Everyone loses between 50 and 100 hairs per day. The average life span of an individual hair is 3 to 7 years. Ninety percent of the hairs on your head are actively growing; the other 10 percent are resting. The resting stage lasts between 2 and 6 months, after which the hairs fall out.

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Losing more than 50 to 100 hairs a day has a variety of causes:

-Hereditary balding is the most common cause of hair loss. It can be inherited from either your mother's or father's side. Hereditary balding affects both men and women, although in different ways. Men's hairlines recede and eventually join bald spots on the top and back of the head. Some women notice a slow or occasional thinning on the front of the head. The earlier the thinning starts, the worse it's likely to be.

-Medical treatments can cause hair loss in some people. Some blood pressure medicines, anticoagulants, antidepressants, and anti-arthritis and antigout medications can cause reversible hair loss. Radiation and chemotherapy used to treat cancer can cause people to lose up to 90 percent of their hair. Birth control pills can cause increased hair loss while they are taken.

-Hormone levels in women can cause hair loss as they rise and fall. Many women lose hair after childbirth, and some have hair loss during menopause or during postmenopausal hormone therapy.

-Alopecia areata is a disease that causes hair to fall out, leaving smooth, round patches. The scalp looks normal (no dandruff, scales, or sores). Alopecia totalis is an extreme condition in which all hair is lost.

Other causes of hair loss include:

-Thyroid disease

-Lupus

-Major surgery, infection, or high fever

-Ringworm (a fungal infection)

-Crash diets

-Wearing tight braids or ponytails (traction alopecia)

Treatment
For hereditary hair loss, hair transplants can be done to move hair from other parts of your scalp to bare areas of your scalp, sometimes a hair at a time. Transplants can cost several thousand dollars and usually aren't covered by health insurance.

A medication (finasteride) may help men keep their hair. It cannot be used by women. Its use should begin as soon as any receding hairline is noticed and must be continued indefinitely. Once the medication is stopped the balding process resumes.

Alopecia areata often goes away on its own. If it doesn't, your doctor may prescribe a corticosteroid lotion.

Self-Care for Hair Loss

Although there's no cure for hereditary baldness, there are some things that can make hair loss less obvious:

Recognize that balding is a normal part of aging and it ultimately affects almost everyone to some extent.

Minoxidil (Rogaine), an over-the-counter hair restorer, is successful in producing hair in about one-third of the people who try it. The newly grown hair on the crown of the scalp falls out, however, when the drug is no longer applied.

If you cannot accept balding and are uncomfortable with your appearance try some of the newer techniques such as hair weaving or temporarily implanting artificial hairs in the epidermis. Toupees, wigs, or hairpieces can be used to cover thinning or bald areas.

Color or perm your hair (avoid overbleaching, which causes hair breakage), use a hair dryer for more volume, wash daily with a gentle shampoo, use mousse.

If you suspect your hairstyle is causing your hair to fall out, avoid curlers, braiding, ponytails, or anything that pulls on your hair.

Whether you decide to combat hair loss or not is your choice. This hair loss forum will support you all the way. We are here for all those who want to discuss hair loss whether fighting it or not.

Here are some suggestions of what can be discussed, but not just:

• Psychological effects of losing ones hair
• Medications or solutions that worked for you
• Causes of Hair Loss, Symptoms & Signs
• Gradual hair thinning or loss
• Self-care against hair loss
• Hair loss & major illness
• Hair loss & childbirth
• Hair loss & Medications
• Pain, soreness or tenderness
• Scabs, scales, or pus on scalp
• Sudden occurrence of bald spots
• Loss of eyebrows or eyelashes
• Loss of hair on other body areas
• Anything else you'd like to share