what is hair loss ?

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Globally there is a lot of false marketing in the hair loss industry and it is up to the sufferer to educate themselves more on the different types of hair loss conditions, stages and how treatment is supposed to work. Hopefully the below information will improve one’s understanding on hair loss and promote further reading !

Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy or all over (diffuse). You lose roughly 100 hairs from your head every day. The average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs. Each individual hair survives for an average of 4 1/2 years, during which time it grows about 1/2 inch a month. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one.

Genetic baldness is caused by the body's failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss. Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they age. Baldness is not usually caused by a disease. It is related to aging, heredity, and testosterone. Inherited or "pattern baldness" affects many more men than women. About 25% of men begin to bald by the time they are 30 years old, and about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern by age 60.

A sudden physical or emotional stress may cause one-half to three-quarters of the hair throughout your scalp to shed (called Telogen effluvium). You will notice hair coming out in handfuls while you shampoo, comb, or run your hands through your hair. You may not notice this for weeks to months after the episode of stress. The hair shedding will decrease over 6 - 8 months.

1- The scalp has about 1,000 hairs per square inch.
2- The average person has between 90,000 to 120, -000 hairs growing.
3- Blondes usually have the most followed by brown and black hair. They also have the finest hair out of all the colours.
4- Redheads usually have the least but the hair is coarser so it does not notice.
5- Human hair is the strongest natural fiber there is, but obviously the coarser the hair, the greater the tensile strength (the breaking strain).
6- Each hair follicle can produce a number of hairs at one time, all in various stages of growth.
7- People with thick hair do not have more hair follicles, they have more hairs growing from each one.
8- Eyelashes and eyebrows are like rainwater gutters, protecting the eyes by preventing water from seeping into them.
9- Underarm and pubic hair, serve two obvious functions. To prevent skin chafing of skin and to help spread and retain the odour of the apocrine glands. They begin to function at the same age as pubic and beard hair develops showing sexual maturity.
10- Hair also has its own muscle called the arrectorpili, which erects when a person is cold, causing what's known as goose bumps. Fear or can also cause this reaction hence the observation of hair ‘standing on end'.

A sudden physical or emotional stress may cause one-half to three-quarters of the hair throughout your scalp to shed (called Telogen effluvium). You will notice hair coming out in handfuls while you shampoo, comb, or run your hands through your hair. You may not notice this for weeks to months after the episode of stress. The hair shedding will decrease over 6 - 8 months.

Some common reasons for hair loss are:

1- High fever or severe infection
2- Childbirth
3- Major surgery, major illness, sudden blood loss
5- Crash diets, especially those that do not contain enough protein
6- A number of medications, including retinoids, birth control pills, beta-blockers, certain antidepressants, NSAIDs (including iburpofen) and calcium channel blockers. Some women ages 30 - 60 may notice a thinning of the hair that affects the entire scalp. The hair loss may be heavier at first, and then gradually slow or stop. There is no known cause for this type of hair loss. Other possible causes of hair loss, especially if it is in an unusual pattern, include:
7- Alopecia Areata -- bald patches that develop on the scalp, beard, and, possibly, eyebrows. Eyelashes may fall out as well.
8- Autoimmune conditions such as lupus
9- Burns
10- Certain infectious diseases such as syphilis
11- Excessive shampooing and blow-drying
12- Thyroid diseases
13- Nervous habits such as continual hair pulling or scalp rubbing
14- Radiation Therapy
15- Tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp)
16- Tumor of the ovary or adrenal glands When Should I Come?
17- You are losing hair in an unusual pattern
17 i- You are losing hair rapidly or at an early age (for example, in your teens or twenties)