All that you need to know about hair loss

New Delhi: You feel great when your hair is healthy and voluminous. But, if it's not, you may end up feeling a bit low.

Hair loss or thinning is quite common amongst women as also. It's not just women in their forties or fifties who face hair loss, it can also strike a younger lot.

"Most cases of increased hair shedding gradually resolve on their own without treatment. But, if your hair doesn't return to its normal fullness after 6 to 9 months, then you may require hair treatments," said Prerna Taneja, Medical Director Clinic Eximus.

Listed below are some of the most common causes of hair loss in women:

Emotional or physical stress: When you're going through a stressful phase, you may experience hair loss as your body puts its resources towards getting you through that sad event. Also, overexerting yourself physically can also result in losing strands.

Pollution: Sudden hair loss is imminent if the contaminants of air, including particulate matter, dust, smoke, nickel, lead and arsenic, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons settle on your scalp and hair.

Poor diet: In order to be in their best shape, women these days indulge into dieting, which on the flip side can lead to lack of nutrition in their body, resulting in massive hair loss.

Lack of sleep: Not having enough sleep can also cause and thin down your tuft.

Lack of protein: Intake of nutrients, like protein, is essential as it helps make new hair cells. But, if your body doesn't have enough of it, it won't be able to replace your old hairs with the new ones.

Changes in birth control pill: Going off the pill or changing to a different type of hormonal contraception is also one of the causes of hair loss in women.

Pregnancy: Owing to the estrogen hormones, women during pregnancy notice their hair going into rapid growth mode. But, once estrogen levels go back to normal after delivery, hair starts shredding again.

The continuous styling of hair or wearing too tight hairstyles: Rigorous styling and hair treatments over the years can thin the bunch on your head. Constant application of chemicals on hair weaken their roots. Wearing too tight ponytails is also one of the causes of hair loss among women.

Anemia: Almost two in 10 women between 20 and 50 years of age suffer from iron deficiency, which is an easily fixable cause of hair loss.

Hormonal changes: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) symbolises imbalance in female sex hormones. An excess of androgens results in ovarian cysts, a higher risk of diabetes, changes in menstrual period, which ultimately affects the hair growth. Hypothyroidism is another big reason for hair loss.

Heredity: If your family trend has always been in a way where women suffer from hair loss at a certain age, then you might be more prone to the same.

Here are some treatments for hair loss:

Mesotherapy: It involves imparting a combination of various nutrients and medication that boosts hair growth naturally.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP): In this treatment, the patient's blood is drawn and is then processed. The platelet-rich blood is inserted via an injection into the problem areas of skin to organically support hair growth.

Hair transplant: This treatment restores hair by transplanting new follicles into balding or thinning areas. Healthy follicles are taken from other areas of the body; mostly the back or the sides of the head.