By Nancy Dunne, ND
Expert Author Nancy Dunne, ND
Excessive scalp hair loss is a severe challenge to a woman's self image and her standing in business and society. Although we usually think of balding as a man's problem, women actually make up forty percent of the people in North America experiencing the distress of excessive hair loss. Many women losing significant scalp hair have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Safe, effective, natural therapies that treat the hormone imbalances related to PCOS will also restore your hair to optimal health. I am delighted to offer you these indispensable tools to help you restore your hair and your health.
Women experiencing hair loss lose ground fast in today's world. At work and in her personal life a woman's appearance has much to do with her financial and social success. Men may also prefer not to go bald. But since balding is known to be caused by high levels of testosterone, a bald man may be credited with extra virility.
There is no such happy story for balding women. The appearance of thinning scalp hair translates to a significant loss of personal power for women. The medical community in general treats women's hair loss as a minor health issue. Most physicians have little inclination to address the emotional distress you feel. In many cases physicians treat balding as if it were "only" a vanity issue; they may not recognize hair loss as a red flag pointing to serious metabolic conditions, including PCOS. The psychological pain of hair loss and its effect on our sense of empowerment is as devastating as any disfiguring disease.
If you are a balding woman, your hair loss is a life altering condition with profound consequences for your health. Getting your hands on the wheel and driving yourself toward a solution for hair loss is the first step toward reviving your sense of personal strength and power. If hair loss is part of PCOS, the effort you make to restore your physical health will also renew scalp hair growth. You need expert help to properly diagnose the cause of your hair loss. Hair loss that could have been merely temporary may become permanent if you have a delayed or incorrect diagnosis. Misdiagnoses is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of hair loss for women.
The information I present here will help you identify the cause of your hair loss and ideally lead you and your doctors to proper treatments for your kind of hair loss, sooner rather than later. Alopecia is the medical term for excessive or abnormal hair loss. There are different kinds of alopecia. What all hair loss has in common, whether it's in men or women, is that it is always a symptom of something else that's gone wrong.
Your hair will remain on your head where it belongs if hormone imbalance, disease, or some other condition is not occurring. That condition may be as simple as having a gene that makes you susceptible to male or female pattern baldness. Or it may be as complex as a whole host of diseases.
Hair loss may be a symptom of a short-term event such as stress, pregnancy, or a side effect of certain medications. In these situations, hair grows back when the event has passed. Substances including hormones and medication can cause a change in the hair growth patterns. When this happens, growth and shedding occur at the same time.
Once the cause is dealt with, hairs go back to their random pattern of growth and shedding, and balding stops. Alopecia: A Common Problem Today more women than ever are experiencing hair loss -- and the causes are typically quite different that what causes balding in men.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, some 30 million women in the United States are experiencing some degree of distressing scalp hair loss.
The most common causes of scalp hair loss in women can include: Mineral or vitamin deficiency - zinc, manganese, iron, vitamin B6, biotin Essential fatty acid deficiency from a low calorie diet or eating disorders Protein deficiency, as is common with vegetarian diets Anemia from a low iron diet, poor digestion or any excess blood loss Eating disorders, like anorexia, bulimia, even 'yo-yo' dieting; also compulsive or excessive physical exercise Drug toxicity, for instance anesthesia with surgery or chemotherapy for cancer Many prescription medications have hair loss as a potential 'side' effect, including bromocriptine, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, amphetamines, anti-cholesterol agents Severe infections, either viral or bacterial Severe stress, either a sudden extreme event or persistent, long term challenges Any hypothalamic or pituitary disorder Any liver, thyroid gland, adrenal gland or ovarian disorder, including PCOS Any sex steroid imbalance such as low progesterone, estrogen dominance, excess testosterone or insulin Starting or stopping any hormone therapy, including birth control pills, menopausal hormone replacement treatment or thyroid hormone replacement
Any natural event that causes big hormone changes, like child birth, breastfeeding and weaning or menopause Perms, hair color, bleach, improper brushing/combing, pulling on the hair Autoimmune disease such as lupus or multiple sclerosis Allergies to foods, medicines, environmental chemicals or topical drugs Recent hepatitis B shot. If you had a Hep B vaccine since this hair loss started, there may be a connection.
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (278:117-8, 1997) links the Hep B vaccine to increased incidence of alopecia in women. How does an individual woman figure out why she is losing too much of her hair? To understand that, it's important to understand how hair grows. Hair Grows in Cycles Scalp hair grows about one-half inch per month.
