Are You Losing Your Hair?

We tend to think of it as a guy thing. But some experts believe that dramatically thinning hair--the fallout (literally) from stress, poor nutrition, an underlying medical condition, harsh hair treatments, or heredity, among other causes--is as common in women as it is in men.
Roughly half of all women over age 40 experience excessive hair loss. And one study estimates that it occurs in 75 percent of women over age 65.Perhaps you've noticed a few extra hairs in the sink after a combing. Or maybe your scalp appears a little more visible when you emerge from the shower. If you fear that your hair may be thinning significantly, read on to learn more about hair loss in women--what causes it, what it looks like, and what you can do about it.

What's Causing My Hair Loss?
The most common type of hair loss from the scalp (as opposed to hair loss all over the body) is androgenetic alopecia (AA), or pattern baldness. When it occurs in men, it's called male-pattern baldness; in women, it's female-pattern baldness. AA accounts for 95 percent of all cases of head-only hair loss and it results when, for reasons science hasn't identified, hair follicles become sensitive to the hormone androgen.

Who Gets It?
AA is hereditary. A history of the condition in men or women on either side of your family (not just your mom's side, as most people believe) increases your risk of developing it and also influences the age at which your hair loss begins, the speed with which it occurs, and its pattern and extent. But a family history isn't always a factor: About 12 percent of people with AA have no trace of it in their family trees.

What Does It Look Like?
Alopecia means baldness. But women with AA rarely go completely bald, as some men do. Most often a woman's hair simply thins gradually and diffusely on the top of or all over her head. In both men and women, AA is permanent and continues with aging.
What Can I Do?
Be sure to consult an expert who can help determine why your hair is thinning so you can treat the problem correctly. To find a physician in your area who specializes in diseases of the skin and hair, check out the American Academy of Dermatology Web site. Click on Find a Dermatologist to search by state, city, area code, zip code, or last name.
In the meantime, however:
Don't Be Afraid to Wash Your Hair
It won't lead to hair loss.

Avoid Brushing or Teasing
Both can lead to hair loss. Use a wide-toothed comb instead.

Try a New 'Do
A style with layers will help your hair look fuller. You can even perm or color your hair; medically, there's no reason not to. Just avoid a weave or any other style that can put prolonged tension on your hair or cause it to break, which can lead to further hair loss.

Am I Losing It?
The truth is, you are--everyone is. Most of us shed 50 to 150 hairs a day. Once a hair is shed, a new hair from the same follicle replaces the lost strand--unless you have AA. AA occurs when the rate of hair shedding exceeds the rate of hair regrowth, or when the new hair shafts that grow in are thinner than the previous ones, making your mane look progressively less thick.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
You can experience temporary hair loss, and unlike androgenetic alopecia, it's not gradual. Here are two for-women-only causes of temporary hair loss.

Giving Birth
During pregnancy, the rise in hormones sends hair into its resting phase, so hair that would naturally fall out doesn't. Several months after delivery, hormones return to normal, and some women experience an increase in hair loss (all over the head, not just at the top). This can last between 1 and 6 months; then, it usually corrects itself.

Starting the Pill
Some women lose hair while taking birth control pills. The reasons: shifting hormone levels (caused by the Pill) and heredity. If this happens to you, talk to your gynecologist about switching to a different Pill or birth control method.

How To Stop Hair Loss and Prevent Hair Baldness

Possessing dense and luxuriant mane covering the scalp is the dream of us all. However, very often this dream is eclipsed by the nightmare of large scale hair loss. It brings with it worries and depression. We start to desperately look for ways and means to check this menace completely or at least curb it.

It may be mentioned that a certain rate of hair fall i.e. loss of a number of hair strands per day is normal. However, when it exceeds a certain limit then it becomes a cause of concern and is considered as a problem.

Causes of hair loss and their remedies

The causes of hair loss may be many. Very often some internal malady may be the root cause. This needs to be ascertained. Bringing into effect the proper preventive treatments can stop hair loss even before it begins by detecting the symptoms. Diseases like lupus or diabetes are a cause for hair loss. The hair loss serves as an early indication of the disease. The hair loss gets treated alongside the treatment of the disease.

Hair loss can also be the side effect of certain medication. When the administration of such medicines producing hair loss is discontinued the hair loss also stops.

Lack of proper nutrition- inadequate intake of vitamins, minerals, proteins etc. may cause hair loss. Ensuring proper nutrition usually checks such hair loss.

As after effect of a major surgery or illness you may lose much hair. However, this loss is considered to be temporary and is associated to the illness or stress borne by the surgical operation carried out. Post pregnancy hair loss is also commonly heard of. This is due to some temporary hormonal changes which soon ceases. Otherwise the help of a doctor is required.

