Hair loss as a woman, especially if you’re young or at a vulnerable time in your life, can badly affect your confidence.

Sue Ibrahim, a dermatology nurse consultant at Elan Medical Skin Clinic in Rayleigh, Essex says society considers hair to be an important part of how you look: “For women, there’s a social stigma attached to going bald,” she says. “Hair loss can affect your sensuality and how you perceive yourself. There are usually emotional trials and tribulations when it happens. Some women question whether their partner will still love them. I’ve known others become socially reclusive and give up enjoyable activities like swimming and going to the gym, because they can’t bear using the communal changing rooms for fear of their hair loss being discovered.”

Hair loss can occur due to various reasons. Whether it is caused by heredity, hormones, mineral deficiency or certain disease, hair loss affects both women and men, especially after their 30s. Losing about 100 hair strands per day is normal, but if you notice that you lose more hair strands when you brush your hair or that your hair is thinning, you should do something about it.

Why is my hair falling out? 

If your hair is falling out, you should find the cause that triggered hair loss, particularly if

• you have sudden hair loss
• you develop bald patches
• you’re losing hair in clumps
• your head also itches and burns
• you’re worried about your hair loss

At Elan Medical Skin Clinic in Rayleigh, Essex, we may run some tests in order to determine the exact source of your hair loss. Despite the fact that hormones are the cause of it in most cases, hair loss can also be caused by stress, thyroid disease, ageing, hair styling products, nutrition deficiencies, low-calorie diets and many other factors.

Are there different types of hair loss?

Depending on what factor triggered the hair fall, there are many types of hair loss, also known as alopecia:

• Involutional alopecia – develops as we age. It is rather a natural condition when hair progressively gets finer, thinner and less in number.
• Androgenetic / androgenic alopecia – it is called male pattern baldness when men are affected and female pattern baldness when women lose their hair. It occurs due to genetics, more specifically due to the sensitivity of follicles to Dihydrotestosterone or DHT. This hormone attaches to hair follicles and makes them shrink. Men experience a progressive disappearance of hairs from the frontal scalp and a receding hairline after their 30-35s, while women are affected by a general thinning of the entire scalp after the age of 40 or 50 years.
• Alopecia areata – has a sudden development and it manifests as patchy hair loss, affecting children and young adults. It could lead to alopecia totalis, the term for complete baldness, but hair grows back in most cases.
• Alopecia universalis – manifests when all the body hair falls out. Even eyebrows, eyelashes and pubic hair falls out, not just hair from the scalp.
• Telogen effluvium – manifests when more hairs get into the resting stage at the same time. Hair goes through three periods: active growth, resting phase and shedding stage. Telogen effluvium is only a temporary hair fall, caused by a modification in the growth cycle of hair. In most cases, stress is the cause of this kind of hair fall.
• Trichotillomania – is more like a psychological disorder, due to the fact it affects mostly children, who pull out their own hair.

Can you prevent hair loss?

A balanced nutrition plan and a healthy lifestyle are the key to a healthy body and healthy hair. If the body is deprived by essential nutrients, hair can fall. If you get through a stressful period, you can notice that your hair is falling. Learn to deal with your levels of stress, eat properly and have a routine of exercises and you will improve, besides your overall wellbeing, the appearance of your hair.

Can oral supplements stop hair loss?

Many suppliers provide oral supplements with ingredients able to prevent and stop hair loss. There is no scientific evidence that these supplements help. However, there are medications that can help some women with hair loss and there are treaments that can stimulate hair growth in men and women with Alopecia areata.

Consultations at Elan Medical Skin Clinic in Rayleigh, Essex

Losing hair can be upsetting. For many people, hair is an important part of who they are.  At Elan Medical Skin Clinic, your initial consultation is your first step to resolving the problem and it is our hope that when two committed parties work together, desired results are achieved. There is a £95 fee for an initial consultation. It is our hope that we will work with you and are here to help you make the right decision. We will advise you of potential outcomes, including the side effects and all known risks associated with any treatment. And if we can’t help you, we will point you in the right direction to somebody that can.

Click here to read what our patients are currently saying about Elan Medical Skin Clinic in Rayleigh, Essex.

How do I request a consultation?

You can either call Elan Medical Skin Clinic on 01268 770660 between 9.30am and 5pm Monday to Saturday or you can click here to request a call-back.

Hair loss can cause embarrassment for men and women – and it can also affect children. Male pattern hair loss is well known but there’s a version that affects women and this can be a very upsetting condition, especially if the bald area cannot be disguised, says Sue Ibrahim from Elan Medical Skin Clinic in Rayleigh Essex.

Patterned hair loss looks different in men and women. In women, there is widely spread thinning of the hair, mainly on the crown. The hairline often remains normal.

What causes female pattern hair loss?

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