An individual strand of hair will grow for two to six years. Eventually each hair "rests" for a while, and then falls out. Soon after, that follicle will start growing a new strand. A healthy scalp will let about 100 of these cycling hairs fall out every day. In folks with a genetic predisposition to hair loss, and for women with PCOS, hormones called androgens drive this process. Androgen hormones include testosterone, androsteinedione, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Men make and use relatively large amounts of androgens. Appropriate, smaller amounts of androgens are essential to women's health as well. In those who are genetically susceptible, testosterone activates enzymes produced in the hair cell, which then cause it to be converted into the more potent androgen DHT. DHT then binds with receptors deep within the hair follicle.
Eventually, so much DHT builds up that the follicle begins shrinking. It can't produce new hair reliably. Some of the follicles permanently stop producing new hairs. The end result is significant hair loss. The medical term for this condition is androgenic alopecia. Testosterone converts to DHT with the aid of the enzyme Type II 5-alpha reductase, which is held in a hair follicle's oil glands. Actually, it's not the amount of circulating testosterone that is the problem but the amount of DHT clogging up and shrinking scalp follicles, making it impossible for healthy hair to survive.
The process of testosterone converting to DHT, which then harms hair follicles, happens in both men and women. Usually women have a tiny fraction of the amount of testosterone that men make. It seems that for women with hair loss, the actual level of testosterone is not as crucial as are changes in the amount of testosterone she has.
A shift in hormone levels triggered by lifestyle or other factors, will cause DHT- triggered hair loss in women. Even when hormone blood levels remain within what doctors consider "normal", they can become high enough to cause a problem for an individual woman. The levels may not rise at all and still be a problem if you are very sensitive to even normal levels of chemicals, including hormones.
Because our hormones operate through a delicately balanced feedback system, with signals sent via the blood between the brain and body tissue, androgens do not need to be raised to trigger a problem. If the so-called female hormones, (which also are essential to men's health) are for any reason shifting in relation to androgens, the resulting imbalance can also cause problems, including hair loss. Hormones are always changing. Testosterone levels in men drop by as much as 10 percent each decade after age thirty.
Women's hormone levels shift with each menstrual cycle, or due to a lack of regular menses, in pregnancies and menopause. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, drugs and environmental toxins can also impact hormone levels. Keys To Successful Treatment Treatment of thinning scalp hair must be grounded in changing the habits you may have that support elevated androgens. Diet and exercise are key to maintaining optimal hormone balance. In fact, for women with PCOS, research is clear- there is no drug therapy more effective than proper diet and regular exercise.
First, you get your foundational health habits in order; then, specific targeted therapies have the best chance of being effective for you. Women with PCOS may also have excess coarse dark hair on their face and body. The only way to address the dark, coarse hair that grows out of follicles that have already been altered by excess androgens, is to destroy the follicle with laser or similar therapy. Once a follicle has changed the type of hair it produces, it will not change back. It is crucial to tame the excess androgens and prevent conversion of additional follicles, before investing in a therapy to permanently destroy facial or body hair follicles.
There is no such happy story for balding women. The appearance of thinning scalp hair translates to a significant loss of personal power for women. The medical community in general treats women's hair loss as a minor health issue. Most physicians have little inclination to address the emotional distress you feel. In many cases physicians treat balding as if it were "only" a vanity issue; they may not recognize hair loss as a red flag pointing to serious metabolic conditions, including PCOS. The psychological pain of hair loss and its effect on our sense of empowerment is as devastating as any disfiguring disease.
If you are a balding woman, your hair loss is a life altering condition with profound consequences for your health. Getting your hands on the wheel and driving yourself toward a solution for hair loss is the first step toward reviving your sense of personal strength and power. If hair loss is part of PCOS, the effort you make to restore your physical health will also renew scalp hair growth. You need expert help to properly diagnose the cause of your hair loss. Hair loss that could have been merely temporary may become permanent if you have a delayed or incorrect diagnosis. Misdiagnoses is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of hair loss for women.
The information I present here will help you identify the cause of your hair loss and ideally lead you and your doctors to proper treatments for your kind of hair loss, sooner rather than later. Alopecia is the medical term for excessive or abnormal hair loss. There are different kinds of alopecia. What all hair loss has in common, whether it's in men or women, is that it is always a symptom of something else that's gone wrong.
Your hair will remain on your head where it belongs if hormone imbalance, disease, or some other condition is not occurring. That condition may be as simple as having a gene that makes you susceptible to male or female pattern baldness. Or it may be as complex as a whole host of diseases.
Hair loss may be a symptom of a short-term event such as stress, pregnancy, or a side effect of certain medications. In these situations, hair grows back when the event has passed. Substances including hormones and medication can cause a change in the hair growth patterns. When this happens, growth and shedding occur at the same time.
Once the cause is dealt with, hairs go back to their random pattern of growth and shedding, and balding stops. Alopecia: A Common Problem Today more women than ever are experiencing hair loss -- and the causes are typically quite different that what causes balding in men.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, some 30 million women in the United States are experiencing some degree of distressing scalp hair loss.
