Hair Loss - What Increases Your Risk

What Increases Your Risk

Factors that increase the risk of hair loss include:

    * Genetics (inherited tendency). If one or both of your parents have hair loss, it is likely that you will also.
    * Disease or illness. Certain diseases or an illness can cause hair loss. The diseases may include ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis), thyroid diseases such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, or lupus. The illness may include a severe infection or high fever.
    * Age. Many people have some hair loss by the age of 50.
    * Medications and medical treatments. Certain medications or medical treatments can cause scalp problems and hair loss.
    * Hair care and styling. Some methods of hair care or hair styles can damage hair and cause hair loss.

Although most people with hair loss caused by alopecia areata regrow their hair, certain people are at greater risk for their hair not growing back. If you have a family history of the condition, have the condition at a young age, have an autoimmune disease, are prone to allergies (atopy), have extensive hair loss, or have abnormal color, shape, texture, or thickness of the fingernails or toenails, you are more likely to have permanent hair loss.
Symptoms

Hair loss can occur as thinning, in which you may not notice hair falling out, or as shedding, in which clumps of hair fall out.

In the most common type of hair loss, inherited hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), men tend to lose hair on the front hairline and forehead and on top of the head. Eventually, only hair around the ears, the sides, and back of the head remains. Women with this condition typically have gradual thinning throughout the scalp.

See an illustration of typical inherited hair loss.

Other causes of hair loss may also show distinct patterns. For example, conditions such as trichotillomania (compulsively pulling at the hair) or alopecia areata (in which the immune system attacks hair follicles) result in obvious patches of hair loss, while stress and some medications result in clumps of hair falling out.

Because hair is an important part of appearance, hair loss can also result in loss of self-esteem and feeling unattractive, especially in women and teens.