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What Things Make Hair Fall Out?

Hair loss, also known as alopecia, can be caused by a variety of factors. Some of these are preventable and treatable while others are permanent with little option to reverse the effects.

  1. Illnesses

    • Diseases, such as the autoimmune disease alopecia areata, can be a cause of hair loss. In this disease, white blood cells attack hair follicles, causing those hairs to fall out.

    Stress

    • Excessive stress can lead to hair loss. External stressors cause hair follicles to go dormant, leading to thinning hair.

    Overtreatment

    • Overly processed hair may fall out because overtreatment with dyes, perms or other processes can weaken the hair strands.

    Nutritional factors

    • Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin E, copper, iron, zinc and folic acid, can cause temporary hair loss.

    Hormonal changes

    • Hair loss is common for women during life phases such as pregnancy or menopause, when hormone levels change dramatically in a short period of time.

    Genetic traits

    • In some people, hair loss is genetic. Pattern baldness is not caused by any external factors, but instead is encoded in the genes.

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