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With every passing year, along with the candles on your birthday cake, you’re also blowing away dreams of long and luscious hair. If you think it’s just the men who must battle receding hairlines with passing age, let us tell you, ladies, you may have to deal with it too. But you are far from alone. Research says more than 50% of women are significantly affected by hair loss due to inexplicable reasons. If you’re lost trying to zero in on the exact reason for hair loss, don’t worry we’ve got your back. You can now figure out a roadmap to the happier part of Tress Town.
Top Reasons For Hair Loss In Women
Reasons For Hair Loss #1: Vitamin B12 Deficiency
You may be a picky eater but your food choices could cause your cells to struggle, resulting in hair loss. So much for being choosy, eh? Cobalamin or Vitamin B12 helps in the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells that nourish hair follicles and promote healthy hair growth. A serious deficiency of this vitamin may be the hidden reason for hair loss in women.
What can you do about it?
Think you don’t have enough of the B12 power? You can find solace in fish, poultry, dairy and eggs. But vegetarians, here’s some bad news for you. This hair-friendly vitamin is generally found in meat-based foods. Now for the good news. Since switching to meat is not an easy option, you can opt for dietary supplements to ensure you don’t miss out on your daily dose of Vitamin B12.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #2: Stress
Lucky for you this one is temporary and can be put to a halt as soon as you get your mess in order. Extreme stress triggers your body’s natural defence mechanism and pushes your hair follicles into a resting phase. You don’t want them resting now, do you? Try to get through whatever has been stressing you out and your hair growth cycle should resume to normal once again.
What can you do about it?
Now we know it would be plain useless telling you to stress less about your impending breakup or career inertia. Instead, you could have a relaxing bath at the end of an upsetting day, so you don’t lose your sleep over it. Scented candles, essential oils bath bombs, whatever does the trick for you. Basically, this is your reality check if you’ve been underestimating the impact of a good pampering bath.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #3: Hereditary
You’ve always been meticulous when it comes to your hair care regime, only to notice bald patches and realize that life is unfair. It’s probably in your DNA. Hereditary hair loss starts with the thinning of hair, which eventually leads to complete baldness on parts of the scalp.
What can you do about it?
We know you want to hear otherwise but you can’t really put a complete end to this kind of hair loss. That said, you can surely reduce the rate of hair fall with treatments prescribed by your trichologist. Besides that, you could also slow down hair loss with over-the-counter drugs or simply massage your scalp with a dedicated anti-hair loss oil.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #4: Hormonal Imbalance
Do you know how hormones can throw you zit surprises right before your weekend getaway? Well, they can also be responsible for the gradual thinning and loss of hair. When testosterone converts to DHT, this bad hormone goes on a rampant spree, damaging hair follicles and stunting hair growth, thus proving to be the key reason for hair loss. This usually happens when hormones are on an overdrive during menopause. Do you know how hormones can throw you zit surprises right before your weekend getaway? Well, they can also be responsible for the gradual thinning and loss of hair. When testosterone converts to DHT, this bad hormone goes on a rampant spree, damaging hair follicles and stunting hair growth, thus proving to be the key reason for hair loss. This usually happens when hormones are on an overdrive during menopause.
What can you do about it?
Along with the shift in hormones, your nutritional needs also change which makes incorporating a well-balanced diet even more important to deal with hair loss. Look out for iron and calcium-dense foods like leafy greens, eggs, milk and cheese. You could also try dietary supplements.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #5: Iron Deficiency
Iron is so crucial to keeping your body strong and running. And you thought they named him Iron Man because of his suit? Severe iron deficiency or Anemia pushes your body into survival mode, which translates to reduced oxygen supply to your scalp. The good news here is that hair follicles don’t get entirely damaged so the right treatments can normalize hair growth again.
What can you do about it?
Firstly, if you aren’t sure if lack of iron is the key reason for excessive hair loss, get a Ferritin level blood test done so you can be sure. If your iron levels are low, it’s a wake-up call to make changes in your daily diet. Now what are these foods that you have been picking on? Meet: Broccoli, Lentils, Oysters, Spinach and Soybeans. Oh yeah, and dark chocolate can get you there too. To keep the hair factory on your scalp going, you could consider iron supplements as well.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #6: Over Styling
Love all the compliments pouring in, don’t you? But if you knew what frequent braiding and tightness are doing to your hair, would you still love them the same? Vigorous hairstyles, such as cornrows, braids and pigtails are one of the hair loss causes. They put your hair under constant strain and result in localized scalp trauma.
What can you do about it?
