The Truth About Hair Loss: Causes and a Cure
Did you know that a healthy man or woman typically loses between 100 and 125 hairs on any given day? Every hair on your head is positioned somewhere in a growth cycle, at the end of which it sheds and falls out. At any point about ten percent of your hair is in a “resting phase”, and after two to three months of “resting” that hair falls out and new hair grows - on a healthy head of hair. For some people though, it doesn’t grow back.
As we get older, both men and women experience some hair loss. It’s a normal part of the aging process. Called Androgenic Alopecia, it accounts for 95% of all hair loss. Androgenic Alopecia often runs in families and affects some people more than others. In men it is often referred to as Male Pattern Baldness.
Characteristic signs of Androgenic Alopecia are a receding hairline or baldness on the top of the head. In women it more often manifests as an overall thinning of hair over the entire scalp. it is generally more severe in men than in women.
Hormones play a big role in the onset of Androgenic Alopecia. Both men and women produce testosterone, which is converted to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the bloodstream. DHT causes hair follicles to shrink and tissue in the scalp to thicken, reducing blood flow to that area. Hair follicles begin to atrophy and as a result when hair falls out, it isn’t replaced. Since men produce more testosterone than women, they usually experience more hair loss.
Androgenic Alopecia is the number one cause of hair loss in individuals, but there are other causes as well. Certain medications such as blood thinners, birth control pills and gout medication can cause hair loss. Medical conditions including fungal infections and hyperthyroidism can also lead to hair loss, as can sudden changes in diet, hormonal changes, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Emotional stress, pregnancy, or surgery can also cause our hair to fall out and is usually not noticed until 3-4 months after the stressful event has taken place. Stress can cause a slowing of new hair growth because a larger number of hair follicles enter into the resting phase and no new hair growth is experienced.
Placing undue manipulative stress on the hair itself can cause hair loss as well. Excessive brushing or combing, tight curlers or tight pigtails can irritate the scalp and eventually scar it causing permanent hair loss. Aggressive hair treatments such as multiple permanents or hot oil treatments can do the same thing.
Of all of the root causes of hair loss or hair thinning, Androgenic Alopecia is by far the most common in individuals and also the most treatable. Hair loss treatment programs such as Provillus provide nutrients necessary for hair growth while simultaneously suppressing production of DHT, which results in hair regeneration in most cases. If you are losing hair has a result of increasing age you owe it to yourself to look into a solution such as Provillus to preserve and care for your hair.
