Bio-identical Hormone Therapy and Sage Advice 4 Women from

Hair loss in women is a very frustrating occurrence that  just brings new meaning to the old phrase “bad hair day”. So much of our self esteem hinges on the appearance of our hair . Shallow as that may be, it is reality to many women. That extra skip in our step can be  driven by the knowledge that hair is where we want it. So when we start to lose our lovely locks, it is no surprise that we may become a little unglued. It is not just a case of “I just hate my curls (like me!) or" I wish my hair would curl" but  where is my hair going.  Men look rugged and handsome when bald. Women.... not so much.

     Here are the facts about normal hair . The hair that we see is called the hair shaft.  The hair follicle lies under the skin. Hairs are in continuous cycles of  growth(anagen), restoration (catagen) or resting (telogen) phases. In resting phase we lose about 50-200 hairs a day. When we are noticeably losing more than this, something  may have interfered with these cycles to cause the hair to be more proportionally in resting phase. Usually we need to lose more than 50 % of our hair before hair loss is clinically apparent.  There can be disturbance to the normal hair cycle (described above), damage to the hair shaft or disorders affecting the follicle.

Some of the many causes of loss that is attributed to disturbance in the hair cycle include thyroid disorders, severe chronic illness, inadequate protein, high fever, severe infection, severe flu, major surgery and certain drugs. Hair loss often starts months after the offending cause but is always self limiting and reversible if the offending cause is treated or resolved. We must find the cause and correct it to stop hair loss and we must be patient waiting for results. Usually 3 to 4  months of patience is required.. This is real torture for most of us!

If hair loss is due to damage to the shaft, we need to look at the daily management of hair by ourselves, or our hairdressers. Hair is mainly keratin, the same substance as finger and toe nails.
If we damage our hair with poor cosmetic techniques, we can cause hair breakage. This can hurt the hair itself or the follicle.  Normal dying, bleaching, waving or straightening causes little damage. But if we weave too tight, leave solutions on too long or improperly use neutralizing, waving and bleaching on the same day or too frequently we may cause damage. Some other causes for damage may include braids that are too tight, pony tails, corn rows or friction from helmets and orthodontic appliances. Simple rules to follow to correct this type of loss include: loosening hair styles that pull, don’t shampoo, comb or brush too often, take care when hair is wet to use only wide tooth combs, brushes with smooth tips and never rub hard with a towel. Heat can cause damage so you may have to rethink your blow dryer, curling iron and flat iron use. Stop doing bad things to hair and you can reverse the hair loss caused by your bad habits.

 If hair loss is due to disorders affecting the follicle, the following causes may need to be investigated. Hair thinning caused by androgenic hormones or hereditary hair thinning is called male pattern baldness in men and female pattern hair thinning in women. This usually starts in the teens, 20's and 30's.   Androgens (including testosterone and DHT) influence hair thinning. If you have normal menses, normal pregnancies and normal endocrine function, you will probably not need any extensive testing. Testing for thyroid function and anemia may hold the answers to your dilemma. These tests are quite easy. Ferritin and iron levels and T4 to T3 conversion should be looked at and improved if found to be less than optimal.  There is an autoimmune disease called alopecia areata that affects 2% of the population in the US. Treatment for this disorder should be handled by specialists in dermatology .

 For more information, please visit:
http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/causes_of_hair_loss.asp