When a person notices their hair is shedding, thinning or receding, the first question I usually get is “Why?!” Many people just assume it’s just normal aging or “male pattern baldness” (which also occurs in women). However, aside from androgenetic alopecia, aka male or female pattern hair loss, there are many reasons why someone’s hair would fall out. Here are the top causes of hair loss I’ve experienced after treating more than 30,000 patients over almost 25 years. Some may surprise you.
1) Heredity -- The main gene that is responsible for male or female pattern hair loss is the one that makes your follicles sensitive to your body’s natural hormones. Inheriting this gene can lead to progressive miniaturization of the hair follicles in a predictable pattern. For men it’s hairline recession and a balding crown. In women, it’s a thinning or widening of the part, loss of coverage up front, or thinner ponytail. Today we know that there are approximately 200 genetic markers that regulate hair and hair growth and that these “genes” can be inherited from either your mother and father’s side or a combination of the two. Additionally, we are always discovering an increasing number of epigenetic or non-genetic factors that can accelerate hair loss and hair thinning. If you are worried your genetics may be putting you at risk, testing is available that can determine an individual’s risk of losing their hair so they can begin preventative treatments early, at the time when they can be most effective. Genetic testing can also help determine what types of treatment will work best for you.
2) COVID-19 -- Many recovering COVID-19 patients are reporting “shock hair loss,” a “dread shed,” with hair literally falling out “in clumps” as a lingering symptom, most common among COVID “long haulers.” We know that if you have any prolonged fever-related illness, the normal cycling of your hair follicles can be disrupted and shedding can occur. This synchronized shed after a fever is called post-febrile telogen effluvium. Shedding starts about two to six weeks after the onset of fever, peaks about six to eight weeks later, and lasts typically another eight weeks. The good news is, this type of shedding doesn’t cause patients to go “completely bald” and generally hair growth returns. Treatments can be used to mitigate the shedding as well as accelerate regrowth.
3) Stress -- It’s no myth that increased levels of stress can severely impact our follicles. This effect is due in part to our body’s survival mechanisms, especially elevated cortisol, and our body’s response to them. Pandemic or not, increased cortisol (stress hormone) has been shown to shut down follicles prematurely and exacerbate/accelerate AGA. Prolonged or severe psychological or physiological stress can lead to hair problems such as sudden excessive shedding and accelerated hair thinning, as well as trigger or exacerbate inflammatory problems like dryness, flaking, and types of dermatitis of the scalp--especially if there are underlying scalp and hair loss conditions. There’s no miracle for stress reduction, but the relaxing Scalp Makeover is a do-good, feel-good, stress-relieving treatment and breakthrough anti-shedding product called INTACT helps follicles hold on to hairs that would otherwise be shed.
Top 10 Causes
Of Hair Loss
And What Can be Done
To Treat It
By Dr. Alan J. Bauman, MD, ABHRS, IAHRS, FISHRS
Hair Transplant Surgeon