Why Do Women Lose Hair?

If a woman's testosterone levels are too high (androgen dominance), this can cause her to lose her hair. In addition to hair loss, she may also experience increasing hair growth on her face and body, acne, become aggressive and find that her voice has deepened. According to Criticalbench.com and an article written by Mike Westerdal, 70 is considered the normal testosterone range for women. Your testosterone level can be determined via a blood test. If you think your levels might be too high, consult your physician. If your hormone levels are OK, something else must be going on to cause your hair loss.

Testosterone Versus Estrogen

• A woman has relatively high testosterone levels during her 20s, but her male hormones are in sync with the rest of her hormones--including estrogen and progesterone, which are the female hormones. A woman who is entering perimenopause may have higher testosterone levels than she did before going through puberty but probably far less than she did 10 or 20 years earlier. Estrogen, which is beneficial to hair growth and health, bottoms out when a woman is nearing menopause. Testosterone declines, too, but it doesn't plummet as drastically as estrogen. However, any of these hormones can soar and become dominant, which isn't good. When testosterone levels get too high and there isn't enough estrogen present to counteract this, hair loss occurs. That's why so many post middle-aged women find that their hair is thinning or falling out: It can be due to too much testosterone relative to too little estrogen.

PCOS

• Some women suffer from PCOS, which is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. When this occurs, insulin levels that are far too high prompt the ovaries to produce huge amounts of testosterone. The ovary is unable to release an egg as a result. PCOS makes a woman infertile. In addition, the woman may suffer hair loss and other symptoms (noted earlier) that are associated with male hormones--including baldness, according to Pcos.insulitelabs.com.

Alopecia Areata

• If a woman is suffering from alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune disease, this can cause hair loss--and the loss may be permanent. The hair loss is generalized (all over the head) and doesn't follow the pattern of male balding. An overactive or underactive thyroid can cause hair loss, as can lupus, according to Hairdiseases.com.

Scarring Alopecia

• Another form of alopecia is called scarring alopecia, or cicatricial alopecia. This causes permanent hair loss because the disease creates scar tissue that destroys the hair follicles. No one is sure what causes alopecia, although it may be a genetic condition. Scarring alopecia creates bald patches.

Fibrosing Alopecia

• Post-menopausal women may experience frontal fibrosing alopecia, which is a version of scarring alopecia in which hair recedes at the front.

Deficiencies

• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause hair loss. Make sure that you're getting ample amounts of B complex; vitamin A (but no more than 2,500 IU each day, because too much vitamin A can be detrimental to your hair); C and E plus iron, zinc and magnesium, which are trace minerals; as well as pantothenic acid and protein, according to Vitamins-nutrition.org.

Medications

• Medications you're taking may cause your hair to fall out. Offenders include blood thinners, anti-depressants, birth control pills, chemotherapy drugs, gout medicine, acne medication, anti-seizure drugs and anti-inflammatory meds, according to Hairlosstalk.com.