Causes of hair loss

Hair loss has been an enigmatic condition plaguing people all over the world for ages.  Most people will suffer from hair loss at some point in their lives, people with full heads of hair even as they grow elderly are definitely the exception rather than the rule.  It is also not commonly realized that women are affected by hair loss as often as men, though female hair loss patterns often look different.  The causes of hair loss are many and still as of yet not fully understood.  Some causes of hair loss we do understand, however, and there are new hair loss treatments coming out all the time.

Some common causes of hair loss are based on nutrition.  Poor diet and nutrition can not only slow the growth rate of your body’s hair, but can actually cause it to fall out.  Drug abusers, bulimics, and anorexics frequently experience hair loss in the more serious stages of their condition, and it is because they are not maintaining a proper intake of vitamins and nutrients.  While these are extreme examples, more mild forms of hair loss can occur even in people who don’t vary up their diet enough, or eat too much junk without getting anything healthy.  Make sure you’re eating plenty of fruits and veggies!

Another cause of hair loss is stress.  Stress can mean a lot of things, but they all increase the chances of hair loss, and will accelerate any hair loss you are already experiencing.  If you’re finding yourself worked up a lot, look into ways of reducing anxiety.  Cut out caffeine, meditate, listen to music, get some more exercise, and get more sleep if you can! 

Some medications are a cause of hair loss as well.  The best known examples are the medications used in cancer chemotherapy.  These medications target rapidly growing cells in the body, which means the cancer cells but unfortunately also includes your hair cells as well. 

The most common cause of hair loss is unfortunately genetics.  There isn’t anything you can do to change your genes, and some people are destined to lose hair no matter what they do.  Adhering to the above advice may slow it down, but it will happen eventually.  The good news is there are a number of treatments for even this most hard to beat cause of hair loss.  What works for some people doesn’t for others, so finding a good hair loss treatment is often a process of trial and error.  Talking to your doctor about it will probably prove very informative.