About Sandra Marchant, Certified Trichologist
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Hair Loss? Reasons for Hair Loss

Childbirth: When a woman is pregnant, she does not lose as much hair as usual. However, after a woman delivers her baby, many hairs enter the resting phase of the hair cycle. Within two or three months after delivery, some women will see vast amounts of hair coming out in their brushes and combs. This increased shedding lasts between one and six months. Self limited, this condition will reverse completely in most cases. Not all new mothers experience this and not all women will notice an increased hair loss with every pregnancy.

Thyroid: Excess secretion by the thyroid gland is called hyperthyroidism; the condition marked by a deficiency of thyroid secretions is hypothyroidism. Both conditions can cause hair loss. Thyroid disease can be diagnosed by other clinical signs, symptoms and laboratory tests. The hair loss associated with thyroid disease is reversible with proper treatment.

Inadequate Protein in Diet: Vegetarians and crash dieters that exclude protein, and anorexia nervosa victims who eat tiny amounts of food, may develop protein malnutrition. When this occurs, a person's body will help to conserve protein by shifting growing hairs into the resting phase. Massive hair loss will usually occur within two or three months. Hair can be pulled out by the roots with relative ease. This condition is reversible and preventable by eating adequate protein.

Birth Control Pills: Oral contraceptives commonly called birth control pills contain two ingredients: synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestin. Women who loose hair while taking oral contraceptives usually are predisposed to hereditary hair thinning and this may be accelerated by male hormone-like effects of some of the progrestational agents. If this occurs, a woman can consult her gynecologist about switching to another birth control pill. When a woman stops using an oral contraceptive, she may notice that her hair begins shedding after two or three months. This shedding may continue for six months, at which time it usually stops and the situation reverses. This is similar to hair loss after termination of pregnancy.

Major Surgery/Debilitating Chronic Illness: Anyone who has a major operation or tremendous shock to the system, may note increased hair shedding within two or three months after the operation. The condition reverses itself with a few months. Victims of a severe chronic illness may experience hair shedding indefinitely.

High Fever, Severe Infection, Severe Flu: Between six weeks and three months after a person has a high fever or a severe infection or flu, he or she may be shocked to see a lot of hair falling out. Again, this is usually self limited, but some infections require treatment.

Alopecia Areata: In this type of hair loss, hair usually comes out in totally smooth, round patches about the size of a coin or larger. However, it can result in complete scalp hair loss and loss of some or all body hair. This disease may affect males or females in any age group.

Low Serum Iron: Women who have heavy menstrual periods lose iron and occasionally this produces hair loss. Iron deficiency can be detected by laboratory tests and can be corrected by taking iron pills.

Hereditary Thinning or Balding: Male pattern baldness or hereditary balding or thinning is the most common cause of thinning hair. The trait can be inherited from either the mother's side or father's side of the family. Women with this inherited tendency develop thinning hair, but do not become bald. Medically, the condition is called androgenetic alopecia, and starts in the teens, twenties or thirties.