5 Causes Of Thinning Hair
Causes of thinning hair can be wide and varied, but if you are losing hair it may not necessarily be a permanent thing. We are going to cover some of the different reasons behind hair loss today however before we do so lets make sure we are aware of hair cycles and also a quick test to see if you are potentially going bald.
At any one time approximately ninety percent of your hair is growing and the other ten is resting. It is when your hair is resting that it is likely to fall out so if all of a sudden you see a lot of hair in the plughole or on your comb then this may be the reason why.
There is a test you can do to give a further indication if you are going bald or not and that is to do a tug test. This is a lot less painful than it sounds, all it consists of is grabbing a few hairs between thumb and forefinger (you want at least 20 or so) and then pulling these strands slowly but firmly. If you lose more than half a dozen on this test then you may be going bald.
Now that we have covered that, let us look at 5 possible reasons behind hair loss :-
1. Chemicals-Everyday we are subject to loads of different chemicals attacking our skin and its no different when it comes to our hair. People do lots of things to make their hair more attractive using colors and bleach etc… However you may be thinking I have never done that and yet I am still losing hair, well if thats the case let me point you in the direction of your shampoo. The reason for that is a lot of shampoos contain a chemical called Sodium Laureth Sulfate, and this cleans and degreases your hair, but it can thin your hair out too-so check your shampoo you may want to use a milder version
2. Hereditary – the jury is out on whether baldness really is hereditary or not, however if there is a history of baldness in the family then there is a probability it will occur again.
3. Hormones- Hormones are raging through our body all the time, in men too much testosterone can turn to DHT which will cause hair loss and in women a lack of estrogen which normally blocks testosterone can lead to hair loss. In the case of women a solution for this is quite often found in hormone replacement therapy.
4. Sebum- You normally only hear about sebum when acne is discussed as a build up of it can be a cause behind acne, but it can also be a cause behind hair loss too. This happens if there is a build up of sebum on the scalp as it can attack the bulb of the hair from which the follicle grows.
5. Immune System- There are certain types of alopecia which can occur through disorders in the immune system and they can have various effects on a persons hair from partial hair loss to total baldness tight the way through to losing all of the body hair.
These are just a few of the things that can be behind what causes baldness, however the list is not exhaustive and if you are concerned about hair loss then you may want to seek expert advice or do further research into ways how to prevent hair loss.
March 16 2009 08:41 am | Diseases, Conditions and Treatments
