Hair has become a defining asset for women and men of the centuries, but with men a bald head can be considered distinguished in today’s standards. Not so for women. No one looks at a balding woman and says, “Wow, her bald head looks sexy”. Through history, hair has always represented youth, health, sex appeal and beauty. Look at women known for their beautiful locks of hair: Farah Fawcett, Cher, Dorothy Hamell, Jennifer Aniston and let’s not forget the Kardashian sister’s (Kim, Khloe and Kourtney) full, long, shiny black hair.
Women spends lots of money buying hair products that hope to enhance their own hair to look like those women’s hair we emulate. Unfortunately, according to the Academy of Dermatology, more than 30 million women experience significant hair loss. This number is higher than ever before in the USA. Hair loss in women can start as young as puberty and can gradually get worse as a woman ages.
It is normal to lose up to 100 strands of hair a day. Hair loss presents a great deal of trauma and devastation in a women’s life. We over tease, over color, over process the hair we already have to try to give the illusion that we have more volume than we really have. We skip activities such as swimming, sweating and anything that makes our hair blow in the wind or shine on our heads so no one can detect the bald spots. That’s the physical problems.
The mental or psychological effects balding women face can be depression, traumatic stress, lack of confidence, withdrawal and lack of confidence. There are some balding spirited women who are famous in spite of their visible baldness that refuse to let this physical abnormality prevent them from being their best in public.
Lydia Bastianich is an openly balding woman who is also a celebrity and a recognized chef. She wears no hair pieces and does little to camouflage her balding head. She has achieved greatness in her life and I am sure she suffers in silence like most women about her thin hair. But she doesn’t let it stop her and it shouldn’t stop anyone. Anyone who brings attention negatively to any woman about her thinning hair should be eliminated from your radar screen.
Causes of female hair loss:
1. After Childbirth: During pregnancy estrogen hormones are high and those hormones hold onto your hair. Shortly after giving birth, after breast feeding is all over, the hair can come out in clumps because the estrogen drops back to normal levels.
2. Medications such as: Anti depressants, Beta Blockers, Non steroidal Anti inflammatory, Birth control pills, High blood pressure pills and arthritis pills can cause hair loss.
3. Surgery
4. Crash Diets – nutrition deficiency and the lack of protein, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc and vitamin C starves the hair follicles.
5. Stress – Inhibits Androgen production which shrink hair follicles.
6. Thyroid Issues
7. Heredity – accounts for about 90% chance you will have the same hair as your Mother’s grandfather as the
gene’s typically follow the mother’s side of the family. Heredity effects more men than women.
8. Auto Immune system problems – commonly known as Alopecia. There are many forms of alopecia, but all of them describe hair falling out and there is not enough data to really know why this happens.
9. Chemo therapy
10. Menopause – any time there are changes in your hormone levels, there is a potential for hair loss as they are directly related to one another.
Some people complain that there is coming out in clumps. This is called Telogen Effluvium. This is caused by your hair going into a 1 or 2 month resting mode then all of a sudden it will come out at once, but usually the scalp has new growth right behind it. Whether you have experienced this or a form of Alopecia, self diagnosis should not be what you live by. Go to a doctor that specializes in hair loss for a medical diagnosis.
Some Hair Loss Solutions:
1. Monoxodil which is also found in Rogaine for women. This is a topical solution that works in some women. It has to be used every day and if you stop using it, any hair you have grown falls out again.
2. Hair restoration systems – this is a bonding method used to attach hair pieces to your scalp.
3.Wigs
4. Hair transplant – this is a surgical procedure that takes hair follicles from the neck area or area that has healthy hair growth and transplanting them to the balding area.
5. Provillus for women – a DHT blocker that can be prescribed by a doctor. It works in some people.
6. Adding more nutrients to your diet may help hair growth, but most of all helps your body to have a healthy balance. Add Omega 3 fatty acids found in salmon; Vitamin A as found in Spinach and Carrots; Selenium as found in Brazil nuts; Zinc as found in Walnuts and oysters. Include also low fat dairy products, whole grains and vegetables. The basic rule of thumb for healthy hair is eating what you know is good for your heart and you’ll never go wrong!
7. Increasing the blood supply to your scalp may cure hair loss, at the least it will de stress your body. Head massage improves blood flow to the scalp, where there are lots of nerve endings. Rubbing your head in massage releases the feel good hormones called serotonin and dopamine.
Hair loss does not have to prevent anyone from being who they are. Hair is a physical thing that does not have to define us. There is nothing wrong with using any of the above hair loss solutions to make us feel good in our skin. Women become overly focused on our hair and we obsess sometimes. If this is what you feel then invest in the best wig you can buy or have a hair restoration system made for you. Let the world see that your beauty doesn’t stop with your hair.
SOURCES: American Hair Loss Association, American Academy of Dermatology
