The Real Reason Why You’re Losing Your Hair.

Hair plays a huge role in the confidence men and women have towards themselves. A full head of hair can make you appear younger and more attractive. Hair can also be a form of expression, as well as a great way to compliment an outfit or any personal style.

But when hair starts to recede or fall out, in clumps no less, your confidence can be greatly affected. This results in a person being extremely self conscious, opting to hide the problem by either shaving off all their hair or covering it with wigs, never to be shown in public, although this may not always be the case. While a bald head and wigs are beautiful, diminished confidence is heart breaking. The good news is that the problem isn’t always permanent, and if you can manage to pin point the root cause, then you may be able to find a solution to your troubles.

So here are a few common reasons why you may be experiencing hair loss (or alopecia).

6 Reasons Why You’re Experiencing Alopecia.

1. Your Roots Are Strained.

Usually, when you go to get your hair plaited, a great deal of tension is required to snatch the roots, to keep the braids looking neat. Another common reason why tension is applied is to help the hair “grow”. The truth is, pulling the hair sooo tight it gives you a headache… it’s not actually helping your hair grow. Not even in the slightest, if anything it’s actually contributing to hair thinning & edge loss.

The excessive pulling causes the roots go through a great amount of strain. Eventually, causing the hair to fall from the roots, in an attempt to relieve this strain/ pressure. The same thing occurs when the amount of extension you have used, is too heavy for your roots to support. Think of it like a person carrying a heavy shopping bag all day, eventually their arm gets tired and they put the bag down or exchange hands. The unfortunate thing is that the follicles that are embedded into your scalp cannot do the same. So, your scalp opts to lose the hair follicles altogether. This is especially true for the weak & fragile hair around the edges.

This type of hair loss is typically called traction alopecia.

2. You’re Stressed.

When a person is stressed, they can experience hormonal imbalances, chemical imbalances or both. Hormonal imbalances can force your hair into a “resting” phase. During the resting phase, no new hair follicles are made by the scalp and the hair growth rate is slowed down drastically. At this point, the only thing you can experience, in excess, is breakage and shedding.

Chemical imbalances, however, can cause the hair to shed, sometimes even in huge clumps. This excessive shedding combined with the fact that you won’t experience any new follicles, results in thinning, balding and bald spots/ patches.

3. You’re Pregnant.

Pregnancy is a wonderful thing. During this time, when you are carrying precious life, the hormones produced can sometimes put you in a phase where you experience constant, rapid hair growth with very little shedding. This can make the hair longer and look fuller in a short period of time. However, soon after child birth, the new mother’s hormones start to normalise. And the amount of shedding they were supposed to receive during pregnancy, is experienced all at once, for a couple of weeks (or a couple of months).

The unfortunate thing is some women don’t even experience this accelerated growth phase, instead, they start experiencing the hair loss quite early on in the pregnancy. This is due to the many hormonal and chemical changes within their body. Pregnancy and child birth aren’t the only stages in a woman’s life where hair fall can occur, menopause too.

4. Medication Or Medical Conditions.

Certain drugs can result in hair fall, as a side effect. This, again, is due to chemical changes. It’s best to always read the potential side effects, throughly, before consumption. To resolve the hair loss, you may have to swap out your prescription to an alternative one (provided it won’t affect your health in any way & your physician approves it). Examples of drugs that can cause hair loss are:

• Anti-depressants.
• Cancer treatments.
• Blood pressure pills.
• Medication that assists with heart problems , etc.

Poor health, medical conditions (eg. Diabetes) & fungal infections (eg. Ringworms) can also result in alopecia. Hair fall, in this instance, may be a sign that your health is in distress & you may want to pay attention.

5. Chemical Damage To Your Scalp.

Strong relaxers & dyes can irritate and burn your scalp. Sometimes, severe burning can cause the scalp to become damaged, & as a result, your hair can start shedding in clumps. If scarring occurs the hair loss may no longer be temporary, but permanent.

6. It’s Hereditary.

Male-pattern and female-pattern baldness are passed through genetics. This is a condition where hair loss occurs in a similar pattern, giving rise to:

• A receding hair line.
• A thinning head of hair around the crown & front of the head.
• Various bald spot/ patches.

Usually this is something that progresses slowly, over a period of time, rather than a sudden, overnight development.

Risk Factors That Cause Hair Loss.

1. Age: as many get older, the risk of balding increases.
2. Family history: if maternal &/or paternal family members suffer from balding, there is a chance you will too.
3. Tight Bands: wigs (especially the glued kind), hair bands, hats & even bonnets can snatch away your edges & cause thinning & receding.
4. Tension: braids, cornrows, flat twists, mabhanzi all great hairstyles. But if they tight & heavy, expect hair loss.
5. Chemical & Hormonal imbalances.
6. Medical conditions.
7. Sleep depravation.
8. Poor nutrition.
9. Stress.

Its is very important to note that there are many other reasons, your hair might be falling out. However, these are the most likely scenarios.