Every woman has experienced hair loss problems at some point in time. Hair loss in women is common. It may be as a result of hormonal changes due to pregnancy or stress. After some time when the stress period is over the body normally regains its ability to produce normal hair growth. What really causes thinning hair in women? We are going to look at some of the possible causes of this.

The body of women continuously changes on a monthly period due to menstruation. The end of the menstrual cycle is characterised by a shedding of the uterine wall. The shedding of the uterine wall results in a loss of iron and other nutrients. These nutrients have to be recovered from the diet in order to reconstruct a new uterine wall. If women are on a diet that is deficient on certain minerals they are likely to experience problems that may include hair thinning and hair loss. This is so for the lack of nutrients affects the proper production of hormones that regulate normal body function. Some of these hormones such as the growth hormone are associated with the growth of hair follicles. When such hormones are in short supply, hair will start to thin.

Loss of nutrients due to menstruation can also weaken the immune system if these nutrients are not recovered by the body. When the immune system is affected, areas like the scalp can be attacked by fungal infections. Fungal infections can irritate the skin and cause one to scratch their scalp. This results in reduced hair growth as well as thinning. Fungi also releases toxins that affect hair follicles, forcing them to shed some hair strands.

Some women speed up the rate of hair thinning through use of hormonal contraceptives. These contraceptives affect the normal levels of hormones in the body. This may result in abnormal function of the thyroid, causing it to release further hormones which will then result in hair loss. Hormones affect the production of melanin a pigment in hair and keratin, the protein fiber in hair. When these two components of hair are affected, hair thinning and hair loss will be the result.

Cosmetics are another possible cause of thinning hair in women. Hair relaxers have chemicals like sodium hydroxide which break the chemical bonds in hair strands that cause it to curl. Such active ingredients that are found in relaxers can speed up the rate of hair thinning. If these chemicals are used improperly, they may damage hair follicles on the scalp and cause baldness.

Inactivity is another cause of thinning hair in women. Some women hardly exercise daily. Lack of exercise causes some cells and tissues to regress with time. Common areas that will be affected are the scalp region. As women age, oxygen supply to the scalp region diminishes thus causing hair thinning. However, if consistent exercise is followed, the rate of diminishing oxygen supply to the scalp is slowed, reducing any possibilities of hair thinning.