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Hair loss

More than 95% of our body parts have a certain function to contribute to the entire engineering of human body. However, our hair tops the list of those body parts that do not count. Apparently, hair provides no vital function for humans though its psychological effect is nearly immeasurable. Like for instance, a luxurious scalp hair expresses femininity for women as well as masculinity for men. The lack of scalp hair or the presence of excessive facial or body hair is distressing for females. This can be expressly seen in the gross sales of cosmetics catering to hair removals ad the likes. This also goes as well for the loss of beard and body hair to males. In fact, although male baldness is accepted in our society, it is still distressing to most men and we can see them often going to great lengths to preserve, restore, or regrow their precious scalp.

However, between both sexes, women more than men are bombarded with more advertising images of models with luxuriously dense hair. These images only establish a standard which women are often forced to emulate and these unrealistic images are often the background when a woman discusses expectations for hair transplantation or hair restoration. These unrealistic images are more and perpetuated even more by hair-product advertising.

As for the man, he may already naturally expect to lose hair as he gets older, especially when his father, uncles, or other near relatives had male-pattern baldness. A woman, on the other hand, does not generally expect to lose hair even if there is a history of hair loss in her male or female relatives. In fact, in the United States, at least, thinning hair and baldness is a often dismissed as a "male thing." Apparently, hair loss has become a gender issue. Our society has slowly adapted to this such that men can often cope with hair loss better than women. To compensate, women are more likely than men to try to hide hair loss, pore over their hair loss with a hair styles, try to develop a hair style that disguises hair loss or simply spend more time on other aspects of physical appearance to divert their attention from hair loss. Furthermore, a woman usually feels that she must have a full head of hair to meet societal expectations and that thinning hair is acceptable only when a woman is very old.

Sadly, societal expectation is in conflict with the unfortunate reality of hair loss for women. The fact is that many women experience hair loss at young to middle age and the incidence of female hair loss seems to be increasing every year. The common causes for female hair loss include Androgenetic alopecia, which is a hereditary pattern hair loss with a typical pattern of diffuse hair thinning at the central scalp. There is also the Alopecia areata which is a recurrent disease of unknown cause and results in patchy loss of hair from the scalp and even the eyebrows. The Telogen effluvium is also a condition that causes shedding of hair of the entire scalp following a stressful event such as high fever, severe dietary deficiency, and chronic blood loss from a heavy menstruation. On the other hand, Hypothyroidism is a thyroid deficiency which can be associated with thinning, patchy loss of hair. The Loose anagen syndrome is a condition that causes hair to shed before its normal growth cycle. Traction alopecia happens with tight braiding and corn-rowing can cause permanent damage to hair and scalp. Apparently, even pregnancy carries with it hormonal changes and stress of pregnancy which leads to temporary hair loss. Some chemical chemicals used in hair styling can, over time, cause also permanent damage to hair and scalp. Trichotillomania also or compulsive hair plucking is when a person feels compelled to pluck hair in regular or bizarre patterns resulting in traction alopecia hair loss. Some potential causes of hair loss in women require serious medical treatment. These include cystic ovaries, autoimmune disease, chemotherapy, hypothyroidism, psychological or physical stress, and dietary deficiencies. Be wary also of prescription drugs which commonly cause hair loss including beta-blockers, coumadin, anti-depressants and others. Damage to hair that are caused by tight braiding, corn-rowing, or chemicals used in hair styling are causes of hair loss that require change in life-style while compulsive hair require psychological counseling.

Psychological-wise, if hair loss causes a lot of psychological or emotional problems for woman then she should be taken seriously by family, friends, and the personal physician. Many women today experience hair loss and choose to do something about it by seeking hair restoration through various treatments or procedures. 

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