Extreme stress can be the cause of hair loss in older women.
The most common causes of hair loss in older women are female pattern hair loss, extreme stress, and self-inflicted hair loss. Female pattern hair loss affects tens of millions of women worldwide and is genetic in nature. Everyone experiences stress here and there, but too much stress can lead to more hair loss than usual. In addition, many women are responsible for hair loss due to aggressive styling practices, excessive brushing, and aggressive towel drying. Lastly, some people suspect that thinning hair in older women is related to menopause, but others remain skeptical.
In some cases of hair loss, the culprit is female pattern hair loss.
Female pattern hair loss is one of the most common causes of hair loss in older women. Hair thinning is usually noticed on the top or front of the scalp rather than in the back. While there are several other potential causes of thinning hair in women, a good rule of thumb is to think about female relatives who are the same age or older. If some of these mothers, aunts or sisters are also having difficulty thinning their hair, female pattern hair loss is the likely culprit. This troublesome genetic hair condition is genetic, meaning it runs in families and a person with it can pass it on to their own children.
Smoking can cause hair loss.
Extreme stress is another common cause of hair loss in older women. Experiencing the death of a loved one, dealing with a traumatic illness, or even undergoing routine but serious surgery can all lead to hair loss. In many cases, hair loss is not immediately noticeable, but occurs weeks later. When it comes to hair loss due to stress, hair often grows back when a woman feels less stressed.
People who suffer from hypothyroidism may experience hair loss.
Sometimes thinning hair in older women is self-inflicted, meaning that the woman herself caused the hair loss. Applying chemicals to the hair, such as dyes or texturizers, excessive brushing, and using too much heat on the hair can cause hair loss. Like hair loss due to stress, self-inflicted hair loss is usually reversible. Most women just need to be more careful with their hair, use less damaging styling methods, or at least use them less often.
Female pattern hair loss is one of the most common causes of hair loss in older women.
Hair loss may be related to menopause, but many people believe that there is no correlation. It may be that female pattern hair loss begins to occur around the same time as menopause. Female pattern hair loss is most common in women between the ages of 50 and 60, but it can happen to women of any age.