10 REASONS WHY... YOUR HAIR IS FALLING OUT

1 BLAME YOUR PARENTS The most common cause is in your genes: a receding hairline in men (male pattern baldness) or thinning hair in women (female pattern baldness) are hereditary conditions. Among men, a hormone called DHT causes the hair follicles to shrink. The causes of female pattern baldness are less well understood and may be triggered by hormonal changes.

2 YOU’VE HAD A BABY After giving birth, almost half of new mothers report finding that their hair starts falling out in clumps, before returning to its natural thickness. The rise in hormones during pregnancy keeps you from losing your hair. When hormone levels return to normal, typically three months after delivery, the hair loss that was delayed during pregnancy may occur all at once.

3 IT’S YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM Patches of baldness (alopecia areata) are the result of a problem with the auto-immune system. It’s more common in 15 to 29-yearolds, and people suffering from other auto-immune conditions such as an overactive thyroid and diabetes.

4 BLAME YOUR DIET A dramatic weight loss, such as when crash-dieting, can put stress on the body and cause hair loss. Similarly, if the diet is too low in protein this can lead to hair thinning. Research has also shown an association between elevated blood-sugar levels and hair loss.

5 IT’S THE MENOPAUSE It’s estimated that about half of women going through menopause have thinning hair or hair loss. Falling oestrogen levels can be a primary cause, but experts believe that prolonged periods of anaemia when approaching the menopause can also be to blame.

6 YOU’RE STRESSED A shock to the system, whether a physical one such as an accident, surgery or even a high fever, or an emotional one like a bereavement, can lead to a general thinning of hair. A 2002 study at Humboldt University in Germany found putting mice under emotional stress – exposing them to unpleasant sounds – halted hair growth.

7 YOU’VE GOT RINGWORM Ringworm is a fungal infection that can affect the scalp, making hair fibres brittle.

8 IT’S YOUR MEDICATION Chemotherapy, taking anticoagulants to stop bloodclotting and overdoing Vitamin A supplements can cause hair loss. A report by scientists at the University of Melbourne also pinpoints two beta-blockers, metoprolol and propranolol, as causing reversible hair loss.

9 YOU’RE TEARING IT OUT Scalp psoriasis sufferers lose hair not because of the psoriasis but because it causes such an itchy head that they scratch their hair out. There’s also trichotillomania, whose sufferers have an irresistible urge to pull out their own hair.

10 STYLING OVERLOAD Studies have shown that dyes containing paraphenylenediamine can damage the scalp and hair follicles. Tight plaits, cornrows and ponytails can also cause ‘traction alopecia’.