Excessive scalp hair loss is a serious challenge for a woman & # 39; s self-image and standing in the business and society. Although we usually think of balding as a man & # 39; s problem really creative people forty percent of women in North America is experiencing excessive anxiety hair loss. Many women lose significantly if from polycystic ovary syndrome. Safe, effective, natural treatments to treat hormone imbalances associated with PCOS also restores the hair optimal health. I am pleased to offer these essential tools to help restore your hair and your health.
Women experiencing hair loss is losing ground rapidly in today & # 39; s world. Work and personal lives of women & # 39; s appearance has much to do with the material and social success. Men also prefer not to go bald. But as balding is known to be caused by high levels of testosterone, a bald man can be credited extra virility. Not a fun story about baldness in women. The appearance of thinning scalp translates to a significant loss of personal power for women.
The medical community generally treats women & # 39; and hair loss, such as less health problem. Most doctors little willingness to address the emotional stress you feel. In many cases, doctors treat balding as if "only" a matter of vanity; you may not recognize hair loss as a red flag showing severe metabolic conditions including PCOS.
The psychological pain of hair loss and its impact on our sense of empowerment devastating as any disfiguring disease. If a woman balding, hair loss is a life-changing state of profound consequences for health. Getting your hands on the wheel and drive yourself towards solving hair loss is the first step in reviving the sense of personal strength and power. If the loss of PCOS, make the effort to restore the physical health also renew scalp hair growth.
we need expert help to accurately diagnose the cause of hair loss. Hair loss that could have been merely temporary may become permanent if the late or incorrect diagnosis. Misdiagnosis is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of hair loss in women. The information we present here will help you identify the cause of hair loss, and ideally will lead you and your doctors get the right kind of treatment for hair loss, sooner rather than later.
Alopecia is the medical term excessive or abnormal hair loss. There are different types of alopecia. What all hair loss is common, either & # 39; s men or women, is that it is always a symptom of something else that & # 39; s wrong. The hair is left in the head, which, if it belongs to a hormonal disorder, or other conditions do not occur. This condition can be as simple as having a gene that makes you susceptible to male or female pattern baldness. Or it may be as complex as a whole host of diseases. Hair loss can be a symptom of a short-term event such as stress, pregnancy, or a side effect of certain medications. In these cases, the hair grows back when the event has passed. Materials, including hormones and the medication can cause changes in hair growth patterns. When this happens, the growth and shedding occur at the same time. Once the cause is dealt with, hairs go back to the random pattern of growth and shedding and balding stops.
Hair loss: A common problem
Today, more women than ever experiencing hair loss – and the causes are usually quite different that what causes baldness in men. The American Academy of Dermatology, about 30 million women in the United States experienced a degree of distressing scalp hair loss. The most common causes of scalp hair loss in women may include:
mineral or vitamin deficiency – zinc, manganese, iron, vitamin B6, biotin
Essential fatty acid deficiency is a low-calorie diet or eating disorders
protein deficiency as a common vegetarian diet
anemia with low iron diet, poor digestion or excessive blood loss
eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia more & # 39; yoyo & # 39; weight loss; Furthermore, excessive or compulsive exercise
Drug toxicity, such as anesthesia, surgery or chemotherapy of cancer
There are several prescription drugs for hair loss as a potential & # 39; side & # 39; effects, including bromocriptine, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, amphetamines, anti-cholesterol drugs
Severe infections like viral or bacterial
severe stress or a sudden extreme events or permanent long-term challenges
Any hypothalamic or pituitary dysfunction
Each of the liver, thyroid, adrenal or ovarian disorders, including PCOS
Any hormone imbalance, as low progesterone, estrogen dominance, excess testosterone and insulin
the starting or stopping of any hormone therapy, including oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy or thyroid hormone replacement
any natural event that causes major hormonal changes, such as childbirth, breastfeeding and weaning or menopause
perms, hair color, bleach, improper brushing / combing, pulling the hair
autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis
Allergy to foods, environmental chemicals or medicines for local drug
Newer hepatitis B shot. If you had a Hep B vaccine, as it began to hair loss, there may be a connection. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (278: 117-8, 1997) connects the Hep B vaccine increased incidence of alopecia in women.
