Hair Loss Compounding

Hair loss can occur for several different reasons so the reason you are losing hair may be different from someone else. 

Hormonal

The most common cause of hair loss is hormonal, and it can usually be predicted to a certain extent. If there is a history in your family of male or female pattern baldness you can expect that it may happen to you, too. Hereditary baldness itself is primarily hormonal; it is referred to in medical literature as ‘androgenic alopecia’ since it is thought to be caused by increased activity of male hormones.

Testosterone, the androgen which most people are already familiar with, undergoes a process where it converts to DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, at which point it can trigger androgenetic alopecia by shortening the growth phase in the hair’s lifecycle. This usually happens with age, with two-thirds of postmenopausal women and 85% of men at the age of fifty experiencing some hair loss.

Post-Pregnancy

The body undergoes major hormonal changes during pregnancy, which at first seem great for your locks since they often become lush and shiny. But the hormonal fluctuations lead to hair loss after delivery. This is because most hairs will go into their resting phase during pregnancy, so once the hormones normalize after delivery much of that hair is shed. This hair loss is usually temporary, and soon enough new hairs grow back. Hair loss during pregnancy, on the other hand, is not normal, and may signal nutritional deficiency.

Hereditary Auto-Immune Disorders

Sometimes, hair loss can be the sign of an auto-immune disorder called alopecia areata, which is often hereditary. In that instance, the body directly attacks the hair follicles and stops their hair growth, which leads to bald patches and loss of lashes and brow hairs.

Inflammation

People rarely realize that inflammation, especially because of skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis or psoriasis, can also lead to hair loss. The irritation can damage both the hair follicles and the root of the hair, causing it to shed. The hair loss will usually stop once the inflammation is under control, but in some cases, the hair may not grow back properly if the hair follicle becomes damaged or scarred.

Stress

Extreme or chronic stress often leads to sudden hair loss (and not just because of the urge you might get to pull your hair out of frustration!). During times of stress, the body produces higher amounts of cortisol, a hormone that can disrupt the growth phase of the hair, causing it to enter its resting phase prematurely. The hair loss caused by stress will usually stop and hair growth will go back to normal once the stressor goes away and the body stops overproducing cortisol.

Nutritional Deficiency

A poor diet can take its toll in a variety of ways, and hair loss from the scalp, eyebrows, or lashes can be one of them. There are a few different ways in which dietary deficiency can lead to hair loss, including overall caloric deficiency as well as protein deficiency. Hair loss is also a symptom of anemia, which can occur for a variety of reasons including iron, vitamin B12, and folate deficiencies.

Hairstyles and Grooming

Traction alopecia is the hair loss caused by external pressure on the scalp, usually from very tight hairstyles or extensions. Putting the hair up into a tight ponytail every once in a while isn’t likely to cause hair loss, but doing so regularly or opting for very tight protective hairstyles can eventually lead to serious damage, especially if the follicle becomes scarred. In the same vain, traction alopecia can also be caused by regularly pulling out hair, especially via tweezing and waxing. If you’ve kept your brows thin for many years, you may find that hairs stop growing back even once you stop tweezing. Those dealing with stress-related conditions that lead to hair-pulling, like trichotillomania, are also very susceptible to traction alopecia.