Hormonal imbalances may result in hair loss. The malfunctioning of the thyroid glands may cause hair loss. Attending to the particular type of hormonal problem and adequate treatment provided for it helps overcome the excessive hair loss too.

Treatments of hair loss are carried out as per the nature and correct cause of the problem. A proper diagnosis which may include blood tests and biopsy needs to be done for detecting the problem.

Hair loss arising from some infection of the scalp can be treated as per prescription from a doctor. Medicines are available for retarding or preventing the development of baldness by hair loss. It takes some time to find out the efficacy of such drugs.

It must be borne in mind that there is a hereditary factor too which may be working behind hair loss and baldness. This is also observed to be more prevalent in case of men. This is not easy to counteract.

It may be that no suitable treatment can stop the hair loss and baldness develops. In such cases persons concerned about their personal beauty and aesthetics with regards to their crowning glory may opt for a wig or a hairpiece. New techniques of hair grafting and hair weaving can also be sought resort to.

How to Control Curly Hair in Summer?

First of all, understand that if you were born with curly hair, 90 percent (if not more) women with straight hair have been jealous of your hair at some point. Women with limp, stick-straight hair spend hours of their lives with curling irons trying to mimic what comes naturally to you. How do I know this? I have straight hair. I own four curling irons.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, there are pros and cons to having curly hair. The pros include body and the fact you don't suffer from Oily Hair Syndrome and therefore have to wash your hair every day. The cons include frizz and Puffy Hair Syndrome, which tends to happen in high humidity and when the hairdresser gets too snip-happy. But there are secrets to living with curly hair and I've discovered every single one of them.

Secret #1:

Thou Shalt Not Fight Your Natural Curl on Humid Days
If you're in a hot, humid climate, you might as well put away your flat iron. You might spend hours straightening your hair, only to step outside and ... POOF!

So what to do in humid climes? Embrace the curl. We'll get more into that in a bit.

Secret #2:

If You Want to Go Straight, You Can One of the great benefits to curly hair is with a little bit of muscle or chemicals, you can go straight. Nicole Kidman has been sporting stick straight hair on the red carpet for years now, but the truth is, she has super curly hair. There are several types of professional hair straightening available, it's just a matter of finding one that fits into your budget and your hair texture. The solution used is much like a perm, only instead of curly hair, it straightens it.

Even after a professional straightening, you'll likely need to iron hair. Invest in a great ionic flat iron --it's much less time-consuming and a great iron won't fry your hair.

Secret #3:
No, You are Not Destined for a Life Full of Frizz
As you likely well know by now, humidity can wreak havoc on curly hair. Curly hair tends to be dry and therefore vulnerable to humid air -- it simply wants to soak up moisture. This causes cuticles to expand, which causes frizz.
The secret to keeping frizz at bay involves a few products: a leave-in conditioner, a deep conditioner and a styling product involving silicone. If you have curly hair, these should be staples in your bathroom cabinet. All either keep the hair moisturized or protects the cuticle from moisture.

Preventing frizz is basically a four-step process: deep condition once a week. Apply a leave-in conditioner to ends after a shower. When styling hair, apply a serum that contains silicone (look for "dimethicone" on the bottle) to wet hair, coating every curl.

Secret #4:
There are Right Ways & Wrong Ways to Use a Blow Dryer
The blow dryer can be a curly girl's nightmare if used improperly. To avoid poof, let hair airdry as long as possible, then blow dry hair with a diffuser. If you don't use a diffuser, aim the blow dryer nozzle downward, in the direction hair grows.
How to use a diffuser: Hold the dryer under hair, squeezing curls in your palm as you dry hair.

Secret #5:
Throw Out That Brush & Invest in a Comb
A comb is your best friend, a brush is not. Some women swear off even the comb, preferring finger-combing (I know of one woman who swears she's never, ever combed or brushed her hair).
Combing hair is great, because it ensures you're coating locks with that silicone serum you have dutifully purchased.

Secret #6:
Curly Hair Looks Best Long-ish
Remember when actress Kerri Russell cut off her famous long, curly locks and the public went ballistic? Turns out her long hair was beloved and she just didn't look so great with short hair.
The problem with short hair on curly women is that short hair doesn't look good. That's all a matter of face shape. The fact is short hair tends to be poofy. Curls need length to weigh them down, so women with curly hair tend look best with hair that grows below the shoulders. When I say "below the shoulders" I mean when hair is dry.

Secret #7:
The Most Flattering Type of Haircuts
Curly hair tends to look best with layers cut into it. Without layers, long curly hair tends to resemble a Christmas tree.
I almost always advise women to seek out stylists who are experienced in cutting curly hair. This can be daunting, I know, because if you call a salon and ask for such a thing you'll likely be assured that all the stylists can cut curly hair. If you admire another curly woman's hair, get her stylist's number. It could be the most coveted seven digits in your cell phone.