How does an individual to figure out why losing too much hair? To understand that it & # 39; It s important to understand how hair grows.
hair grows in cycles
from scalp grows about one-half inch per month. Individual hairs will grow 2-6 years. Finally, each hair "rests" for a while and then falls out. Shortly after the follicles start growing a new strand. A healthy scalp, leaving about 100 of these cycling hairs fall out every day.
People with a genetic predisposition to hair loss, and for women with PCOS, hormones called androgens that process. Androgens include testosterone, androsteinedione, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men and use relatively large amounts of androgen. Appropriate, small amounts of androgens in women is essential & # 39; s health.
in those who are genetically predisposed, testosterone activates enzymes produced in the hair cells, which then cause it can be converted to the more potent androgen DHT. DHT then binds with receptors deep within the hair follicle. Finally DHT accumulates so that the follicles begins to decrease. It does not produce new hair reliably. Some of the follicles permanently does not produce new hairs. The end result is a significant loss. The medical term for this condition is androgenic alopecia. Testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme Type II 5-alpha-reductase, which is held by the hair follicle & # 39; and sebaceous glands. Actually, it & # 39; and not the circulating testosterone is the problem, but the amount of DHT clogging up and shrinking scalp follicles, making it impossible for healthy hair to survive.
The process of testosterone converting to DHT, which then harms hair follicles, happens in both men and women. In general, women are a small fraction of testosterone to men. It seems that women with hair loss, the actual level of testosterone is not as important as the changes in his testosterone. The change induced by the hormone levels, or other lifestyle factors that influence DHT-induced hair loss in women. Even if the hormone blood levels are within what doctors consider "normal", it can become high enough to cause problems for the individual woman. The levels do not rise at all, and is still a problem, even if you are very sensitive to normal levels of chemicals, including hormones.
As operate delicately balanced feedback system using the hormones, the signals transmitted from the brain and body tissues, androgens not be increased root via the bloodstream problem. If the so-called female hormones (which are also essential for men & # 39; s health) are variable for any reason related to androgens, the resulting imbalance can cause problems, including hair loss.
Hormones always changing. Testosterone levels in men decrease as much as 10 percent every decade after the age of thirty. Women & # 39; Due to changing hormone levels and menstrual cycles each, or a lack of regular menses, pregnancy and menopause. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, drugs and environmental toxins affect hormone levels as well.
key to successful treatment
The treatment for thinning hair scalp grounded to the changing habits you may have to support the elevated androgens. Diet and exercise is the key to maintaining optimal hormone balance. In fact, women with PCOS, research is not authorized by drug therapy is more effective than a good diet and regular exercise. First, you get to basic health habits; Then, specific targeted therapies have the best chance to be effective for you.
Women with PCOS also have excess coarse dark hair on the face and body. The only way to deal with dark, coarse hair follicles grow out of excess androgens have been modified to destroy the follicle or similar laser therapy. Once a follicle has changed the type of hair produces, it will not change back. It is very important to tame the excess androgens and prevent further conversion of follicles before investing in long-term treatment of the face or destroy the body's hair follicles.
What causes women to lose too much from you?
For a long time doctors thought that the androgen alopecia was the main reason for balding men and women alike. We now know that the process that leads to excessive hair loss than women. This is known as female pattern hair loss.
An important difference between male and female balding is the pattern in which the hair is thinning. Female pattern hair loss usually happens, as in all areas is a general thinning of the scalp, the sides and back. Men lose hair in patches, like the church, the crown, that bald spot on the back of the head. different areas of male and female hormone and enzyme receptor sites are the scalp, leading to losses related to the different gender patterns of hair loss.
