Women consider their hair the most important of all their features and place it in the highest possible ranking. Most of the literature also gives a lot of stress and importance to a woman’s hair, the fairytale Rapunzel being one such example.

The primary highlights of hair are said to be its beauty and strength. Hence women take the loss of hair much more to heart than men. It is assumed that men will lose hair at some point in their life and even attempt to be proud of it while women losing hair is a bane. Therefore, it is essential to understand why women lose hair and rectify the problem.

For men the loss of hair can be attributed primarily to aging and hereditary factors. If someone in the family is bald, the men are bound to become bald too. Hormones are found in both men and women and one of the common hormones to both is androgen.

This is however found more in men than in women. Androgen comprises of androsteineidone, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. For most men, hair loss is caused when the testosterone comes in contact with some enzymes found in the body cells and gets converted to DHT. This DHT gets attached to the receptor part of the hair follicle and causes the hair to shrink and in the long run die and fall off.

In women it is not as easy to identify and classify the reasons for hair loss. There are several reasons with several possible causes and innumerable solutions. Androgenic Alopecia, which is the popular name for loss of hair in men due to hormonal changes, is not as common in women and hence hair loss in women cannot be attributed only to this.

In most women, hair loss is the symptom or signal indicating that she is suffering from some health problem, physical or mental. A lot of women experience hair loss when they have polycystic ovaries, as it is one of the most obvious and visible symptoms of the syndrome.

Other factors that cause hair loss in women are thyroid irregularities, any form of chronic illness, medications and autoimmune disorders. There can be a major hair loss in women immediately after a major surgery, post partum or any trauma.

Therefore, it is essential for women to consult a physician if they suddenly have severe unexplained hair loss so that they can figure out the actual reason. If the primary cause for hair loss is identified and treated, then hair loss can be stopped and women can have the lovely, beautiful hair they covet.