When you see lots of hair in the shower drain, it’s quite justified to freak out. Hair is certainly an important part of a woman’s identity. Although, hair loss may be typically seen as a man problem, it is in reality, much more than that. Women make up around 40% of the Americans who are suffering from unwanted hair loss.
50% of all American women experience hair loss of the female pattern by the age of 50. Therefore, it is a huge myth that hair loss is a man’s problem. There are many more myths that need to be debunked if women wish to take proper care of their hair.
Women lose their hair, in the same way that men do, is one of the most common myths. As the hair recedes due to male pattern baldness, the hairline tend to form an M shape. According to Mary Gail Mercurio, Associate Professor of Dermatology in the University Of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, many men start losing all of the hair on top of their heads. Women do not necessarily suffer from receding hairlines. According to Dr. Mercurio, in women, the hair starts to diffuse while right on top of their heads. Clumps of hair that comes out of the shower when you are styling your hair should not be a major cause for concern in women.
The more common signs of hair loss in women include decreased density on top of their heads along with a widening part. The problems of female pattern hair loss can be genetic in nature, inherited from family members. However, it is also started by various hormonal changes along with everyday aging.
High testosterone can cause your hair to fall out is the next myth you need to discard. Although testosterone plays a big role for both the genders, it cannot be held responsible for baldness, even if it’s in excess. The body converts the testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
The process causes damage to the hair follicles. As a result, it may sound weird but According to Dr. Mercurio, those who convert the testosterone into DHT in a more efficient manner suffer from greater hair loss than those who don’t. The doctor can also introduce an anti-androgen medication in order to block the effect of these hormones on hair follicles.
Similarly, modern birth-control pills have anti-androgen features in them and are not responsible for hair loss. All hair losses are not necessarily permanent. In many cases, shedding could be just temporary in nature. Stress does cause hair loss, but in that case the situation needs to be quite extreme in nature. Your daily office work pressure shouldn’t be responsible for it.