Hair Loss

Other causes of hair loss, some of which are temporary, include:

• Some cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapeutic medications;
• Alopecia areata, a type of hair loss that affects all ages, which causes hair to fall out in patches;
• Excessive or improper use of styling products, such as perms, dyes, gels, relaxers and sprays can cause weathering – or hair breakage;
• Hairstyles that pull on the hair, like ponytails and braids;
• Shampooing, combing, or brushing hair too much (100 strokes or more a day) or too hard, or pulling it out;
• One of at least 30 diseases, such as thyroid disease;
• Following childbirth, major surgery, a high fever or severe infection, or even the flu;
• Inadequate protein in the diet or eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia;
• Certain prescription drugs (including blood thinners, high-dose vitamin A and medicines for arthritis, depression, gout, heart problems and high blood pressure);
• Use of birth control pills (usually in women with an inherited tendency toward hair thinning) or a few months after discontinuation of oral contraceptives;
• Hormonal imbalances, especially in women; and
• Ringworm of the scalp, a contagious fungal infection most common in children.

Treatment of Hair Loss

• Topical and oral medications have been shown to help in the regrowth of hair or slow down hair loss.
• Hair loss caused by diseases such as thyroid disease can be reversed with treatment of the underlying disease.
• Topical or oral estrogen, or other hormones, are sometimes recommended for women experiencing hair loss.
• Hair transplantation is a permanent form of hair replacement using surgery that involves moving some existing scalp hair to bald or thinning parts.