Hair loss and causes

Hair loss

Alopecia is the general medical term for hair loss. There are many types of hair loss with different causes. Read about what causes hair loss and the treatment options available.

Alopecia is the general medical term for hair loss. There are many types of hair loss with different causes.

Losing your hair isn't usually anything to be worried about but it can be upsetting. Treatment may help with some types of hair loss.

Causes=

It's normal to lose hair. We can lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, often without noticing.

Hair loss isn't usually anything to be worried about but occasionally it can be a sign of a medical condition.

Some types of hair loss are permanent, like male and female pattern baldness. This type of hair loss usually runs in the family.

Other types of hair loss may be temporary. They can be caused by:

• an illness
• stress
• cancer treatment
• weight loss
• iron deficiency

What are the most common causes for hair loss?

Unless the result of a temporary illness or treatment, male hair loss is caused by sensitivity on areas of the scalp to the male sex hormone called DHT (dihydrotestosterone). This form of testosterone causes the hair follicles on the scalp to shrink until they become so small that they can no longer replace any lost hairs or be a healthy environment from which individual hairs can grow.

Rarer forms of hair loss, like alopecia areata (spot baldness), are auto-immune diseases which cause hair to be lost in patches across the scalp and can develop into total scalp (alopecia totalis) or total bodily (alopecia epidermis) baldness in around 1-2% of cases.

In most cases, male hair loss doesn’t pose any health risk or indicate a present medical problem. However, for some men, hair loss can be the cause of much emotional distress, be damaging to their self-esteem or even lead to depression. It is important to remember that most if not all men and some women will experience hair loss at some point in their lives. 

Does stress cause hair loss?

The physical effects of stress can be very severe and we now know that stress is a major contributing factor to male hair loss. High levels of stress can both cause hair loss and speed up the rate at which you lose it but, unlike male pattern hair loss, hair loss due to stress is temporary and will often reverse itself once the period of stress has passed. Telogen effluvium is the medical name for a sudden and dramatic loss of hair that can be caused by severe stress or emotional distress.

Physiologically speaking, stress will cause your adrenal glands to overproduce the hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol will lead to an excess testosterone and adrenaline in men, a decrease in bone density, and hair loss. More testosterone means more DHT, which we know to be the main cause of hair loss and lack of regrowth.

It’s important to be aware of your stress-levels and not to overexert yourself if you can help it. Stress can be helped by using mindfulness techniques or meditation, eating healthily and exercising regularly. If you are experiencing high levels of stress, speak to your GP to find out about talking treatments and counselling services like group therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which should be available locally on the NHS.