Authored by Kate Beswick in Hair Care
Published on 09-12-2009

Many women experience thinning hair at different stages of their life and it causes a great deal of distress. Men too, of course experience hair loss. But because it is much more common, men often aren’t affected by the worry and concern over it like women are. And the fact that women place so much of their own personal style into their hair only complicates the problem that much more. One thing that might help women suffering from hair loss is to know that they are not alone. Many women suffer from hair loss. But what will help women even more is the knowledge that there are many reasons for hair loss. And many of these reasons are only temporary, or can be fixed.

Low Iron Levels

Hair needs lots of vitamins and minerals in order to thrive and shine. Among these, iron is one of the most important minerals for hair. When there are low iron levels in the blood system, the hair is not getting the nutrients that it needs. This can happen whether or not the woman suffering from hair loss is anemic, although those suffering from that condition are certainly more likely to experience hair loss. The iron levels can be restored to normal and the hair should begin to grow, and stay in place once again. However it’s important to remember that before taking any iron supplements, women need to speak to their doctor. Too much iron can be very bad for overall health. Also, it can take several months of supplementing with iron before hair re-growth is noticeable.

Hormonal Changes

Like most other things in women’s health, hair loss can be blamed on hormonal changes. Estrogen is essential in hair health for women and when these levels drastically increase or decrease, hair loss can occur. Because of this many women find that they experience a great amount of hair loss right before and right after menopause. This is because during menopause estrogen levels can become very low and so, interrupt regular hair growth.

Pregnancy can also cause hair loss because the change in hormone levels is so great at this time. Women often find that post-pregnancy is the most common time to find that they begin losing their hair. This in fact, is not regular hair loss at all. It’s only the body’s way of returning the hormone levels to normal. Throughout pregnancy, many women find that they love benefiting from the long, luscious locks that they are not normally blessed with. This is because hormonal levels cause hair to come in thicker. The hormonal levels also prevent the body from shedding more hair than it normally would. Because of this, after pregnancy the body needs to rid itself of the excess hair.

Telogen effluvium

Sometimes a huge amount of stress or recovering from something traumatic such as surgery, can lead to hair loss. When this is the case, telogen effluvium is to blame. This is the term that is used to describe hair loss for these particular reasons. If the hair loss is due to this condition, the hair will likely return to normal within two months of the traumatic event.

Medications

Many medications carry unpleasant side effects and hair loss is often one of them. When it pertains to women, this becomes more likely if the medications are hormone medications. Hair loss in this instance can quickly be resolved by finding a different medication.