Women Experiencing Temporary Hair Loss

While hair loss is considered a normal part of aging for men,hair loss in women is much less common. Thus, hair loss in womenis much more detrimental to a woman's self image than it is fora man. Women with thinning hair are often ridiculed and may findit difficult to be seen in social situations. But what makesmale and female hair loss so different?The truth is that there are not many differences in the way thehair is lost or why. While it is true that fewer women aresusceptible to genetic hair loss, a small group of women dostill experience this disease. This type of hair loss may causecomplete baldness and is not temporary. It is a popularmisconception that these women are somehow genetically orhormonally more masculine than other women. While this hascaused many women shame and ridicule, this is a complete myth.There has yet to be any proof that these women are geneticallyor hormonally more masculine than any other woman.Hormonal hair loss also occurs in women. Nevertheless, hormonalhair loss in women is usually temporary, as a woman willexperience re-growth once the hormones return to normal. Thistype of hair loss in women is likely to occur after the birth ofa child, during menopause, during pregnancy or even as early aspuberty. If you or someone you know as experience hair loss after thebirth of a child, the experience I usually temporary. This typeof hair loss occurs when extreme fluctuations in hormones takeplace. During this time a woman's estrogen levels are likely toeither be to too high or too low. If the level happens to beparticularly low, it leaves the woman more susceptible to animbalance. The testosterone in her body may trigger the samehormonal hair loss it does in men. Luckily for the woman, thisusually only last a few months before hair begins to grow again.A woman may also experience hormonal hair loss if she has athyroid problem, but even this is temporary, as the hair willreturn when the thyroid is treated.Hair loss due to medication is a greater risk for females thanmales, because breast cancer in women is the most common kind ofcancer. Like most cancers, breast cancer often requirestreatment in the form of chemotherapy. Women are also at agreater risk of having thyroid disease which often requiresradio active treatment. This too causes the hair to fall out.Many of these treatments will cause complete baldness. Luckily,this type of hair loss is also temporary and may subside whenthe medication is stopped.Since most forms of female hairloss are temporary, over the counter treatments may be usedto prevent too much hair from being lost during these periods.However, genetic hair loss is still a real threat even forwomen. For this reason anyone experiencing thinning hair shouldsee a doctor and consider treatment.