Every individual naturally loses between 50 and 100 hair on a daily basis. If you begin to lose more than this, you may notice areas of baldness on your scalp, clumps coming out while washing or brushing your hair, or thinning of hair on the crown and at the temples. There are innumerable reasons that may result into hair loss including heredity, stress and age. Many women also suffer from hair loss when going through a stage of menopause. People often ask does menopause cause hair loss? Well, the answer is yes. Read further to explore the reason.
Menopause and Hair Loss
Although, many people won't think hair loss as a menopause symptom, the hormonal changes which the menopause causes can have all sorts of unexpected effects on the body including hair loss.
The hormones testosterone and estrogen have the most important influence on the hair growth. During the menopause, levels of estrogen decrease. This hormone is important for promoting hair growth. While estrogen levels drop, testosterone levels increase disproportionately. This causes the healthy hair to be thinner than before, and can also cause facial hair.
Other factors that contribute to menopausal hair loss include illness, high levels of stress or a genetic predisposition. In order to identify the hormonal imbalances in one's body, diagnostic tests include thyroid tests, blood sugar level test, or a rheumatoid evaluation are important.
Smoking and Hair Loss
We all are aware of the risks of smoking as it may cause cancer, heart disease, chest complaints and strokes, but it has now been shown to have an adverse affect on your scalp and hair. This may sound strange, but smoking causes hair loss and can actually affect the condition of your scalp and hair to a great extent.
With a number of other illnesses, smoking hurts your hair too. Experts say that the toxic chemicals in smoke can damage the DNA in hair follicles and generate cell-damaging free radicals as well. Eventually, leading to having thinner hair in smokers that tend to go gray sooner than nonsmokers.
Your hair grows from follicles – sac-like structures underneath your scalp which require oxygen, vitamins/minerals and essential nutrients to function properly and trigger hair growth. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of them toxic, which affect all areas of the body including the hair. This smoke negatively affects your circulation in general which means impaired blood flow to your hair follicles.
Menopause and Hair Loss
Although, many people won't think hair loss as a menopause symptom, the hormonal changes which the menopause causes can have all sorts of unexpected effects on the body including hair loss.
The hormones testosterone and estrogen have the most important influence on the hair growth. During the menopause, levels of estrogen decrease. This hormone is important for promoting hair growth. While estrogen levels drop, testosterone levels increase disproportionately. This causes the healthy hair to be thinner than before, and can also cause facial hair.
Other factors that contribute to menopausal hair loss include illness, high levels of stress or a genetic predisposition. In order to identify the hormonal imbalances in one's body, diagnostic tests include thyroid tests, blood sugar level test, or a rheumatoid evaluation are important.
Smoking and Hair Loss
We all are aware of the risks of smoking as it may cause cancer, heart disease, chest complaints and strokes, but it has now been shown to have an adverse affect on your scalp and hair. This may sound strange, but smoking causes hair loss and can actually affect the condition of your scalp and hair to a great extent.
With a number of other illnesses, smoking hurts your hair too. Experts say that the toxic chemicals in smoke can damage the DNA in hair follicles and generate cell-damaging free radicals as well. Eventually, leading to having thinner hair in smokers that tend to go gray sooner than nonsmokers.
Your hair grows from follicles – sac-like structures underneath your scalp which require oxygen, vitamins/minerals and essential nutrients to function properly and trigger hair growth. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of them toxic, which affect all areas of the body including the hair. This smoke negatively affects your circulation in general which means impaired blood flow to your hair follicles.