When hormones are not in balance, hair loss can occur. A woman’s hormones can begin to decline and lose balance as early as when she is in her 30’s.
There are many hormones that could cause hair loss.
Male hormones, called androgens, are responsible for both female and male pattern hair loss. Female pattern baldness occurs when dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels become elevated in the scalp. Additionally, low levels of female hormones may cause male hormones to become relatively elevated in women, resulting in hair loss.
Progesterone, produced during ovulation, decreases after menopause. In the absence of hormonal replacement therapy, the body tries to fix the hormonal imbalance itself by producing an adrenal cortical steroid called androstenedione. The production of this hormone causes hair loss
In pregnancy, hair loss may occur when estrogen levels first become elevated and then decrease suddenly. When the estrogen levels are high, this interrupts the normal hair-growth cycle, causing hair follicles to remain active when they should have entered the resting phase. Hair continues to grow throughout the pregnancy. When the pregnancy ends, estrogen returns to pre-pregnancy levels and hair follicles enter the resting phase in bulk. The mass change to the dormant phase severely retards growth and results in dramatic hair loss.
Thyroid hormones positively affect hair growth by enhancing the hair growth, so in hypothyroidism (low thyroid levels) hair becomes thin, weak and brittle. Furthermore, hypothyroidism causes loss of the outer part of the eyebrows as well. Acute thyroid condition can cause telogen effluvium, in which hair rapidly falls out after prematurely entering the resting phase of the hair growth cycle.
High prolactin levels can cause hair loss in a pattern similar to female androgenetic alopecia. It does this by interfering with normal ovarian production of estrogen.
Did you know?
Being overweight or obese affects insulin, testosterone and estrogen levels so that condition is also causing hair loss.