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If you’re struggling to combat hair loss, you’re not alone. As people age, many begin to lose hair and consult their doctor to find out how they can side-step this problem. Unfortunately, there are numerous reasons why you could be shedding hair.
Some people are just genetically disposed to lose hair as they age.
Other people might have particular medical conditions, like thyroid disorders or anemia, that can affect their hair growth. If your hair loss is particularly patchy; is accompanied by itching, scaly skin; or comes about as a result of strange behavior, visit your doctor to receive a diagnosis of your condition. There can be medication and treatment to help you avoid losing your hair.
If you’re certain your hair loss isn’t a result of medical or genetic conditions, however, your situation gets a bit harder to pinpoint. Here’s what your body could be trying to tell you if you seem to be mysteriously losing hair:
You’re going through physical stress. Any extra physical strain on your body, whether it’s a car accident or a simple cold, can affect your hair growth by triggering more of it to shed than usual. Thankfully, your hair will start growing back as soon as the stressful situation ends.
You’re consuming too much Vitamin A. Whether it’s through your diet or supplements, your body just has more Vitamin A than it actually needs, which prompts hair loss. If you take time to reduce and remove this excess Vitamin A from your body, your hair will return to growing naturally.
You’re not eating enough protein. If your body doesn’t have enough protein, it will cease hair growth until this source has been replenished. Be sure to eat a balanced diet to avoid this problem.
You’re enduring emotional stress. Emotional stress is less likely than physical stress to cause hair loss, but this stress will still compromise all your normal bodily functions, making it more likely that your body will cause more hair to shed. This cause, like with physical stress, will eventually disappear and your hair should return to normal growth patterns soon enough.
You’re not getting enough Vitamin B. Low levels of Vitamin B can slow your hair growth and encourage more hair loss than usual.
You’re losing weight dramatically. Similar to the effects of physical trauma, losing a lot of weight in a short period of time can put your body through physical stress and prompt more hair loss. Your body will ultimately correct itself though, once your weight stabilizes.
You’re styling it too much. Anything you do to style your hair – curl it, straighten it, hot-oil it, style it, dye it – can affect its growth. Since some of these styling methods actually affect the root of the hair, you can’t be certain that your hair will grow back. When in doubt, always err on the side of caution.
Hopefully your hair loss is just caused by a temporary problem and isn’t a symptom of a long-term condition.
