Thinning and balding hair is a serious problem these days. It is showing up more and more and is even affecting people at younger ages and occurs for many different reasons as well. Understanding the cause can help you learn how to treat and even prevent these problems from happening to you.

For women thinning and balding go together. The most common form of hair loss is androgenic alopecia, which is female pattern hair loss. It is genetic and causes a women's hair to thin all over her head until she is bald. This is why you see so many older women with very little hair but it is spread all over their head. A lot of times, it is even the reason women say that their hair is just thin. They are trying to ignore the fact that they are going bald because they do not have bald spots and their hair line is not receding like men's do. Because it is genetic you can actually have your hair tested to see if you will develop this form of hair loss. If you do, the good news is that this hair loss type has the most treatments available for treating it.

Autoimmune diseases, such as alopecia areata, are another cause of thinning and balding. The immune system attacks the hair follicle because it is confused and thinks it is a foreign body, such as an infection. This causes the hair follicle to die, which causes balding because no new hair can grow from a dead follicle. It can be treated however, in numerous ways. You can get cortisone injections in your scalp, though cortisone should not be put in your body without serious consideration. You can even use creams or laser therapy as well. If your autoimmune disorder is severe enough, you may even be put on medications that suppress the immune system so it cannot attack your body or hair.

Even certain medication can cause your hair to become thin and bald. Most people only think of chemotherapy as a hair loss drug. Chemotherapy drugs are only one of many different drugs that can cause you to lose your hair. That is why it is very important to read all the side effects that any drug you take may have. This is even true of any hair loss treatment you use. You should always make sure you know what it may