Hair loss in men and women:
The life of a hair naturally continue for 2/3 years. As hair grows, it will fall out one day. And new hair will grow at the same place within a few days. There is a ratio between hair falling and growing. If the ratio breaks, that cause excessive hair falling, makes a person emotionally embarrassed to others. It can cause feelings of a loss of sex appeal and youth, and they may not feel as attractive as before.
Hair loss is an embarrassing phenomena of human being. It can effect men, women and children of any age and cast. Male pattern baldness is common matter for 15% American at age of 25 and 40% of them at age of 35. At the same time, 20 million women in the US are affected by female pattern baldness.
Structure of a hair:
Hair is made of a protein called keratin. It is comprised of what we call "polypeptide chains”. A descriptive term given to the polypeptide chain "alpha helix" that forms the keratin protein. At the deep lower end of a hair, there is the hair bulb that produce the color pigment or melanin. From the follicle the hair root grows, that sticks in a bag in the skin, to hold the part of a hair that shows. The hair we can see on the scalp is consists of a hair shaft.
Average length and growth rate of a hair per day :
There are hairs everywhere on human body. Naturally, human beings have about one million and four hundred thousand hairs on their body, with about four hundred and fifty thousand of them to be found above the neck and with about one hundred thousand hairs on the head. The average length and growth rate of hair are listed below:
Hairs on the head 70cm / 0.35mm
Eyebrows ‚0cm / 0.15mm
Mustaches (beards or whiskers) 28cm / 0.4mm
Armpit hairs ‚Scm / 0.3mm
Pubic hairs ‚Ucm / 0.2mm
Causes for excessive hair loss:
Most people lose hair approximately 100 a day. Its a normal matter not to be worried. If the hair lose rate surpass it, you should take the proper treatment. Hair loss can be brought on by a variety of different conditions.
Hereditary Hair Loss:
Hereditary hair loss is caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT), comes from androgen, a male hormone and is created as a by-product of testosterone. This hormone breaks down genetically sensitive hair follicles and creates baldness or causing hair to grow thinner. A study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology in 2008 suggests that EDA2R, a gene on the X-chromosome, may play a significant role in male pattern baldness. Hereditary Hair Loss not only affects men, it affects women also. Approximately 40% of all women will experience this type of hair loss by the time they reach the age of 50.
Trauma:
The result of physical stress on the hair is called Traction Alopecia. Alopecia is defined as the absence of hair from areas of skin where it is normally present. The physical or mental stress cause this type of hair lose. Traction alopecia mostly occurs in African-American women and men who braid their hair too tightly. Traction Alopecia can also occur due to over processing of the hair. The hair loss can be permanent if not treated immediately.
Scalp Infections:
The main causes of scalp infections are various pathogens or micro-organisms like bacteria, fungus, virus or parasites. A typical parasite called demodex folliculorum that causes a major hair infection with itching on the scalp and elsewhere. Viral and parasitic folliculitis generally affects other hair growing areas of the body like the beard, the eyelashes, etc.
Diseases:
Diseases like flu, pneumonia and typhoid are often accompanied by excessive hair loss. Hereditary diseases like Diabetes threats to healthy hair.
Emotional or Environmental Stress:
The recent hair loss problem is actually a side effect of excessive and intensive physical or emotional Stress. In the modern age, hair falls mainly for this reason. In this condition, the hair follicles often stop growing and the body system incorrectly treats the hair follicles as foreign tissues. So, thinning of hair and dropping out of hair cause. There are two types of hair loss due to stress. One is less serious Telogen Effluvium, curable within 6 to 9 months. Another is more serious called Alopecia Areata.
Hormonal Imbalances:
Dieting, stress, a sedentary life, birth control pills, Menopause, low progesterone levels cause a woman to experience a hormonal imbalance with the result of falling hair.
A low amount of Progesterone and a high amount of Estrogen (generally called hyperestrogen or estrogen dominance) make a woman depressed and fatigued. The lower level of Progesterone in women body cause falling out hair from head and appearing unwanted facial hair.
During pregnancy, the hair condition improves as the endocrine glands function at their peak. That is why women often have beautifully abundant hair during pregnancy. After the child birth, the hair starts to lose due to irregularity in the functioning of thyroid glands. The shedding of hair begins approximately 3 months after giving birth and continues for about two months.
Medicines used for gout, high blood pressure or heart problems, vitamin A (if too much is taken), birth control pills and antidepressants can cause hair loss. In contrast if a woman is already suffering from hormonal imbalance and takes pills, it can restore the balance and promote hair growth.
In earlier life of a woman, the estrogen and DHT levels are in balance. During menopause, this balance is altered and her estrogen supply is sparse while her DHT supply is abundant, this can cause hair loss.
