Understanding the Causes of Hair Loss

To understand excessive hair loss and male/female pattern baldness, we must first understand that we lose hair naturally every day. Approximately one hundred hairs are lost from your head every day. The average scalp contains over one hundred thousand hairs. An individual strand of hair survives an average of four and a half years and grows almost half an inch a month. After the strand of hair falls out, it is usually replaced by a new one within six months. As we age, both men and women will naturally lose hair thickness. To properly diagnose and treat your hair loss condition you need to identify the possible causes of your hair loss.

Genetic baldness happens when the body fails to produce new hairs, not from excessive hair loss. Genetic baldness usually affects more men than women. Male pattern baldness typically involves a receding hairline and a thinning of the hair around the crown. Male pattern baldness can be attributed to genetics and too much of the hormone testosterone. Men who do not produce enough testosterone usually don't develop this type of baldness.

Women also may develop a pattern of hair loss because of age, genetics and male hormones that tend to increase in a woman after menopause. The pattern of baldness in women tends to be different than in men. Female pattern baldness includes a thinning of hair throughout the scalp. The front of the hairline will usually remain intact.

Hair loss happens for many other reasons such as emotional and physical stress, hormonal changes, a serious illness or radiation treatments. If your hair loss becomes excessive it is important that you see your physician so that the problem can be properly diagnosed. Your doctor will ask you some detailed questions, look at you medical history and give you an examination of the hair and scalp. This is usually enough to diagnose the nature of your hair loss.

Depending on your type of hair loss, multiple treatments are available on the market today. If a medicine you are taking is causing your hair loss, your doctor may be able to prescribe a different medicine. Recognizing and treating an infection may help stop hair loss. Correcting a hormone imbalance may also prevent further hair loss. The more you know about your condition the more you will understand how to implement a treatment plan and attack the root cause of your hair loss.