Causes of female hair loss Friday, 10 February 2012 04:57

Far from being my crowning glory, my hair has been the bane of my life. But one question has always plagued me: is my problem on my head, or in my head? While I’ve suspected my hair has been thinning for decades, few people ever believed me and at times I even doubted it myself.

Weight loss, low iron levels, poor diet and stress, along with thyroid and hormonal imbalances, can all cause hair to fall, trichologists say. Hair needs a healthy diet and a well-functioning endocrine system to flourish.

But diffuse hair shedding linked to weight, anaemia, diet or thyroid problems is temporary, according to Glenn Lyons, the clinical director at the Philip Kingsley Trichological Clinic in London. The hair follicle isn’t damaged and the hair grows back automatically or once an imbalance is addressed.

The same goes for hair loss after childbirth or following cancer treatment – in most cases hair is restored. Even with alopecia areata, the sudden hair loss experienced by TV presenter Gail Porter that leaves bald patches, hair often grows back, although the problem can recur.

There is another type of female hair loss, however, that is less dramatic and less visible, but can be incredibly distressing. The hair thins gradually, often over decades, around the top frontal area and extending back to the crown. It can start at any age, is progressive and inherited.

“Genetic hair loss is the only hair loss in which the follicle gradually gets smaller and finer and producers smaller and finer hair until it stops altogether and then you get the thinning,” says Lyons.

Androgenetic alopecia, as the condition is known, is male hormone-related but isn’t caused by too much testosterone. Instead, the hair follicles become sensitive, due to a genetic predisposition, to normal levels of male hormones in a woman’s body.

But female hair loss is complex and Dr Hugh Rushton, a Harley Street trichologist, says 72% of women with male hormone-related hair loss are also iron deficient: “The key is to get an accurate diagnosis and to eliminate all other potential factors.”

Stress can exacerbate genetic hair loss since the adrenal or stress glands secrete male hormones into the body, says Lyons. Polycystic ovaries can also accelerate the condition, and genetic hair loss will worsen in menopause unless treated as oestrogen levels drop.

Lyons treats patients with scalp drops that aim to stop male hormones or androgens from damaging the follicles. For some women, trichologists recommend oral contraceptives, but only those with anti-androgens. Some contraceptives exacerbate hair loss, as do some hormone replacement therapies.

Dermatologists may prescribe the over-the-counter drug minoxidil for the scalp, but Lyons says lotions need to contain anti-androgens to fight genetic hair loss.

The correct treatment can restore some of the hair if the follicles are still alive but if they’ve died, the hair won’t grow back, experts say. Existing hair can be preserved, however. The key, for the sake of a woman’s sanity and self-esteem, is to catch the condition early – some women can lose up to half their hair before they even notice.

The Guardian news

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