Regular grooming is a vital aspect of every woman’s schedule regardless of age, lifestyle or social background. She gives special care to her hair and tries to appear trendy by setting it in various styles. Thus women in general, are very particular that they have a well-maintained and styled crown of glory on their head. So why should it surprise anyone if a woman panics when she discovers she is suffering from hair loss?

The American Academy of Dermatology has declared that approximately 30 million women suffer from hair loss and it is expected to increase. So, the fear of hair loss among women is not baseless. With the increase of premature hair loss, this is certainly becoming an issue which has to be dealt with seriously.

Experts confirm that a hair grows one to one and a half inches every month and lasts for two to six years. Then, after a short period of abstinence from growth, it will fall. A new hair strand would soon form in that follicle. This cycle continues until the person becomes old.

Understanding this process enables one to identify and know the causes of hair loss better.

Hormonal factors contribute greatly to hair loss in women and some of them suffer from the consequences of genetic disposition. A particular hormone, androgen, for instance, is largely responsible for causing disturbances in the natural process of hair growth and loss. Dihydrotestosterone, testosterone and androsteinedione, which are found in androgen, exist mainly in men and in smaller quantities in women. Young women who suffer from hair loss, which is also called alopecia, face great difficulty in finding a cure for this problem.

A description of the three types of alopecia is provided below:

Problems with the immune system trigger the first type of alopecia. It is a condition where the immune systems would infect the hair follicles and only let go of the follicles after ensuring that they are damaged.

Traumatic alopecia is a condition derived from harsh handling of hair by violent brushing or trying hairstyles that pull at the hair forcibly. Flat irons and hot rollers that are placed too close to the follicles tend to damage the follicles resulting in baldness. Braiding, tying and harsh combing are also other causes of traumatic alopecia.

Some women whose biological system fails to accept the presence of excessive androgen hormones are prone to get affected by androgenetic alopecia which is the third type of baldness in women.

Many women suffer from hair loss after pregnancy but if there is a lot of hair that seems to be falling during pregnancy, you should find out why. It could just be a result of hormonal problems. Very often, it is because the thyroid is either under active or over active. Or it could be because of a deficiency in minerals or vitamins. You will need to see a doctor about this so that he can start treatment immediately.

Normally, most women tend to have extra hair growth during pregnancy, not hair loss. After the birth of the baby, all this extra hair falls off. So if you do suffer from hair loss during pregnancy, you must make sure your doctor knows as this isn’t normal.

Of course it could also be due to some medication that you had to take. Some medications do have hair loss as a side effect. These could be gout medication, chemotherapy after cancer, blood thinners or antidepressants. Even too much of vitamin A could be the culprit. Some illnesses too, tend to cause the loss of a lot of hair but with time, all this grows back.

There could be another reason – that the hormonal balance in your body of the male and female hormones is not quite right in which case this will have to be remedied.

Hair loss could also be a result of stress which is why it is essential to keep calm especially during pregnancy. Once your stress levels are manageable, very often you will see that your hair growth is back to normal again. Make sure that you don’t diet during your pregnancy because this can cause the nutrient supply in your body to be at low levels and can cause hair loss, besides the more important problems of your baby’s growth. You needn’t stuff yourself but you need to eat healthy and you need to eat enough of whatever is essential for both the baby and you.

How do you deal with hair loss when you are pregnant? You should of course, visit a doctor immediately if you are pregnant because like we said, it is not normal to experience hair loss during pregnancy. You could also try a hair loss shampoo after talking to your doctor.

There are several topical treatments available but you should be careful about what you use while you are pregnant. The good thing during pregnancy is that once you find out exactly why you are losing hair, you can quickly clear it up by treating the problem. What you need to do is to be aware of the problem and make sure that you do everything you can to tackle it and soon you’ll have your wonderful hair back again!