Extra tip: Stylists with curly probably know how to cut curly hair.

Secret #8:
Some Styles Look Better on You Than Anyone Else
Personally, I think ballerina bands, which are utterly hot right now, look best on women with curly hair. There are some romantic updos that I covet and that look good only on naturally curly hair. After all, when one thinks "romantic updo," the image conjured up in the mind is not a sleek chignon. It is curly hair pulled back and up. Just be careful with the tendrils, which are too '80s.
The half-up, half-down hairstyle is also very romantic and looks great on curly hair.

Also headbands. Headbands look fabulous with curly hair, which leads me to ...

Secret #9:
Headbands are an Excellent Choice When You're Short on Time
For curly-haired women short on time, a headband can be a lifesaver. If you pull hair back in a band while it's damp, it's a great way to "flatten" hair at the crown, leaving the curls at your hair's ends. Later you can pull off the hairband and you'll have gorgeous body.

Secret #10:
Loose Buns are Utterly Sexy
Because you abide by secret #5, chances are you have long hair and long hair looks fabulous pulled back in a loose bun. To get this look, simply pull hair back, then twist at the nape of the neck into a bun. Secure with a rubber band. Loose and messy is good, tendrils are not.

Are You Losing Your Hair?

We tend to think of it as a guy thing. But some experts believe that dramatically thinning hair--the fallout (literally) from stress, poor nutrition, an underlying medical condition, harsh hair treatments, or heredity, among other causes--is as common in women as it is in men.
Roughly half of all women over age 40 experience excessive hair loss. And one study estimates that it occurs in 75 percent of women over age 65.Perhaps you've noticed a few extra hairs in the sink after a combing. Or maybe your scalp appears a little more visible when you emerge from the shower. If you fear that your hair may be thinning significantly, read on to learn more about hair loss in women--what causes it, what it looks like, and what you can do about it.

What's Causing My Hair Loss?
The most common type of hair loss from the scalp (as opposed to hair loss all over the body) is androgenetic alopecia (AA), or pattern baldness. When it occurs in men, it's called male-pattern baldness; in women, it's female-pattern baldness. AA accounts for 95 percent of all cases of head-only hair loss and it results when, for reasons science hasn't identified, hair follicles become sensitive to the hormone androgen.

Who Gets It?
AA is hereditary. A history of the condition in men or women on either side of your family (not just your mom's side, as most people believe) increases your risk of developing it and also influences the age at which your hair loss begins, the speed with which it occurs, and its pattern and extent. But a family history isn't always a factor: About 12 percent of people with AA have no trace of it in their family trees.

What Does It Look Like?
Alopecia means baldness. But women with AA rarely go completely bald, as some men do. Most often a woman's hair simply thins gradually and diffusely on the top of or all over her head. In both men and women, AA is permanent and continues with aging.
What Can I Do?
Be sure to consult an expert who can help determine why your hair is thinning so you can treat the problem correctly. To find a physician in your area who specializes in diseases of the skin and hair, check out the American Academy of Dermatology Web site. Click on Find a Dermatologist to search by state, city, area code, zip code, or last name.
In the meantime, however:
Don't Be Afraid to Wash Your Hair
It won't lead to hair loss.

Avoid Brushing or Teasing
Both can lead to hair loss. Use a wide-toothed comb instead.

Try a New 'Do
A style with layers will help your hair look fuller. You can even perm or color your hair; medically, there's no reason not to. Just avoid a weave or any other style that can put prolonged tension on your hair or cause it to break, which can lead to further hair loss.

Am I Losing It?
The truth is, you are--everyone is. Most of us shed 50 to 150 hairs a day. Once a hair is shed, a new hair from the same follicle replaces the lost strand--unless you have AA. AA occurs when the rate of hair shedding exceeds the rate of hair regrowth, or when the new hair shafts that grow in are thinner than the previous ones, making your mane look progressively less thick.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
You can experience temporary hair loss, and unlike androgenetic alopecia, it's not gradual. Here are two for-women-only causes of temporary hair loss.

Giving Birth
During pregnancy, the rise in hormones sends hair into its resting phase, so hair that would naturally fall out doesn't. Several months after delivery, hormones return to normal, and some women experience an increase in hair loss (all over the head, not just at the top). This can last between 1 and 6 months; then, it usually corrects itself.

Starting the Pill
Some women lose hair while taking birth control pills. The reasons: shifting hormone levels (caused by the Pill) and heredity. If this happens to you, talk to your gynecologist about switching to a different Pill or birth control method.