Try letting your hair down often and save the complicated hairstyles for more important occasions, because not every date is worth stressing your hair follicles over. If you still have to go for tight hairstyles, you could try investing in elastic bands without metal links so the damage is less.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #7: Nutrient Imbalance
Millennials and older Gen-Z are stuck in the constant cycle of hustle culture, where there is almost no time to rest to consume a full balanced meal. On-the-go dinners and coffee for breakfast are making our bodies nutrient-deficient. This is not only affecting our immunity levels and overall strength but also our hair growth and blood circulation.
What can you do about it?
If you run busy because of your job, social life, and responsibilities back at home, you need to manage your meals better. You can meal prep on Sundays or whenever you are home, so you can have healthy home-cooked meals most of the week. You can also incorporate plant-based supplements in the form of pills, tablets, or melting papers that you only need to chew, perfect for people with busy schedules.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #8: Excessive Friction
More often than not, our immediate surroundings are also responsible for our hair health. Other than the pollution, dust, and other impurities in our atmosphere, did you know the kind of pillowcase we use also has an effect on our hair’s texture? The usual pillowcases in regular Indian households are made of cotton or a blend of materials, this may be soft, but not necessarily smooth, thus causing friction. Our hair is made of keratin and the strands don’t contain any moisture, hence, whenever it comes in contact with other dry textures, there will be friction.
What can you do about it?
You can use smooth pillowcases and bedspreads that are made of satin instead of other rougher textures. Satin, unlike cotton, doesn’t absorb moisture and leaves the hair as it is. It doesn’t dry out the hair further, thus reducing frizz, dryness, and unruly hair in the morning.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #9: Aggressive Hair Treatments
If you like colouring, bleaching, or dyeing your hair, then you have to give your hair a break once in a while. If you don’t let your hair breathe, your hair will lose all the moisture and become weak, damaged, and highly porous. Bleach, hair colour, and other chemical treatments to change the shape and texture of your hair can cause long-term ill effects to the hair.
What can you do about it?
You can let your hair breathe once in a while and use a nourishing and hydrating hair mask once a week to let your hair restore. Replenish all the lost moisture, oil, and protein with a treating hair care formulation.
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Reasons For Hair Loss #10: Age
Age is one of the huge reasons for hair loss. As we age our body becomes weaker, our skin health deteriorates, and so does our hair. The moisture that helps our body sustain hair growth, blood circulation, and barrier function also regenerates at a much slower pace leading to more hairfall than ever. When we are healthy, we can expect to lose 50-100 strands of hair, but if this number increases, it is cause for concern and you need to remedy this as soon as possible.
What can you do about it?
You can use hair growth serums made with redensyl that aids in quicker cell regeneration, replenishes moisture, and prevents hair fall.
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How Can I Treat Excessive Hair Loss?
The best way to treat excess hair loss is by first understanding hair shedding reasons. Once you learn your reasons for hair loss, you can remedy them accordingly. But other than remedying the causes of hair loss, there are other ways you can treat them.
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Maintain Consistency:
Some of the main factors causing hair loss come from inconsistent hair care. Instead of not taking off your hair at all and bombarding it with products, maintain a regular routine where you take care of the hair at frequent intervals.
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Short & Long Term Solutions:
For short-term solutions, you can look at medication such as Minoxidil and if you see a difference in a few days, great, if not, visit a dermatologist or a trichologist for some long-term, personalised solutions.
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Transplants:
If no medication or formulations are working for you, you can always opt for permanent, one-time solutions such as hair weaving or hair transplants. You can also always opt for hair extensions if you want to increase the volume without any drastic changes.
Parting Thoughts
Causes for hair loss may not be complicated or exclusive to you, but remedies and formulations can be. Regular use of hair growth serums, hair repair masks, cleansing shampoos and conditioners can all help your hair growth process. If your hair loss is caused due to hereditary reasons, age, hormonal imbalance, and other internal reasons, you can aid it externally with the right supplement.
FAQs
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What is the best hair loss treatment?
Certain medications, such as Minoxidil and Finasteride are clinically proven as effective hair loss treatments for women. However, these drugs are advised to be taken with the prescription of a licensed doctor. You can also try ayurveda for hair loss but this could keep you waiting for quite some time.
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What deficiency causes hair loss?
Low intake of Vitamin D, Vitamin B7, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Iron and Zinc can all be the causes of hair loss in women. Ensure your daily diet accommodates these nutrients in sufficient quantities.
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What are the best ingredients for hair loss treatment at home?
There is a bevvy of home remedies for natural hair loss treatment in women. The main hair-loss-fighting ingredients include Aloe Vera, Liquorice Root, Onion, Garlic, Coconut Milk and Egg.
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Is homoeopathy treatment for hair loss effective?
Homeopathy treatment involves medicinal doses of DHT inhibitors to keep hair loss in control. Moreover, this treatment can help prevent relapse of hair loss in the long run without any unwanted side effects. So yes, you can consider homeopathy for hair loss but be ready to wait it out.
