I'm African American female losing hair and w/thinning hair. What could be cause?

Answer 1

Normally, each of your hairs grows for two to seven years, takes a three-month "rest," and then falls out to make room for new hair. But if you have a genetic predisposition to thinning locks, your hair follicles may become more sensitive to the male hormone testosterone sometime in your twenties or thirties, or even in your teens. (It's not that you produce more testosterone than other women; the hormone just affects you differently.) Over time, your follicles shrink and can produce only finer, shorter, lighter-coloured hairs or none at all. In some women the process accelerates at menopause, when natural oestrogen levels decline, but hormone-replacement therapy doesn't seem to help.

Although genes are responsible for the problem in 95 percent of all cases, hair loss may also be a sign of overprocessing (too many perms or color treatments can also make hair break off or fall out) or even of serious illness. Severe stresses to the body, such as thyroid disease, malnutrition, chemotherapy, or prolonged fever can cause all your hair to fall out at once, but it will grow back as you recover. Your hair may also thin temporarily when your estrogen decreases after you give birth or go off birth-control pills. (Don't use Rogaine if you're pregnant or nursing.) If you've started noticing small bald patches, you may be one of the nearly 4 million Americans who suffer from alopecia areata, an immune disorder in which antibodies attack the hair follicles. The condition can be treated with steroid creams or injections.

There's a trichogram that will evaluate the quality of your hair and tell you what percentage of your follices are in an anagen or telogen stage. But this test still might not distinguish between telogen effluvium and female pattern baldness.

The hormonal changes a woman experiences during monopause can trigger hair loss, but so can other things like an under- or over-active thyroid or low iron reserves. It might be a good idea to have a thyroid and a iron (serum ferritin) test to rule these things out.

A good dermatologist could make a proper diagnosis which would determine what type of hair loss you have. Some women after childbirth or during menopause have what's called telogen effluvium. This is a temporary form of hair loss that is triggered by hormonal changes, but also by crash diets (loss of over two pounds a week) or prolonged emotional stress. If is is determined that you have pattern hair loss, though, this is more difficult to treat. Rogaine may help this form of hair loss, but it may not. Rogaine, as Jane Ralston said, can also cause almost intolerable itching because of its alcohol base.

Answer 2

Wow, there can be many reasons for hair loss. More important than just how it looks is your overall health. Sudden hairloss can be a symptom of an underlying health condition. If you haven't had a complete physical in a while get one. This can rule out autoimmune disease( a leading cause of hair loss in woman), thyroid imbalance, low iron as well as other minerals need for proper hair growth,hormone imbalance the list goes on and on. Also ask yourself a few key questions: Have you been on a strict diet recently? Have you had an unusual amount of stress lately? Have you exposed yourself to anything unusual?( I had a flu shot..and a lot of my hair fell out...luckily it came back but who would have guessed!)

Answer 3

Theres a scalp condition called alopecia. Check w/ your doctor or a dermatologist to see if you have it. A lot of black people get it. Also, your diet could have something to do with hair loss. If you try eating health and taking a multi-vitamin you may notice a difference in your hair. Good luck!

Answer 4

It could be a number of factors like stress, over usage of weaves(these can wear your real hair down after a while), too much use of chemicals(relaxers, etc), using really high maintenance hair styles, or it could be related to a problem with your nutrition. You might want to go see a doctor about this.

Answer 5

Stress!!! that is a big cause. Also, ovarian cysts. I had them and my hair started to come out. Also, over processing of your hair. See a new stylist and ask them. There could be a number of reasons but those are ones that I have seen in action. Good luck.

Answer 6

I asked question similar to yours last week and got some great answers. Check out my profile and look for the question I asked.

Answer 7

Menopause?

Answer 8

i saw something on the local news here about black woman and hair loss. they said it was from braiding the hair to tight