Female Hair Loss: The Who, What & Why’s
It’s estimated that about 30 million women in the U.S. experience female hair loss. It’s a staggering number and not a topic that any woman wants to talk about or deal with. Historically, a woman’s identity and self-confidence were directly connected to her physical appearance so that she could attract a potential partner. Women spend thousands of dollars on skincare products and treatments, plastic surgery, gym memberships, weight loss pills and programs, clothing, and now, their hair. As a young girl, we never thought about our hair because it was always shiny, voluminous and beautiful. As we age, we often run into roadblocks that change the way our hair grows, or doesn’t grow. Whether you develop an autoimmune disease or cancer, battle an eating disorder, change your diet, experience chronic stress, have babies or start peri-menopause, hair loss will most likely be part of your health equation. There are a variety of hair loss patterns and they all require different approaches to healing based on the root cause.
Normally women shed 50-100 hairs a day, but who’s counting? Most of us experience hair shedding while taking a shower and brushing or combing our hair. It can look like clumps and it can look like more hair on your brush. Whatever way you experience it, it’s horrifying and you just want to curl up in bed under the covers and hide. Women don’t like to talk about aging, although, I believe that’s slowly changing. We don’t want to talk about our bodies changing shapes and sizes, our lack of sexual desire, or our hair falling out.
3 Hair Growth Phases
Anagen phase: This stage is the growing stage that can last from 2-8 years and refers to 85%-90% of the hair on your head.
Catagen phase: This is the transition stage and refers to the time that hair follicles shrink and this process takes about 2-3 weeks.
Telogen phase: This is the resting phase and takes 2-4 months and at the end, the hair falls out.
While your scalp hair can last up to 6-7 years, your shorter hairs like eyelashes, eyebrows, and arm and leg hair have a shorter anagen (growth) phase which is about 1 month long.
The most common type of hair loss for women is called Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) and affects about one-third of susceptible women. However, over 50% of all women will experience noticeable hair loss at some point in their life. Let’s take a look at the different types of hair loss in women.
Types of Female Hair Loss & Root Causes
Anagen Effluvium Hair Loss: This hair loss can be sudden and happen all over your body, not just your head. The causes are a response to medications and toxins such as chemotherapy drugs and radiation which poison the hair follicle. This type occurs in the growth stage and can be permanent.
Telogen Effluvium Hair Loss: This hair loss is a response to stressors like childbirth, losing a lot of weight, surgery, emotional stress like a divorce or death in the family, an abnormal thyroid, certain medications and supplements, and hormonal changes like peri-menopause.
Androgenetic Alopecia/Female Pattern Hair Loss: This type of hair loss is the most common and refers to a thinning of hair on the top and side of the scalp. The root causes for this type are genetics, aging, and low estrogen during menopause.
Alopecia Areata Hair Loss: This type of hair loss is an autoimmune disease that causes patchy hair loss and is not permanent.
So, which women are the most susceptible to hair loss?
Women over 40.
Women who’ve just had a baby.
Women who have had chemotherapy or radiation.
Women who wear their hair pulled back tightly or who use harsh chemicals on their hair.
Women going through menopause.
What should you do if you notice a change in your hair growth? Who should you call? The first step is to call your primary care physician. For some that may be your general practitioner or internist, and for some that may be your OBGYN. They will most likely send you to a dermatologist for testing. If you’re new to the world of functional medicine and integrative health care, I suggest seeking out a medical practitioner in the hair loss world. Why? Traditional medicine is great for acute care but not so great when it comes to finding out the root cause of a health issue. Functional medicine doctors and practitioners have advanced training in nutrition, lifestyle practices, sleep, exercise, stress management, and mind-body science. With hair loss, it’s very important to find out why this is happening so that it can be treated correctly with optimal results.
Health coaches are trained with science-backed strategies to support clients in making difficult lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthier, balanced diet, motivating them to move daily, managing their stress, and optimizing their sleep routine.
What can you do today to start making healthier choices?
Eat ample amounts of protein, preferably animal-based. Animal proteins are complete protein sources, containing all the 20 amino acids, some are essential, meaning that we must obtain them through diet, and some are non-essential, meaning our body makes them. However, sometimes our body doesn’t make enough non-essential amino acids, and we need to eat more protein to get the proper amount for optimal health.
Get plenty of restorative sleep to help your body restore and repair cells. Your body needs rest to perform its magic at night. Maintaining a healthy sleep routine creates a healthy environment for cellular health.
Use non-toxic shampoos, cleansers, and styling products.
Let your hair down and stop pulling your hair back in tight ponytails and buns which pull on the hair follicle.
Manage your stress.
Build a team of health professionals to help guide you on your health journey to heal any health issues. Your relationship with your primary care physician, whether from the traditional or functional medicine arenas should be a safe place to talk about your concerns, be heard, and not feel rushed. A therapist can support you during life challenges to help you reduce chronic stress. A health coach can bridge the gap between a diagnosis and lifestyle changes on topics such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, and sleep, and hold you accountable for making long-lasting changes.
Be sure to check out my high-protein recipes here on my site for delicious meals to start your health journey.
Check out the Hair Loss Health Coach Package and learn how to discover your unique health equation.
Be sure to check out episode 15 on my Health Trip podcast.
This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your physician for any medical issues that you may be having.