It is commonly believed that hair loss is a problem that most men face, but women can also suffer from it. Let’s see why the hair falls out in women and how to deal with it.
To begin with it is necessary to find out, whether loss of hair a pathology. In a day, we lose up to a hundred hairs, and this is considered the norm. Specialists suggest a simple test: pay attention, is there a white nail (bulb) on the end of the fallen hair? If not, until you can not worry about falling out. If there is, then do not wash your head for two to three days, and then pull the hair on the crown and on the temples. Do you have more than five hair left? It is necessary to consult a trichologist. In any case, only an expert will be able to give you an exact answer, whether it is worth worrying about loss or this is an absolutely natural process.
The fact is that active hair loss can be one of the first signs of any diseases or disorders in the body. Therefore, before dealing with the consequences (hair loss), it is worth finding out the reason. Most likely, having eliminated it, you at the same time solve also a problem with hair.
Causes of hair loss in women
All causes of hair loss in women can be divided into two groups: telogen hair loss (when hair falls gradually) and anagenic alopecia (that is, sudden alopecia).
Anagenic alopecia
This is a sudden loss of hair, the cause of which is most often the impact of strong chemical or medicines, as well as radiation. This type of baldness is observed during chemotherapy. As a rule, with a mild effect, the activity of the hair follicles is subsequently restored.
Features: For this type of hair loss there is no specific treatment. Hair growth resumes after cessation of harmful effects.
Telogenous baldness
Telogenous alopecia can occur in both acute and chronic forms. The difference is that acute baldness lasts up to six months, and then passes. The chronic form of telogenous baldness can last more than six months and sometimes does not pass even for several years.
Features: In this form of alopecia complete alopecia does not occur.
The causes of telogenesis baldness can be:
1. Changing the hormonal background
Many women note the hair thinning after childbirth. Increased prolapse can begin 1-4 weeks after birth and last for several months. Do not be afraid of this: this loss is most often associated with a change in the hormonal background, and can also increase under the influence of stress, a decrease in the level of protein in the plasma, blood loss.
Features: Full recovery occurs 5-12 months after childbirth. In this case, as a rule, in subsequent pregnancies, all these changes become less pronounced.
For the same reason, hair loss can begin after the abolition of hormonal contraceptives or in girls aged 16-20 years, when the body begins to actively develop androgens.
2. Health problems
Hair loss can begin after:
– copious loss of blood;
– acute infection;
– high temperature;
– a postoperative operation or an injury;
– diet or malnutrition.
In this case, most often talk about episodic baldness. To restore normal hair growth, it takes about a year. However, there is a chronic form of alopecia, when pronounced hair thinning occurs after 2-2,5 months after the disease.
The reasons for this loss of hair can be:
– long-term use of drugs (such drugs include cytostatics, retinoids, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and others);
– lack of zinc and iron;
– chronic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hyperthyroidism, tumors and others);
– strong stress (after the transferred stress hair growth, as a rule, is restored spontaneously).
Sometimes to the causes of hair loss is attributed to improper care (frequent use of hair dryers, plaques, ironing, etc.), but experts agree that in most cases, external influences only exacerbate the already existing problem, but are not an independent cause of baldness.
Treatment of hair loss in women
Before starting a course of treatment for hair loss, it is necessary to undergo diagnostics and to identify the cause of the problem, in each specific case the solution will be its own.
For more accurate diagnosis, you will most likely have to do:
– trichogram;
– biochemical blood test (evaluation of protein, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism);
– a blood test to determine the vitamin, amino acid and mineral status of the body;
– a hair analysis to assess the mineral status.
It is very important to understand that the recovery depends on the exact identification of the cause of hair loss. In some cases, as already noted above, the restoration of hair growth occurs spontaneously after elimination of negative factors, changes in diet and rest. But there are cases when you can not do without special treatment.
In the treatment of hair can be used:
– medicines for oral administration;
– medicinal creams and lotions for topical use (based on minoxidil, etc.);
– laser therapy (available both in the clinic and at home using a laser comb);
– scalp massage;
– medical shampoos and masks against hair loss;
– homeopathy;
– folk remedies for hair loss (burdock or castor oil, peppermask, etc.).
Folk recipes from hair loss in women
Burdock or castor oil. Half an hour before washing your head, rub in the mixture (oil plus alcohol in equal parts). Apply 1-2 months. Another remedy: mix castor oil with the juice of the medium bulb and one yolk, apply on hair 45 minutes before washing and cover the head with a pack and towel.
Orange peel. Crust from 2-3 oranges add to water, let it brew for three hours, and then wash this head with this water. The product helps to give shine and radiance and perfectly nourishes the hair.
Peppermask. 1 chopped chili and pour 100 ml of vodka. Insist for 2-3 weeks in a dark place. The resulting tincture can be added to the conditioner, hair balm, mixed with butter or kefir. In its pure form is not used!
All these methods are aimed at achieving two goals: to stop falling out and to stimulate the growth of new hair. As a rule, specialists prescribe a complex treatment in which both the intake of medications and the use of special care products are combined. This approach allows you to get a fairly fast and stable result (from six months to a year).
Remember that only a doctor can prescribe a competent treatment! Do not try to solve the problem yourself, so you can aggravate it even more, because practically all drugs have contraindications, and some of the methods may not be suitable for certain reasons.
Hair transplantation
There are situations when neither drug therapy, nor physiotherapy, nor folk remedies can help stop hair loss. A woman has large bald spots on her head, hair thinning, and you have to go to various tricks-try to hide flaws under intricate hairdos and stripes, use false strands, etc. In the end, all this hurts at the self-esteem and confidence of a woman, she ceases to feel attractive and desirable, closes in herself, refuses to appear in public. Naturally, this most negatively affects the career and personal life. It would seem that the only way out of the situation is wearing a wig. But this is not so! Modern medicine has stepped far ahead and today offers effective and painless methods of hair transplantation.
The most delicate and innovative method is HFE (Hand follicul extraction). It consists in removing the hair follicles from the donor zone of the patient with the help of a special microtool (micropancha). Then this donor material is transplanted into the bald areas using a microimplant. In this case, no incisions are made, the head is not injured. The only thing that can stay after the procedure is slight redness in the transplant zone, but it will disappear in a few days.
In general, the procedure lasts for several hours – depending on the area of the baldness zone. Local anesthesia is used. Immediately after completion of the procedure, the patient can go home, the rehabilitation period is not required.
Transplanted hair follicles will soon take root, and the woman will again grow beautiful hair, at a natural angle, so that no one will ever guess that she was a patient of the hair transplant clinic.
In addition to HFE, there are other ways of hair transplantation, including grafting (cut and sewn on the skin with hair follicles), partially seamless transplantation (the follicles are removed without traumatizing the skin, but when they are implanted microrezures are made with a scalpel). But if possible – it is better to choose the most modern and reliable method.