The most common causes of scalp hair loss in women can include: Mineral or vitamin deficiency - zinc, manganese, iron, vitamin B6, biotin Essential fatty acid deficiency from a low calorie diet or eating disorders Protein deficiency, as is common with vegetarian diets Anemia from a low iron diet, poor digestion or any excess blood loss Eating disorders, like anorexia, bulimia, even 'yo-yo' dieting; also compulsive or excessive physical exercise Drug toxicity, for instance anesthesia with surgery or chemotherapy for cancer Many prescription medications have hair loss as a potential 'side' effect, including bromocriptine, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, amphetamines, anti-cholesterol agents Severe infections, either viral or bacterial Severe stress, either a sudden extreme event or persistent, long term challenges Any hypothalamic or pituitary disorder Any liver, thyroid gland, adrenal gland or ovarian disorder, including PCOS Any sex steroid imbalance such as low progesterone, estrogen dominance, excess testosterone or insulin Starting or stopping any hormone therapy, including birth control pills, menopausal hormone replacement treatment or thyroid hormone replacement
Any natural event that causes big hormone changes, like child birth, breastfeeding and weaning or menopause Perms, hair color, bleach, improper brushing/combing, pulling on the hair Autoimmune disease such as lupus or multiple sclerosis Allergies to foods, medicines, environmental chemicals or topical drugs Recent hepatitis B shot. If you had a Hep B vaccine since this hair loss started, there may be a connection.
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (278:117-8, 1997) links the Hep B vaccine to increased incidence of alopecia in women. How does an individual woman figure out why she is losing too much of her hair? To understand that, it's important to understand how hair grows. Hair Grows in Cycles Scalp hair grows about one-half inch per month.
An individual strand of hair will grow for two to six years. Eventually each hair "rests" for a while, and then falls out. Soon after, that follicle will start growing a new strand. A healthy scalp will let about 100 of these cycling hairs fall out every day. In folks with a genetic predisposition to hair loss, and for women with PCOS, hormones called androgens drive this process. Androgen hormones include testosterone, androsteinedione, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Men make and use relatively large amounts of androgens. Appropriate, smaller amounts of androgens are essential to women's health as well. In those who are genetically susceptible, testosterone activates enzymes produced in the hair cell, which then cause it to be converted into the more potent androgen DHT. DHT then binds with receptors deep within the hair follicle.
Eventually, so much DHT builds up that the follicle begins shrinking. It can't produce new hair reliably. Some of the follicles permanently stop producing new hairs. The end result is significant hair loss. The medical term for this condition is androgenic alopecia. Testosterone converts to DHT with the aid of the enzyme Type II 5-alpha reductase, which is held in a hair follicle's oil glands. Actually, it's not the amount of circulating testosterone that is the problem but the amount of DHT clogging up and shrinking scalp follicles, making it impossible for healthy hair to survive.
The process of testosterone converting to DHT, which then harms hair follicles, happens in both men and women. Usually women have a tiny fraction of the amount of testosterone that men make. It seems that for women with hair loss, the actual level of testosterone is not as crucial as are changes in the amount of testosterone she has.
A shift in hormone levels triggered by lifestyle or other factors, will cause DHT- triggered hair loss in women. Even when hormone blood levels remain within what doctors consider "normal", they can become high enough to cause a problem for an individual woman. The levels may not rise at all and still be a problem if you are very sensitive to even normal levels of chemicals, including hormones.
Because our hormones operate through a delicately balanced feedback system, with signals sent via the blood between the brain and body tissue, androgens do not need to be raised to trigger a problem. If the so-called female hormones, (which also are essential to men's health) are for any reason shifting in relation to androgens, the resulting imbalance can also cause problems, including hair loss. Hormones are always changing. Testosterone levels in men drop by as much as 10 percent each decade after age thirty.
Women's hormone levels shift with each menstrual cycle, or due to a lack of regular menses, in pregnancies and menopause. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, drugs and environmental toxins can also impact hormone levels. Keys To Successful Treatment Treatment of thinning scalp hair must be grounded in changing the habits you may have that support elevated androgens. Diet and exercise are key to maintaining optimal hormone balance. In fact, for women with PCOS, research is clear- there is no drug therapy more effective than proper diet and regular exercise.
First, you get your foundational health habits in order; then, specific targeted therapies have the best chance of being effective for you. Women with PCOS may also have excess coarse dark hair on their face and body. The only way to address the dark, coarse hair that grows out of follicles that have already been altered by excess androgens, is to destroy the follicle with laser or similar therapy. Once a follicle has changed the type of hair it produces, it will not change back. It is crucial to tame the excess androgens and prevent conversion of additional follicles, before investing in a therapy to permanently destroy facial or body hair follicles.
