10 Causes Of Thinning Hair And What You Can Do To Grow Hair Faster

The question "What's causing my thinning hair?" does not have one simple answer. There are many possible reasons, often in combination that would cause hair loss. It's a matter of finding out what the possible causes are and determining which one/ones you would fall under.

Let's remember that everyone losses hair everyday. Typically the average person losses between 100 and 150 hairs a day. The problem results when your new hairs aren't growing in quickly enough to replace the hair that has fallen out.

I like to group hair loss into two broad categories, external hair loss and inherited hair loss.

I consider it External hair loss when there's an external catalyst that is causing the hair loss. To prevent the hair loss, all that needs to be done is to remove the catalyst.

With inherited hair loss there is no external catalyst, it's a genetic trait you got from your family. This doesn't mean that you can't change it, it just means that there isn't a catalyst that we can simply remove.

Below are what I consider external causes of hair loss, all the ones that are listed below can be reversed simply by removing what is causing the hair loss.

• Diseases - For certain diseases hair loss is an early symptom, including diabetes and lupus. Because it can be an early warning sign for something much more serious you should find the cause of your hair loss so it can be treated.
• Bacterial or Fungal Infection - Fungal infection on the scalp like Dandruff, can cause hair loss. This can be the cause of hair loss in children. Thankfully it is something that is pretty easy to cure. For more info on removing fungal infection from your body check out another article I wrote on yeast infection.
• Stress - Worry, anxiety, stress, and major life traumas can cause it.
• Hormonal Imbalance - If your thyroid gland is either too active or not active enough it can cause hair loss. Once the thyroid's hormone production is corrected the hair loss will stop.
  
• Surgery - 3 to 4 months after an illness or major surgery you can suddenly lose a large amount of hair. The reason for the hair loss is because of the stress the surgery/illness has put on your body and it is only a temporary problem.
• Pregnancy - Similar to surgery or illness pregnancy puts a lot of stress on your body, and often women will lose hair 3 months after giving birth. This is primarily because of hormones being out of balance, once they are stabilized the hair regrows.
  
• Medications - Certain medications can cause hair loss. Some of the most common are chemotherapy, birth control pills, excessive vitamin A and anti-depressants. Your hair loss will stop when you stop the medication.
• "Pulling" Hair Styles - Tight braids, pigtails, cornrows, tight hair rollers or any hair style that pulls and causes undo stress on the hair follicles can cause what is called traction alopecia. If you stop the pulling before scarring of your scalp develops then the hair will grow back, otherwise the hair loss can be permanent.
• Harsh Chemicals - Similar to the scarring created by pulling hair styles, harsh chemicals used in permanents (a.k.a. perms) and hot oil treatments can cause inflammation of the hair follicles which can lead to scarring. And also similar to the pulling hair style if you stop using the harsh chemicals before the scarring happens hair loss will stop.
• Over processing - Over doing it with the curling iron, flat iron, hair dryer, hair coloring or hair bleaching can cause your hair to get brittle and ultimately prematurely fall out.

Like I mentioned before for these causes of hair loss once the catalyst is removed hair loss will stop.

This is the one that you need to look out for, because it will not go away by itself. If you want to stop the thinning hair then you will need to actively do things to prevent and reverse it.

All is still not lost, if you work at it you can stop your hair loss and promote hair growth. The quicker you start working on reversing the hair loss the greater your chances at success are.

For men

Androgenetic alopecia, also known as male-pattern baldness or permanent-pattern baldness is the most common cause of hair loss in men. This type of baldness usually results in a receding hair line or baldness at the top of the head.

For women

Female-pattern baldness (alopecia) is due to a combination of hormones, aging and genes. This type of hair loss hair is spread out over the entire scalp. There may be a moderate amount of hair loss on the crown but it rarely results in total or near baldness as it does in men. It is often noticed when hormone levels change due to menopause, although it can sometimes happen earlier.

Whether you are a man or woman, examining your family history of male or female pattern baldness will give you an idea as to whether it exists in your genes.

This type of hair loss is the one that the hair loss products are created for. All the other causes can be treated simply by removing the cause of the hair loss, genetics is one that needs extra help.

Please don't think that because you inherited the hair loss you can't change the cycle. What you inherited is the hair loss trait, meaning you are prone to hair loss, that DOES NOT mean that it is irreversible.

There are three primary things you should focus on to prevent and reverse your hair loss:

Improve your diet - There are vitamins that are known to promote hair growth, take a look at your diet and see what can be improved.

Here's an article that will help you see where your diet stands:

Hair Vitamins: 5 Vitamins That You Need For Hair Growth

Exercise - It's important to get the blood flowing so that your hair can get the nutrients it needs to grow. Exercise is also a great way to reduce stress if that is a factor in your hair loss.

Use a hair growth product - There are many out there, see which work best for you. Since every body is unique each person will respond differently to different treatments. Natural Products like Provillus, for example, have been proven to work very effectively at restoring hair growth and should be used with the first signs of more than normal hair loss.

Some other articles related to hair growth can be found here:

Provillus: The Only FDA Approved, Clinically Proven Solution to Regrow Hair

►► Find Out More About Provillus Here ◄◄

Remember if your hair loss is due to genetics, your hair loss will not go away by itself. You need to take action to stop it, and the earlier you take action the better your changes are at success.