Another significant difference is that baldness in men is usually caused by a man & # 39; and of genetics and for his age, but for women, balding can happen at any age.
lifestyle, disease and medical treatments cause hair loss
Most women with hair loss more lifestyle features, nutrition and health-related events that contribute. Missing Hormone fluctuations are responsible for most female hair loss, including those who have PCOS, a new pregnancy, menopause, hormone replacement therapy or birth control medications have side effects. Chemotherapy for cancer, anti-coagulant drugs, iron deficiency anemia, autoimmune disease can cause hair loss. Any disease, including hormone-producing glands, including the thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands can trigger hair loss in women. It is essential that all women to learn the real cause of hair loss before starting any particular treatment.
The complex hormonal changes often accompany the scalp due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), hair loss. Sometimes hair loss is the first sign that a woman is suffering from a metabolic disorder, it causes problems with acne, facial and body hair growth, irregular menstrual cycles and infertility. PCOS is associated with increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
thyroid disease, anemia of chronic disease or of certain drugs, in particular for any hormone replacement therapy or contraception prescriptions- be considered as possible causes of hair loss in women. Autoimmune diseases, will result in a slightly different, often less dramatic hair loss is known as alopecia areata – an inflammatory condition in which the hair is coming out in clumps or patches.
Every drop in estrogen levels, such as after pregnancy, menopause, or when changes in the use of hormone therapy, including oral contraceptives, estrogen effect is called alopecia. In contrast, testosterone, estrogen helps you from growing faster and stay longer in the head, so the hair is thicker. This is why women & # 39; s hair will be fuller during pregnancy when estrogen levels are high enough, you will lose a few weeks after the baby is born.
Women who do not have the hormonal changes associated with fertility, estrogen deficiency scalp hair loss usually begins around menopause. This form of female hair loss can be the first sign of impending menopause. Sometimes the hair loss does not begin until a few months, or even years after menstruation has ended. Not all women get noticeable hair loss after menopause, but most have a little thinning.
It & # 39; It s not uncommon to see several factors involved in female hair loss. Many women with PCOS thyroid problems, usually hypothyroidism (thyroid function). Not only does hypothyroidism contribute to overweight, it can also contribute to hair thinning. Some women with PCOS and the excessive testosterone levels, and during the active thyroid.
If your hair is thinning, it is possible that heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium in the tissues. These toxic residues saturate the environment. If you lived near what is, or ever was an industry or mining lease or alive, who works at a polluting industry, it may be infected. If you have ever smoked have a lot of cadmium in the body.
The majority of women androgenetic alopecia have diffuse thinning all areas of the scalp. Some women a combination of two types of samples. Androgenic alopecia is caused by a variety of factors tied to the actions of hormones, including PCOS, using contraceptives, pregnancy and menopause. Any blood sugar and insulin hormone imbalance leads to excess androgens. Women insulin resistance, chronic over-eating refined carbohydrate foods even more effective: androgens. PCOS is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The chronic stress that exhausts the adrenal androgens can change a woman can produce. This is often the source of problems, such as infertility, acne and hair thinning lean, athletic women with PCOS. Heredity may play a role in androgenic alopecia.
every big event like the birth or breast-feeding, malnutrition, change your diet, severe infection, major surgery, or any extreme stress, sudden change many of the 90 percent or so of the hairs that are aa growing phase or the resting phase of the molting stage. You will see this change, the rate of hair loss 6 weeks and within three months of the stressful event. This is known as telogen effluvium. It is possible to lose big bunch of hair daily full-blown telogen effluvium. Usually this type of hair loss is reversible when higher stress are avoided. Some women, however, telogen effluvium is a mysterious chronic disorder and may persist for months or years, without ever fully identify all contributing factors.
anagen aura occurs when the hair follicle cells are so damaged they can not recover or reproduce. This is usually due to cancer chemotherapy toxicity. Chemotherapy is designed to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. Hair follicles in the growing (anagen) phase, and therefore vulnerable. Anagen aura: the hair follicle is shrinking as a result of the damage. The shaft breaks off the constriction and causes hair loss.
Traction alopecia hair-loss, pull the hair over time (braiding, cornrows, ponytails, extensions). If the condition is detected early enough, you can change the style of practice that gentler follicles and the hair grow.
hormone contraceptives are the main cause of hair loss and other painful symptoms in women. As used in 1960 it began pill, oral contraceptives, injections, implants, skin patches, and vaginal rings have become the most frequently prescribed form of contraception.
