Who would not want to wear the long straight hair of Jennifer Aniston, the gorgeous wavy hair of Farrah Fawcett or the widely popular flip blonde hair of Princess Diana? The hair is women’s crowning glory. The hair changes the countenance of a woman. It also reflects lifestyle, character and attitude. It is a reality though also that hair loss in women happens. When this happens, it is inevitable that confusion, fear and anxiety is experienced by the woman experiencing hair loss. It is hard enough that men lose their hair but at least it is socially acceptable but in women it seems to be a taboo; hence, women experiencing hair loss get devastated. Sometimes these women would feel helpless. Women should not feel so bad about this occurrence. What women should do is to educate themselves・e informed.
Hair growth has three stages. The first stage is the Anagen or the Growth Phase. At this stage, approximately 85% of all hairs are in the growing phase at any one time. The next stage is the Catagen also known as the Transitional Phase. At this stage, hair follicle shrinks to about 1/6 of the normal length. Then the last stage is the Telogen or the Resting Phase. At this stage, the hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle while the dermal papilla stays in a resting phase below. At the end of the Telogen Stage, the hair follicle re-enters the Androgen Stage. The dermal papilla and the base of the follicle join together again and a new hair begins to form. If the old hair has not yet shed off, the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over gain.
Hair loss in women also known as Female Pattern Baldness may be categorized into 2 types, Genetic (Androgenetic Alopecia) and Non-Genetic.
The Genetic type of hair loss in women may be caused by aging, hormones and genetics. It is inevitable that hair loss in women occurs after menopause as hormone levels in the body change. Changes in the levels of the androgen ( a male hormone ) can affect hair production which usually occurs after menopause. The higher the level of androgen hormones, the higher probability of hair loss. After the hormonal changes of menopause, many women discover that hair at the top of the head is thinned while facial hair becomes coarser.
The Non-Genetic type of hair loss has numerous causes and the most common among them is stress. Pregnancy, loss in the family, illnesses and worries are body stressors that may affect the hair follicle. These stressors influence the changes in the phases of the follicle moving them from Anagen, Catagen to Telogen phase where the follicle lets go of the hair that’s already there and refusing replacement. This is also known as Telogen Effluvium. This is the most common type of hair loss after Androgenetic Alopecia. It is like a neurochemical event where the hair follicle receives a message that the body needs to concentrate its resources to other more important matter specially during childbirth and nursing. Ones the stress is gone, the hair grows after six months. Other causes of non-genetic type are diseases, deficiencies in zinc, protein and essential fatty acid, anorexia and a lot more.
Treatment of this problem must be closely monitored by certified medical practitioner for said field. The most common treatment is Minoxidil, used topically. However, this is no guarantee. The only hair loss treatment that lasts a lifetime is hair transplants.
So women, worry not. You may still have beautiful hair and hair loss in women is just useless anxiety.











