What Causes Major Hair Loss in Women?
While major hair loss in women is relatively rare, it can be rather distressing when it does occur.
The main reason as to why hair loss in a woman can be such a distressing affair is because most societies expect every woman to grow at least some hair, and a woman who fails to do this is viewed as a social rebel in most cases, and consequently treated with some level of curiosity – and possibly even hostility – in the worst cases. Add to this the fact that most societies actually view hair as a component of a woman’s beauty, and it follows that a woman who experiences major hair loss could end up being viewed as ‘less than beautiful’ leading to a plunge in her self esteem. And it gets worse when the people in the woman’s circle start making up stories to explain her hair loss to themselves (with the woman in question eventually getting a wind of this), typically pushing her even deeper into depression.
Luckily, a majority of hair loss cases in women can be treated; with proper treatment in most cases being dependant on proper identification of the cause of the hair loss case.
Hormonal imbalances seem to be the greatest cause of major hair loss in women. While the role of the major female hormone (estrogen) in hair growth is still quite unclear, the fact that hormonal therapy involving oral (or topical) administration of estrogen tends to cause re-growth of hair in women who were experiencing hair loss suggests that falling levels of estrogen could indeed cause hair loss in women.
Androgenetic alopecia (baldness) is another potential cause of major loss in women, because contrary to many people’s belief, baldness is not limited to men only. Luckily though, women’s cases of baldness tend to be less conspicuous due to their relatively low levels of androgens. Yet in spite of its relative mildness, baldness in women can be even more distressing than the more severe baldness experienced by men, as baldness in a woman seems rather ‘weird.’
Major hair loss in a woman can also be caused by a disease called Alopecia Areata. Indeed, Alopecia Areata, an immune disease affecting roughly one in every 50 people is probably the commonest cause of major hair loss in women. This disease is identified by the complete hair-less spots on the scalp it causes, with the size of the hair less spots it causes being the measure of its severity. But while a person might live with the less severe cases of the disease (that cause what are often unnoticeable bald spots), the more severe cases can be harder to live with, especially for a woman.
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