Unfortunately, many young women get birth control hormones even if they are not sexually active than the & # 39; Management & # 39; The irregular menses or acne. This is a mistake. This is not a treatment that addresses the root problem periods, or acne. Contraceptive hormones can seriously complicate Women & # 39; and hormone balance and can lead to many health problems, including significant hair loss and worsening of acne.
The use of any contraceptives synthetic hormones to suppress ovulation. These drugs causes the ovaries to stop working; they are a kind of & # 39; Sleep & # 39; state. Instead of the natural cycles between dance signals derived from the body and the brain tissues are exposed to the amount of synthetic hormones, is much higher than the normal body. There are many short and long-term nature of the consequences of ovarian suppression. Most women experience the side effects of birth control drugs, such as hair loss during or after several weeks or months of stopping the drug.
published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (278: 117-8, 1997), which connects an increased incidence of Hepatitis B vaccine baldness in women.
diagnostic testing
In order to successfully treat hair loss, it is important to understand why the hair follicles are not healthy. There are diagnostic tests that can help identify the underlying biochemistry that contribute to excessive hair loss. However, many women are bringing significant chemical imbalance hair loss will find that these test results are "normal" range. It & # 39; and because in many cases, hair loss is a section of the poor health that at an early stage of the disease, which eventually develop. The lifestyle and eating habits that eventually can cause type 2 diabetes and heart disease can also cause thinning of the scalp hair, facial hair is tough on young women. This is generally the same for many years these women diagnostic tests reveal that they have diabetes or coronary artery disease. Many of them have been diagnosed with PCOS.
selective sensitivity to the underlying problem
Another reason for the diagnostic tests can be confusing because of something called the & # 39; selective sensitivity & # 39; or & # 39; Selective resistance & # 39;. It turned out that some cells are more sensitive than others to the same amount of hormone. The main complexity of the individual women that while it may be fat and muscle insulin resistance, another type of body cells do not. Pituitary, ovarian, adrenal and an insulin-stimulated insulin resistant grow higher than desired, which, for example increased testosterone. The high level of androgens in turn increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
Despite these potential difficulties, it is important to do our best to determine what is and is not the main cause of the symptoms, such as persistent excessive hair loss. Diagnostic tests that can help identify the source of the metabolic imbalance:
The hair pulling test is a simple diagnostic test that the doctor slightly pull a small amount of hair (approx. 100 simultaneously), in order to determine if excessive loss. Normal range is zero to three hairs per pull.
hormone levels: dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, androstenedione, prolactin, sex hormone-binding globulin, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. Ideal sample FSH and LH 19-21 days of the menstrual cycle, when the days can be identified.
fasting glucose and insulin levels as well as cholesterol and triglyceride levels
Complete blood counts, serum iron, ferritin, and total iron binding capacity
thyroid-stimulating hormone plus a thyroid function panel T3, T4 and T3% of consumption
VDRL screening of syphilis
a scalp biopsy should be performed including before choosing surgical transplantation
Densitometry, check magnifier tool used to shrink the hair.
conventional medical treatments for hair loss
might be very interested in drug therapies surgery to address the deep distress over hair loss. It is simply human nature to hope for a simple pill or procedure that permanently save us problems. Unfortunately, drugs never easy solution. After you swallow a chemical, it is delivered throughout the body; it affects the entire body. We can not control drugs, so the effect is just want- there are always side effects that are more or less problematic. With the help of medication is trading one problem others. Sometimes this is exactly the right thing. Other times it is a personal disaster. Most medications will act in all tissues of the risk of side effects that are more damaging to health. Local treatments are applied directly to the scalp at the lowest dose and with the least harmful drug choices.
will enjoy the best results if you start treatment as soon as possible after the hair loss begins. Stopping the adverse effects of androgens means that prevents further loss. And then promoted the regrowth of healthy follicles have been dormant. Depending on whether you choose the agent works, stop the hair loss treatment would result in continuation, if not made other changes in your lifestyle to keep a level of androgens, which are healthy and not harmful to you.
