For most women, hair loss doesn’t usually occur until they are a bit older, usually starting around the age of menopause. The most common cause of hair loss when women are older is female pattern hair loss, which is a genetic predisposition towards overall hair thinning and a gradual widening of the part.
So, if a woman is significantly younger than menopausal age and experiencing hair loss, what are the potential causes? As it turns out, there are a few reasons why women may experience increased shedding, significant hair loss, or even patches of hair loss when they are younger.
Below, we will outline just 5 of the more common causes of hair loss in younger women.
Telogen Effluvium is a type of hair loss that is stress-related and can occur in any gender or age, even when you are relatively young.
Chronic or intense states of stress that can come about from childbirth, a loss of a loved one, surgery, a bad infection, divorce, loss of a job, or even very high fevers can trigger telogen effluvium.
Telogen effluvium normally happens about 2 months or so after the triggering stressful event, and can lead to up to 70% of your hair shifting into the “telogen” phase of hair loss and shedding.
Luckily, this type of hair loss normally fully reverses once the stressor has been fixed or removed, and the hair has time to regrow.
Hormones play a big role in hair growth, health, and maintenance. So, if there is a big hormonal change or upset, it can lead to hair loss or thinning.
Young women are especially prone to hormonal changes for many reasons. Being pregnant and giving birth can lead to big hormonal changes, as can switching or stopping your hormonal birth control. In addition, certain health conditions that are common in young women like thyroid hormone abnormalities or PCOS, may lead to hair loss or thinning if not properly treated.
Younger women tend to experiment with hairstyles, colors, and treatments. Within limits, this can be a fun way to express yourself and not lead to hair loss or brittleness. But, if this goes overboard it can lead to a few types of hair loss or breakage.
Wearing tight hairstyles like high ponytails, tight braids, or dreadlocks can put a lot of tension on the hair at the root and may lead to a type of hair loss called traction alopecia.
Damaging hair treatments like perms, bleaching, or excessive heat styling can also damage hair to the point of brittleness and breakage.
Young women tend to be drawn to fad diets. Many diet strategies may not include a healthy nutritional profile, or enough calories, and lead to rapid weight loss or nutritional deficiencies.
If you lose too much weight too fast or do not get in critical nutrients for hair growth and health, it is possible to experience increased hair shedding or slowed growth.
Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist before embarking on a diet strategy if you are trying to reach a healthy weight in order to make sure you are giving your body (and hair) what it needs to function properly, and not taking things too far.
Certain autoimmune conditions that are more prevalent in young women may also lead to hair loss.
Alopecia Areata is 60% more prevalent in women than in men, and tends to occur for the first time before the age of 30. Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks the hair follicles and triggers hair to fall out rapidly leaving round bald patches. While the hair may regrow in these patches, hair loss can occur again. Treatments can help aid regrowth and may help prevent additional flare-ups.
Lupus is also an autoimmune condition that is more prevalent in women. Up to 90% of people living with lupus are female, and they tend to develop the disease between the ages of 15-44. Lupus can cause your hair to thin out, or some people may even lose hair in clumps.
Here at Strut, we recognize that hair loss is not only a men’s issue, even though most hair loss medications tend to be developed with only men in mind. We help remedy this issue by providing customizable hair loss formulations to target women’s hair loss specifically.
If you are interested to see if a prescription women’s hair loss formulation is a good fit for you, simply select a product from our website and complete a free online questionnaire and image-based telemedicine consultation with our doctors in under 15 minutes. If you are a good candidate for treatment, a prescription will be developed according to your symptoms, goals, and preferences. Then, your medication will be shipped from a U.S. compounding pharmacy to your front door with our free shipping.
Have questions or need adjustments on future refills? Our staff and doctors are available for free and unlimited follow-ups.
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