Health Conditions and Women’s Hair Loss Treatment: When Hair Loss Is More Than Just Hair Loss

Women can best attest to what great and bad hair days are like. They love growing their hair long since it’s what makes up most of their charm. However, with hair loss marking the ultimate bad hair day, nothing could come out fine.

Hair loss is a shuddering sight to behold because hair can say a lot about a person’s health. Women know that hair is instrumental to exuding their reproductive potential, and hence, health. But that is just impossible to show off with hair loss in sight.

It is rare for women to suffer from permanent hair loss but when hair loss does occur, it may be a signal of a serious underlying health condition.

Nutritional Deficiency

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in women especially during pregnancy. Iron is an important mineral since it helps deliver food and oxygen to the brain and muscles. In turn, it is a common supplement taken as part of a hair loss treatment.

Besides fatigue, paleness of skin, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness, hair loss may ensue from iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can lead to the malnutrition of the hair follicles, the tube-like cavity that produces hair.

Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that we commonly do not get enough of. Today’s times have made it less important to go out and enjoy the sun. This would explain one of the reasons a woman can become deficient of vitamin D. Hair loss can signal the lack of this vitamin. Skin cells and tissues express the vitamin D receptor (VDR), hence the possibility of hair loss to occur.

The lack of omega 3-fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, can also cause hair loss in women. These essential fatty acids help generate cell membranes and acts with several hormones; hence, they are usually incorporated in a dietary hair loss treatment.

Traumatic Stress

Studies have it that women are prone to higher stress levels than are men because it is a woman’s caring nature to think about people other than herself. However, it is not only through this that women become very stressed. A traumatic childbirth, physical injury, severe illnesses, divorce, or a death of a relative can increase the production of stress hormones.

Stress factors compel the hair to enter the shedding (telogen) phase prematurely. It usually takes two to three months after the stressful event for hair loss to occur, although physical or emotional equilibrium can be overcome in due time.

When nutritional deficiency is the culprit, then correcting the diet is imperative. Hair loss treatment is rarely necessary when the condition is temporary. Nonetheless, it may still be necessary to consult a physician to rule out the serious health conditions. However, if the appearance is disturbing, then the patient can begin a treatment.