Below you will find a list of treatments currently used to treat hair loss in women. Some of these have not yet been approved by the FDA for the specific application, but they have all been approved for other applications and are used "off label" to treat hair loss. Currently, 2% minoxidil topical treatment approved by the FDA specifically for one type of female hair loss.
The effectiveness of these agents and methods vary for every woman, but many women have found that using these treatments made a positive difference in the character of their hair and self-esteem. As always, treatments have the best chance to be effective if they are directed at the cause of hair loss and trigger hair growth.
The estrogen and progesterone HRT therapy (HRT) in women at menopause are typically prescribed for any reason, perhaps the most common form of treatment for systemic androgenic alopecia in women.
Oral contraceptives reduced ovarian production of androgens and thus can be used to treat women & # 39; androgenic alopecia. There are important reasons to avoid the use of synthetic or bio-identical hormone therapy for hair loss. Some birth control pills actually contribute to hair loss trigger or increase, if we & # 39; he was replaced by something else. Each individual woman may be a selective sensitivity to any hormone combination- low androgenic effect which is a formula of a woman can be a high androgenic effect on the other.
I can no longer recommend the use of birth control pills and other hormone-based contraceptives young women. Decades of evidence to suggest using a lot of known and unknown health risks may have any chance of sex hormones, either prescription or over-the-counter forms. It is clear that the benefits of hormonal contraceptives is accompanied by significant risks, including making it much more likely that a woman will experience hormonal imbalances leading to a long list of negative effects. Hormone replacement take the risk
Depression or other mood disorders; decreased libido
periods between migraine and headache
Emlőcsomók, tenderness and enlargement
Vaginal bleeding
High blood pressure (hypertension)
high cholesterol
blood clot in the leg, he felt as pain in the calf; leg cramps; leg and foot swelling
blood clot in the lungs, he felt a shortness of breath; sharp chest pain; hemoptysis
Heart attack, he felt chest pain or difficulty
Sudden loss of vision or visual disturbances, which may be a sign of a blood clot in the eye
cerebral vascular accident (stroke) : visual impairment or speech; weakness or numbness in the extremities; severe headache
liver damage, seen as yellow eyes or skin; dark urine; abdominal pain
Allergic reactions: skin rash; hives; itching; swelling; difficulty breathing or swallowing
Acne
bloating, nausea and vomiting
Changes in your eyes that make it difficult to wear contact lenses
If you choose hormone receptors for any reason , it is sure to only low androgen content methods. If there is a strong genetic predisposition to hair loss, insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease or female organ cancer in your family, we recommend the use of other non-hormonal contraceptive.
The following is a list ranging from birth control pills lowest androgen index highest
Desogen, Ortho-Except Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Micronor, Nor-Q D, Ovcon-35, Brevic / Modicon, Norvum Ortho 7/7/7, Ortho Novum 10-11 Tri-Norinyl, Norinyl and Ortho 1/35, 1/35 Demulen, Triphasil / Tri-Levien, Nordette, Lo / Ovral, Ovrette, Ovral, Loestrin1 / 20, Loestrin 1.5 / 30
the following hormonal contraceptives substantial risk of loss, or even worse:
progestin implants, such as Norplant, are small rods surgically under the skin. The rods release a continuous dose of progestin to prevent ovarian function.
Progestin injections, such as Depo-Provera, are given into the muscles of the upper arm or buttocks.
The skin patch (Ortho Evra) fits onto the shoulder, buttocks, or other location. Will release progesterone and estrogen continuously to prevent the ovaries are capable of normal cycle.
The vaginal ring (NuvaRing) is a flexible ring that is inserted into the vagina. This method releases the lowest amount of progesterone and estrogen.
