair. Some cases of alopecia areata may advance to this degree. It’s usually associated with autoimmune conditions.

Alopecia universalis – This type of alopecia involves the loss of all the hair on your body, including your eyebrows and eyelashes. Like alopecia totalis, it’s considered an autoimmune problem.

Why It Happens

What’s causing you to lose your hair? Here are some common causes:

Hereditary hair loss – Conditions such as male-pattern and female-pattern baldness are often inherited traits.

Pregnancy – In addition to the autoimmune conditions that can cause some forms of it, a variety of health challenges can cause alopecia areata. During pregnancy, for instance, hormonal changes cause a temporary disruption in hair follicle function.

Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy kills cancer cells, but it can also cause hair follicles to die at the same time. This can cause the baldness often seen in recuperating cancer patients.

Stress – Unmanaged emotional stress can produce inflammation and oxidate stress in various parts of the body, including the hair follicles. In some people, stress may create or aggravate an urge to pull out the hair (trichotillomania).

Tight hairstyles – A hairstyle that places the hair follicles under constant physical stress can eventually cause hair to fall out.

Fighting Back

You’re not helpless against alopecia in its various forms. Once you’ve managed to isolate the underlying reason or reasons for it, you can implement smart strategies to minimize or reverse this embarrassing problem. Contact a Transition Hair Loss Center near you to learn more about our hair loss solutions!

 

 

Photo Credit: RoyalAnwar Via Pixabay

https://www.healthline.com/health/alopecia-areata

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320504.php

https://www.healthline.com/health/alopecia-universalis#symptoms

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/what-does-stress-hair-loss-look-like/