Have you ever heard that baldness can suddenly become more than a purely cosmetic disorder?

No matter what they say, we all live in a harsh society having very strict standards of attractiveness. Every individual does his or her best to fit into this limited beauty span and look the way we are supposed to look. Do you really consider it is purely teen behavior? We don’t really want to disappoint you, but cosmetic surgeries, beauty saloons and fitness centers are full of adult people who forget themselves and spend crazy sums of money to look the way fashionable stars and public people do!

To cut the long story short, our good looks matters a lot these days! Some thing like fashionable clothes and posh accessories can be easily purchased, others are part of our looks, that is why it is rather difficult to put them straight. You are expected to be blessed with big bright eyes, thick shiny hair, splendid teeth and immaculate skin to become interesting and attractive for your interlocutor! Recent investigation show that good-looking people get jobs and make friends easier than plain ones. They have two or three times as much sexual partners, are always trusted and are rarely suspected in committing different crimes. Do you still believe we all are equal?

It is clear that, hair loss is one of the appearance disorder making people feel absolutelvery awkward. It is useful to learn some facts about your hair and find the best way out in case of necessity or to help your nearest and dearest overcome this disappointing situation.

As every part of your body, your hair has a normal cycle of life. The period of 2-3 years is considered optimal for your hair to grow and stay on your head. Each tiny hair grows about 1 centimeter a month. Scientists say that about 90% of the hair on the scalp is in the phase of growing. The rest of the hair (about 10%) is in its resting phase. This means that 1/10 of your hair is rather old and after 3-4 months the resting part of your chevelure is going to fall out just to give way to young hairs! As a result you can see a few hairs on you comb, bed, clothes and in the shower - it is a part of usual process. The trouble is when your hair loss becomes excessive.

It is generally believed that hair loss is a purely male trouble. In reality it is not so - men, females and even children can have this esthetic disaster for a number of reasons.

To avoid a certain mixing of terms, let us understand what common baldness is. Generally this word-combination is used to describe a permanent-pattern baldness characteristic for many males over 30. The medical term for this type of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia. It is generally believed that type of baldness is an inherited trait. It is characterized by receding hair line and complete baldness on the top of the head. As many cases reveal, males who start losing their hair rather early (when they are under 30) in the course of time receive extensive baldness while men who showed no early signs of androgenetic alopecia can enjoy their thick chevelure for the rest of their lives.

Unlike men, females can partially lose their hair over the entire scalp getting no bald spots. Thinner hair without any changes in hair line forms so-called female-pattern baldness.

Individuals can find out they lose hair excessively after some illness or a major surgery. As a rule it happens 3-4 months afterwards. In this case we speak about the stress caused by the illness and have nothing serious to worry about - this hair loss is temporary, the amount of dead hairs will become less with every week.

Hormonal troubles are also often responsible for hair loss. Number one issue here is your thyroid gland - if it is overactive or underactive, your hair will fall out excessively. As soon as you start treating you thyroid disease, your hair will be OK again. Male and female hormones (androgens and estrogens) can also cause excessive hair loss if they are out of balance in the body. See your MD and take a course of treatment for correcting the hormone imbalance and soon you will notice your hair stopped falling out!

The majority of females having a 3 months old baby point out they lose hair excessively. There is nothing to worry about here! The thing is certain hormones during the pregnancy keep all your hair from falling out. As soon as your hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, your body restores the usual cycle of hair growth and natural hair loss starts anew!

If you take certain pills for a long period of time, be aware of the fact they can affect your hair! Anticoagulants (or so called blood thinners), anti-gout medicines, medicines for hypertension or heart problems, birth control pills, antidepressants and vitamin A in big doses can influence your scalp in a bad way causing excessive hair loss. As soon as you stop taking the pills in question, the natural cycle of hair growth and hair loss will recommence.

Never forget that fungal infections of the scalp cause excessive hair loss, too. The majority of cases of that kind are associated with children. The good news is that this sort of infections can be easily and rapidly treated with special antifungal pills.

A chronic disease, especially one connected with your immune system, such as lupus or diabetes, can affect the state and thickness of your hair as well. Be careful, Because, hair loss can become one of the early symptoms of a starting disease and if you report to your MD about it in time you can start your treatment as soon as possible and expect a complete recovery or at least a long-term remission.

Medical practice shows that some hairstyles or treatments cause hair loss, too! If you are a fan of pigtails, ponytails, cornrows and extremely tight hair rollers and you keep wearing them season in and season out, you can end up losing a part of your hair! In fact, you will get so-called traction alopecia. The amazing fact is that if you give your hair more freedom and stop torturing it, your chevelure will grow back normally, unless you have already developed scars on your scalp. Unfortunately, scarring causes irreparable hair loss. Never forget that you can get scalp scars in the process of hot oil hair treatments and when you have your permanents (usually called “perms”) done. The trouble is that the chemicals used in permanents are ruinous for your hair follicles; they may cause inflammation and swelling which results in scarring and excessive hair loss.

The question if your doctor can do something about your hair loss is quite natural. The answer is “yes”! Be ready to give you doc some information about your way of life and bad habits, about your diet and meds you’re taking, about your chronic and recent illnesses etc. Female questionnaire includes questions about menstrual cycle, pregnancies and menopause. Later you doctor will want to give you a physical exam and make several tests like blood test, biopsy etc. This will help you doc check out what exactly causes your extensive hair loss.

As you know, examining and diagnosing is followed by a special kind of treatment. What is the treatment for hair loss like? If you problem is caused by the medications you take daily, your physician can prescribe you a different one. If you lose your hair because of some infection, it will be recognized and cured, and you will soon grow your chevelure back. If you happen to have a certain hormone imbalance certain medical treatment will soon allow you to enjoy your shaggy mane again!

What is more, up-to-date pharmaceutical industry works miracles. This means you can buy a wide range of pills preventing the development of common baldness! Please, keep in mind that some meds like Rogaine (generic name Minoxidil) are available in any online drugstore no prescription needed and can be used by both sexes. Other meds like Finasteride are meant for men only! Keep them away from females, children and domestic animals!

If you decided to grow your hair back and get meds, be prepared to take your medications regularly for a considerable period of time. As a rule it takes you up to 6 months to see the results with your own eyes.

Even if no medical handling is available for you, do not despair! Firstly, you can try alternative medicine. Secondly, your appearance trouble can be solved with the help of different hairstyles, as well as cosmetic hair transplantation.

Anyway, growing your hair back is a slow process taking a lot of time! Do not become isolated in you own house! If you are a woman, top-quality wigs and hairpieces will help you out any time - believe it or not, a lot of celebs wear them! If you are a man, consider shaving off all your hair - it is fairly considered cool and sexy! Give it a proper thought and you will certainly find the best way out!

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