Minoxidil 2% Topical Treatment – Minoxidil seems to be more effective in women than in men, increasing scalp hair growth. Manufacturers of minoxidil recommend women use minoxidil 2%. There is a 5% solution available that has been tested and found safe enough for men. Mivel a döntéshozók a minoxidil nem fektetett rovására egyre FDA jóváhagyását elősegítése 5% -os minoxidil adható nőknek meg kell előírnia, és használatuk orvos & # 39; s felügyelet. Kis klinikai vizsgálatok során 5% -os minoxidil a nők számára azt mutatják, hogy az 5% -os oldat valójában hatékonyabb mind visszatartó és megújuló haj, mint a 2% -os oldat.
spironolakton (aldactone) egy kálium-megtakarító vízhajtó kezelésére használják a magas vérnyomás és a duzzanatot. Spironolakton lassítja a termelés az androgének a mellékvesék és a petefészkek. Ez megakadályozza a DHT-t kötő receptor telek a hajhagymákat.
cimetidin (Tagamet) egy hisztamin-blokkoló, jóváhagyott kezelésére emésztőrendszer fekélyek. Ez megakadályozza, hogy a gyomorban termelő emésztőenzimek. Cimetidin is kimutatták, hogy blokkolja a DHT kötődését az szőrtüsző receptor helyekhez.
ciproteron-acetát csökkentésére használják szexuális agresszió a férfiak. Ciproteronacetát blokkok DHT szőrtüsző receptorokhoz. Ez jelentős toxicitása és hosszú távú mellékhatásai, és nem áll rendelkezésre az USA-ban.
ketokonazol kapható helyi kezelésére. Ez elsősorban mint antimikrobiális kezelésére bőr gomba. Ez elnyomja a termelés az androgének által a mellékvesék, a herék és a petefészkek. Nizoral sampon tartalmaz 2% ketokonazol. Van egy over-the-counter verzió. Meg van 1% hatóanyagot és nem olyan hatékony, mint a vényköteles erejét.
a finaszterid egy gyógyszer, amely gátolja az enzim 5-alfa-reduktáz enzimet, amely inaktiválja a DHT. Ez értékesített Proscar a prosztata megnagyobbodása férfiakban. Eladott Propecia azt az FDA jóváhagyta a férfi kopaszodó. A nőknek nem veszi meg, ha terhes, vagy terhes lehet, mert fennáll a veszélye a feminizáció hatással a hím magzat.
Surgical Implants
Since hair restoration surgery is an option for the vast majority of the balding men, women may want to consider it. However, the type of hair loss most women suffer from makes hair transplants a bad idea.
Few women have the type of hair loss that make them good candidates for a surgical solution. Most men lose hair in well-defined areas, for instance the receding forehead or the classic round spot on the top of the skull. Little clumps or plugs of hair are removed from areas where healthy follicles are stable and plentiful, and these are transplanted to other areas of the head. Women more often experience an overall thinning across their whole scalp, including the sides and back. Most women have few reliably stable donor sites. Offering to transplant hair from unstable donor sites is medically unethical and women must not allow their distress about balding to get in the way of a cool- eyed look at the rationale behind treatment options offered.
Are any women good candidates for hair transplant? Yes, some. A small percentage, 2% to 5% of women will have the type of hair loss that will benefit from this type of procedure. They are:
Women who have suffered hair loss due to non-hormonal causes, like traction alopecia.
Women who have scalp scars from some kind of wound or cosmetic surgery and want to repair hair loss around the incision or injury sites.
Women who have healthy and stable donor sites along with balding in a distinct pattern, like a receding hairline or thinning on the very top of the head.
Natural Remedies for Women's Hair Loss
Safe, effective natural therapies are available to help you restore scalp health and increase hair growth. Like all natural therapies, in order to be maximally effective, it is essential to work with you as an individual. Some remedies will be more useful to you than others, depending on your unique, personal physical, mental and emotional health status. It is always important to spend your health care dollars well. I offer a consultation service to help you choose and make best use of the available options for treatment. Please visit your local ND to find out how to benefit from a personal consultation. You will receive recommendations for specific natural therapies, designed for your unique health status, to help you restore your health, and your scalp hair to it's fullest and most enjoyable beauty.