Hair Loss Causes

Do you feel like your hair is a mess? It can seem disconcerting at first, but it is normal to lose some hair each month. A person will shed at least 80 strands of scalp hair each day.

However, not all hair loss is normal. If you feel like you are losing too much hair, a variety of causes could be the problem. You could have alopecia, which is a disease associated with hair loss. Some illnesses or allergies lead to the body shedding hair to fight back. Other times, it is just a question of getting older or genetics. Only a doctor can help you pinpoint the source of your hair loss concerns.

You can even start picking up some of the clues yourself. When you lose hair, look at the strands. If full hair strands are falling out with the spherical ends still attached, then your problem is likely hereditary or biological. Some of those causes may be genetics, pregnancy, hormonal imbalances, and reactions to certain medications.

On the other hand, broken strands and shattered ends are hair loss symptoms resulting from other factors. These factors can include:

Chemical treatments
Extreme humidity
Heat styling
Prolonged heat exposure

Hair loss can be a stressful experience, but it doesn’t have to break your spirit. Hair restoration treatments can help you prevent and decrease hair loss.

Our New York City hair transplant specialists can offer you help for hair loss. We offer a variety of treatments that help you look and feel like yourself again. You could be experiencing hair loss due to any reason. Why not let us diagnose the problem and create a custom treatment plan to address it? Get back the look you crave.

Have you recently experienced a lot of hair loss?

Our New York City (NYC) hair transplant specialists can assist you. We have a variety of hair restoration solutions to help. We will identify the root cause of your hair loss to develop a personalized treatment plan.

As you start your hair loss restoration journey, learn about the most common causes.

Disease

While a range of diseases can have hair loss as a symptom, one of the most problematic ones is alopecia areata. Alopecia areata occurs when the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair to fall out. The hairs can come from any part of your body. They may fall out in small clumps or one by one. The eyebrows and upper lip are commonly affected by this disease because hairs in these areas are fine with smaller roots. While the scalp and beard can also be affected, this is less common.

Alopecia is a disease that flares up and passes. Hair loss can be significant during an active period, and some people see hair regrowth while between episodes. However, regrowth does not always occur, and it may not happen in a timely fashion. The amount of time it takes for the hair to regrow can result from stress, environmental factors, and hormone levels.

Moreover, hair regrowth with alopecia is not always permanent. If you are struggling with hair loss or baldness with alopecia, you should talk to your doctor. Many treatment options can slow down the process. A hair restoration doctor can give you the information you need to manage the effects of alopecia in your life.

Mental Health

Mental health is essential to a happy and healthy life. Stress can be overwhelming. Some people are so overcome by stress that they feel like pulling their own hair out. For a portion of the population, stress can lead to a condition called trichotillomania. With trichotillomania, you may pull your hair out in clumps.

For most people, trichotillomania starts around puberty. A single stressful event may trigger a single episode. However, it can become a coping mechanism that worsens as time goes on. This type of hair pulling is considered compulsive, and certain negative emotions may trigger these episodes, such as the following:

Anxiety
Boredom
Irritation
Loneliness

The mental toll of this condition is palpable, and it should be addressed by a mental health professional. However, the physical impact can also be problematic. If you have bald spots from trichotillomania, then you can get support from hair transplant specialists.

Drug Treatments

Medications can help people live better lives, but every drug has side effects. One of the most common side effects of a range of drugs is hair loss. Hair loss from medications can happen at any place on the body, and the severity of the problem will vary widely. The extent and duration may depend on the medication and dosage. Personal factors also come into play. It is hard to predict precisely how a person will respond to specific drug treatments.

If your medication is causing hair loss, then the problem may start quickly or develop slowly. Some people see noticeable changes right away. However, others may notice the issue more over time. You might see more hair on your pillow, clogs in your drain, or clumps in your hairbrush.

One treatment associated with hair loss is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is routinely used for cancer treatment and can be quite effective at saving lives. However, a common side effect of chemotherapy is hair loss. Many people do not see the changes overnight. Moreover, the intensity of the hair loss tends to vary throughout the process.

Other medications can lead to hair loss. Some common culprits are:

Antidepressants
Beta-blockers
Blood thinners
NSAIDs

These medicines affect the growth cycle of your hair. Are you shedding a lot of hair? Look in your medicine cabinet. Understanding the impact of your medications can help you determine the source of your hair loss.

Infections

Infections result when a virus attacks your body. Infections can occur frequently, and you will suffer from many throughout your life. While most infections are minor and easy to overcome, they can have unintended consequences. Some infections directly connect with hair loss.

Consider ringworm. Ringworm will start as a small pimple. However, this pimple will grow over time, and the skin will turn scaly. At this point, some people begin to lose hair at infected sites. This loss results from the ringworm infection getting into the hair. The infection turns the hair brittle, causing it to break off easily. You can identify ringworm by itchy skin, inflamed and scaly patches, and hair loss.

Although ringworm sounds like a parasite, it is a fungus found in the soil. This fungus can affect humans when they come into contact with contaminated soil or other animals afflicted with the infection. In many cases, people can get ringworm from their pets.

Ringworm can be very unpleasant. The scaly patches look unsightly, and the skin can be very itchy. The severity of hair loss depends on how bad your infection gets. You might not grow it back at all if you have a very severe infection or lose a lot of hair. Your doctor can prescribe a cream to help you treat the skin. However, if you suffer from ongoing hair loss after a ringworm infection, you may need to consider hair loss treatment or hair replacement surgery.