Every day, a person loses somewhere between fifty and one-hundred hairs. This is natural, and the body naturally replaces these hairs. If a person loses more hairs than that, it is referred to as excessive hair shedding, or telogen effluvium. In some cases, this can be the result of a illness, stress, weight gain or loss, and a change in hormones, and it often stops on its own. However, sometimes people do not stop this shedding, and this results in hair loss. For many women this is a crushing and unexpected, blow. It is more common than most women think, however. Here are four reasons that women can lose their hair.

Lack of Protein

Diet can play a significant impact in a woman’s health, including her hair. If the body is not given enough protein, the body can stop growing hair to try to save the remaining protein that it has. When this is the clear issue, the process can be easy to repair. Adding enough protein into the diet can help this. Even if a person does not eat meat or other similar products, there are still many sources of protein available.

Genetics

According to Hair and Skin Science Clinic, sometimes a woman can have a genetic condition called androgenetic alopecia, which is female pattern hair loss. Typically, a hair is shed and then replaced with one that is the same size. In this condition, the new hair is thinner, and the hair follicles begin to gradually shrink. After a longer period, the new hairs will stop growing. Over twenty million women in America are affected by this, and while it typically happens to women ages fifty and older, it can happen at any time. If a woman’s mother or grandmother has experienced this, it is likely that the woman herself received these genes as well.

Stress

A press release penned by PR Marketer highlights Nadine Dorries and a speech that she gave relating to her own hair loss. Dorries began to lose her hair because of stress, something that impacts around eight million women world-wide. There are three different types of hair loss that can be a side effect of high stress. These include telogen effluvium, or excessive hair shedding, trichotillomania, and alopecia areata. In trichotillomania, a person has the desire to pull out their hair from their scalp. Usually, this is a way to deal with things like stress, boredom, or being frustrated. Alopecia areata is a condition where a person’s hair follicles are attacked by the immune system of the body. This then leads to hair loss.

Hypothyroidism

Thyroid disease is something that many people, especially women, suffer from. Hyperthyroidism is a thyroid that is producing too much of the thyroid hormone. This hormone is responsible for regulating metabolism, mood, and heart rate. Hypothyroidism is the name that is given to a thyroid that is not doing what it is supposed to be doing and producing too little of the thyroid hormone. A side effect of hypothyroidism is that hair, nails, and skin can become weaker and more breakable. This, as well as the change in hormone levels, can lead to hair loss.

Despite impacting many women in the world, hair loss in women is not commonly discussed. Medical reasons, genetics, diet, and stress can all impact the health of hair, causing hair to fall out or stop growing back.