As without flowers, a garden has no value, a woman without hair on her head is ugly and often unwanted. Similarly, the process of hair growth can be compared to the plant health of a garden. The plant health, as well as the beauty of flowers in the garden solely, depend upon the soil health or what happens underground of the garden.
In the same way, your hair health solely depends upon what happens underground or on the overall health of your body. Precisely, hair loss is the impact of your poor health caused by malnutrition, lack of essential vitamins and nutrients, illness, the effect of certain medications, effects of various chemicals and infections, etc.
However, hair loss is an acute problem in men than women. Women have hair loss like losing hair or thinning hair occurs especially during their 40s or 50s. But hair loss in women can happen at any age for various reasons.
Below are the 5 major reasons for hair loss in women for you to know and protect yourself from hair loss especially at an immature or early age. [READ: What role does non-surgical hair growth treatment play in the treatment of PCOS-related hair loss in women?]
1. Hair Loss by Hair Styling Products
Hair products do marvel and there is no doubt about it. But hair products especially their chemical ingredients can cause hair loss depending on the types of hair you have. The chemicals in the hair products particularly the hairstyling components that are used to dye and perm the hair are often too harsh. They can easily weaken your hair and result in hair fall or hair damage if not applied properly.
Below is a list 7 different types of chemicals that can damage your hair and cause hair fall:
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
- Parabens
- Propylene glycol
- DEA or Diethanolamine
- Some types of chemical-based fragrances
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Sodium chloride
Therefore, you need to be extremely careful while choosing your hair styling products. The majority of shampoo and conditioner uses Sodium lauryl sulfate as a lathering agent that causes hair loss. So, avoid such products.
Ask about the product to hair specialists especially when you are purchasing a new product that you have never used. Check with your hair type and read the ingredients and ensure that it fits your hair.
2. Hair Loss due to Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal imbalance is one of the major causes of hair loss. The main reason for male and female pattern baldness medically known as androgenetic alopecia was thought to be caused by testosterone which is a sex hormone. But later it was found out that the hormone called dihydrotestosterone or DHT is the main reason for androgenetic alopecia.
An enzyme called 5-alpha reductase converts the testosterone into DHT which causes the hair follicles dead. Eventually, DHT is responsible to shrink the hair follicles and make it impossible to survive hair on your head.
Therefore, you need to keep your DHT level normal by consulting your physicians. However, even if your DHT is normal, you can still have hair loss due to hormonal imbalance if your body is over-sensitive to certain hormones and chemicals.
Similarly, hormonal imbalance occurs in several conditions such as:
- During pregnancy
- If you have thyroid problems
- Because of certain diseases
- Due to specific medications
3. Hair Loss Because of Mental Stress
Your mental stress is not only the reason for your hair loss but mental stress causes your entire body to deteriorate. However, mental stress very badly affects your hair health through three main conditions as follows: [READ: 6 Reasons Why Women Want To Wear Wigs For Beauty]
- Telogen effluvium: In the condition of telogen effluvium the mental stress turn or compel the hair follicles to telogen condition or to a phase of resting after which they begin to fall. Your hair neither grows nor produces new hair in the telogen phase.
- Trichotillomania: Trichotillomania is a psychological condition that occurs due to mental stress. In this condition, the patient pulls and damages the hair. The condition is more found among teenagers.
- Alopecia areata: In this condition your immune system attacks and weakens the hair follicles. Eventually, your hair becomes thin and falls. Though they may grow after a period but will fall once again due to alopecia.
4. Hair Loss Due to Inadequate Sleep
The melatonin that regulates sleep is also responsible for hair growth. Therefore, when you do not get enough sleep the melatonin gets decreased seriously affecting hair growth. Besides, insufficient sleep also generates stress, hormonal imbalance, and energy issues which has direct implication to hair health.
5. Vitamin B deficiency-related Hair Loss
A well-balanced diet is inevitably essential for your hair health especially the vitamin B12 also known as cobalamin. Cobalamin nutrients help in the production of the red blood cells that are responsible to supply oxygen to the cells. Eventually, the healthy red blood cells feed the hair follicles and ensure hair health. Hence make sure your daily diet has all the essential vitamins and nutrients required for healthy hair.
Hair loss in women especially due to chemical hair styling products, hormonal imbalance, mental stress, insufficient sleep, and vitamin B12 deficiency are though major reasons for hair fall there are also other numerous reasons for your hair fall.
I hope you’ve got lots of information about major causes of hair loss in women. Dermatologists recommend avoiding chemical-based hair styling products and take an adequate amount of Vitamin B7, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Iron in your daily diet.
If you keep the above-listed information then the chances of hair loss are drastically reduced.
