Hair Loss

Topic Overview

Is hair loss normal?

Everyone has some hair loss every day. In fact, it is normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day. However, some people lose a lot of hair early in life because it runs in their family (inherited) or because of disease, medications, stress, injury, or damage to the hair.

What causes hair loss?

The most common cause of hair loss is genetics—you inherit the tendency to lose hair from either or both of your parents. This is called male-pattern or female-pattern hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia. (Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss.) About half of all people have this type of hair loss by about 50 years of age.^{1, 2}

See an illustration of typical inherited hair loss .

Other common causes of hair loss include:

• Ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis), which is common in children.
• Mental stress or physical stress, such as recent surgery, illness, or high fever.
• Chemotherapy, the use of medication to destroy cancer cells.
• Pulling your hair back too tightly, wearing tight braids or ponytails, or using curling irons or dyes.
• Age. As you age, you grow less hair. It is also thinner and tends to break more easily.
• Poor nutrition, especially lack of protein or iron in the diet.
• Thyroid diseases including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

What are the symptoms?

Hair loss can occur as thinning (you may not notice hairs falling out) or as shedding, with clumps of hair falling out. It can be general—you lose hair all over your scalp—or focal, which means you lose it in one area only. In inherited hair loss, men generally develop bald spots on the forehead area or on the top of the head, while women have an overall thinning of the hair throughout the scalp.

Because hair is an important part of appearance, hair loss can result in loss of self-esteem and feeling unattractive, especially in women and teens.

How is hair loss diagnosed?

Hair loss is diagnosed through a medical history and physical examination. Your health professional will ask you questions about your hair loss, such as whether your parents have hair loss, when your hair loss started, and how much hair you are losing. He or she will also look at the pattern of your hair loss, examine your scalp, and may tug gently on a few hairs or pull some out.

If the reason for your hair loss is not clear, your health professional may take a sample of your hair or scalp to examine under a microscope, or do a blood test to identify a disease source.

How is it treated?

Some people choose to treat hair loss with medications or surgery, such as hair transplantation. Others choose to wear hairpieces (wigs or toupees) or use different methods of hair styling (dyeing or combing). The approach you use depends on the cause of your hair loss and how you feel about it. Some people feel they need treatment, while others are not as concerned about thinning hair or baldness.

Hair loss that is caused by a controllable factor, such as stress or a medication, is treated by eliminating the cause.

Will my hair grow back?

Whether your hair grows back depends on the cause of your hair loss. If you have inherited hair loss, you would need treatment to regrow your hair. It will not grow back naturally. But treatment to regrow hair does not work for everyone. If your hair loss is caused by medication, stress, or damage, hair often grows back after the cause is removed, although sometimes treatment may be needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learning about hair loss:	What is hair loss? What causes hair loss? Can I prevent hair loss? What are the symptoms of hair loss? What happens in hair loss? What increases my risk of losing my hair? What is alopecia areata? Who is affected by hair loss?
Being diagnosed:	Who can diagnose hair loss? How is hair loss diagnosed?
Getting treatment:	How is hair loss treated? What medications do I need to take? Will I need surgery? What other treatments might be recommended? Should I take medications for inherited hair loss? What do I need to know about hair transplantation surgery?
Living with hair loss:	What can I do at home for hair loss? How often will I need to see my health professional? When should I call my health professional?

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Author:	Carrie Henley Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated August 22, 2006
Medical Review:	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Randall D. Burr, MD - Dermatology
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