Causes of Hair Loss in Women: Medical Reasons and More

Table Of Content

• Try stress-relief techniques
• Tips to help slow and prevent hair loss
• How can menopausal hair loss be treated?
• What makes alopecia worse?
• Types of alopecia

Research on whether tretinoin alone can promote hair regrowth remains limited, but an older 2007 study suggests it shows promise as a treatment when combined with other medications. And while the signs might not be as obvious as in men, about 55% of women experience some hair loss by the time they're 70. Treatments to prevent or stop it can help many women who are losing their hair. If you notice hair loss, talk to your doctor as soon as you can.

Try stress-relief techniques

They should be asked to recall any potential trigger two to five months before the onset of the condition. With chemotherapy-related hair loss, being gentle with hair may help. Some people choose to cut their hair short or wear wigs during treatment. Cooling caps before, during and after each chemotherapy session may help stave off hair loss. When you see a doctor to see what's causing your hair loss, they’ll probably start with a physical exam and ask about your diet, family history, and medical history. Pregnancy, and especially giving birth, can lead to hair loss.

Tips to help slow and prevent hair loss

"Your hair will grow back three to six months after your treatment ends," she adds, "although it may temporarily be a different color or texture (i.e., curly instead of straight)." Any birth control method that contains estrogen — like the patch, the pill or the vaginal ring — can cause hair loss. This is because of all the hormonal changes happening in your body.

How can menopausal hair loss be treated?

The scalp is the most commonly affected area, although patients commonly report the loss of hair from their eyebrows and eyelashes, particularly for those who are being treated with chemotherapy. Research from 2015 suggests the regular use of LLLT may help stop hair loss and promote hair regrowth. In short, this type of laser therapy appears safe and effective as a treatment for people who didn’t notice improvement with standard hair loss treatments. Androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss in men and women and is a normal physiologic variant. It is most prevalent in white men, with 30%, 40%, and 50% experiencing androgenetic alopecia at 30, 40, and 50 years of age, respectively 2 (Figure 1).

There are also various telehealth companies offering hair loss medication a person can consider. A person should always discuss hair loss with a doctor before trying a new treatment. A person should be cautious about trying hair loss treatments that have not been FDA approved. They should always discuss hair loss with a doctor before trying to treat it with medication. Research suggests that the majority of FDA-approved hair loss medication — and some medications used off-label for hair loss — produce promising results.

However, more research is needed overall, particularly on the long-term effects of using hair loss treatments. Anticoagulant medications such as heparin and warfarin have rare side effects of causing hair loss. Comparatively, telogen effluvium is the loss of resting or bulb hair, which is more common and can occur due to many different medications. Anagen effluvium typically occurs more quickly after the initiation of the medication, whereas telogen effluvium can take several months for the effects to become evident. The risk of drug-induced alopecia depends both on the type of medications taken and the individual's response to it. Some drugs are strongly linked to causing alopecia and result in hair loss for most patients who take the drug, while other drugs may cause hair loss in some patients but not in others.

Your provider will also ask about what medications or supplements you currently take. A person’s hair usually starts growing back a few months after they stop taking the medication. A person who experiences drug-induced alopecia will usually notice thinning hair as opposed to patchy hair loss. However, the hair loss may be more apparent on the top of the scalp. If a person is experiencing hair loss, many different home remedies are available.

Do any hair loss treatments actually work?

You may want to shift where hair grows (or doesn't) to reflect your affirmed gender. Things that interfere with the growth cycle -- like medications, illnesses, infections, or chemicals -- have the potential to stop hair from being formed the right way. Beyond that, age, hormones, stress, and even the way you style your hair can lead to hair loss.

Topical minoxidil (Rogaine and generic)

It's not too late to save thinning hair - Harvard Health

It's not too late to save thinning hair.

Posted: Sun, 01 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Another method involves chilling the scalp with various cooling devices, also to reduce blood flow and limit the effect of the chemotherapy drugs. And there have been advances with medications that temporarily stop the hair follicles from growing hair, and as a result reduce their absorption of the chemotherapy drugs. None of these methods work perfectly, and all can increase the risk of cancer cells surviving in the hair follicles. There are two main types of drug-induced hair loss, which include anagen effluvium and telogen effluvium. This is the name for hair loss caused by medications that harm your hair follicles. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments for cancer can be toxic to follicles, causing your hair to fall out within the first few weeks after you start treatment.

Drug-induced hair loss, like any other type of hair loss, can have a real effect on your self-esteem. The good news is that in most cases, it's reversible once you stop taking the drug. You may have to use these medications for a certain period of time before you see results.

Minimize the use of high-heat styling tools, hair extensions and harsh treatments like perms. Avoid hairstyles like tight buns and braids that pull on your scalp, potentially causing traction alopecia. It’s usually genetic, but it can also be triggered by diseases or disorders that attack the hair follicles. For children who have been diagnosed with alopecia areata, a topical steroid cream can be applied to the skin or scalp. For adults, the doctor may inject steroids into the skin or scalp.