Hair loss or alopecia is a sensitive subject among menopausal women of whom about 1 in 3 will experience the symptoms of thinning or balding locks.  Unlike men, who can start exhibiting symptoms of alopecia in their teenage years, women usually start in their thirties and forties.  When a woman begins to lose her hair before the age of thirty, it is considered premature and can be an overwhelming experience.  The best first step is to understand why it is happening.

The most common causes for hair loss in young women are medications and illnesses.  Medicine for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism as well as the conditions themselves tend to interrupt the hair follicle’s natural cycles and therefore cause premature alopecia.  Chemotherapy, a treatment for cancer, is well known for causing mass hair loss in women of all ages.  Other medications with similar effects include antidepressants and mood disorder pills.  A sufferer of premature hair loss would be well advised to read the information pamphlets on all prescription drugs they are currently taking and see if hair loss is a possible side effect.

The reason menopausal women are affected by hair loss is heightened amounts of androgens, which are male hormones that cause the life of a hair follicle to cut itself short.  There is a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome that causes the body to overproduce male hormones and causes the female’s eggs to turn into cysts that build up in the ovaries.  PCOS is a hormonal disorder affecting 6 – 10% of women.  One of the major symptoms is alopecia and PCOS remains one of the leading causes of hair loss in young women.  It is unclear what the causes are, but research speculates that it is passed on genetically.

The causes may also be less serious; hair loss in young women may also be caused by poor nutrition.  Eating disorders, nutrient deficiencies or conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) where the body has trouble taking in nutrients may all contribute to premature alopecia.  Going to a doctor can clear up whether nutrition is a factor.

If the causes of premature hair loss can be eliminated, they should be as soon as possible.  In the case of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which is untreatable, it is possible to get hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills or make lifestyle changes that may reverse the hair loss or at least make it manageable.  In most cases where a cause cannot be eliminated, Rogaine (or newly FDA approved alternatives such as Propecia and Provillus) works to stimulate hair growth with a formula specially crafted for females.

There are many herbal and homeopathic remedies available that claim to combat hair loss in young women.  Most of these make advertisements that play on the woman’s emotions to try to get her to buy a product that claims to work.  Most of them have absolutely no positive effects or have terrible side effects.  Some advertised pills will make the hair grow back on your head, but will also cause more hair to sprout everywhere else too!

Hair loss in young women is an unfortunate thing, but luckily the causes are well known and a trip to the doctor can help decide on a course of action that will help reverse hair loss and improve self-esteem.