Alopecia: what are the causes

When people suffer from alopecia, they often wonder about the exact causes. However, not everyone knows that these causes can be multiple, and depending on the symptoms, different actions must be taken to solve the problem.

What is alopecia

A great many men and women around the world suffer from hair loss every day. This condition, also known by the terms calvice or alopecia, can be destabilizing and lead to numerous problems, especially related to the social and psychological spheres.

Symptoms related to alopecia can be diverse. In men for example, the most typical hair loss is gradual thinning and loss in the frontal and vertex areas. The female hair loss, on the other hand, concerns a more distributed area.

Risk factors for alopecia

There are a number of risk factors that can facilitate or contribute to the processes that lead to hair loss. Among the main ones we note:

• Age: the more years pass, the greater the likelihood of suffering from alopecia
• Overweight: being overweight or suffering from obesity alters the balance of the body and facilitates the onset of balding issues
• Food: the food we eat has a particular influence in the health of our hair. A diet low in protein, vitamins and minerals weakens hair and increases the likelihood of hair loss.

Cause of alopecia

Several studies confirm that under normal conditions each of us loses up to 100-150 hairs every day. Therefore, when we talk about hair loss, we mean a substantial loss that cannot be confused with the natural process of hair growth.

Heritable causes

One of the first causes related to alopecia is thehereditary factor. In fact, the likelihood of developing androgenetic alopecia over time is the greater the presence of family members with similar characteristics. Androgenetic alopecia and hereditary causes are recorded more in men, but women also suffer from it.

Hormonal causes and medical treatments

There are a number of causes that are not so much due to genetics but involve hormonal factors. In particular, hormonal changes related to specific periods of life such as adolescence, pregnancy or menopause, can affect hair loss.

A similar situation is related to problems with the immune system. This is the case, for example, with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to fight certain groups of cells and results in the formation of glabrous patches of skin.

At the same time, medical treatments and therapies can also lead to alopecia, although most of the time temporary. For example, it is known how cycles of chemotherapy result in progressive but not permanent hair loss.

Other reasons

In addition to the risk factors and causes in the previous paragraphs, there are many other causes of alopecia. For example, a particularly emotionally stressful event, such as theloss of one’s family member, may cause such a shock that hair loss occurs.

Other causes, on the other hand, may relate to frequent hair treatments, such as combing or even combing, which subject hair and scalp to fatigue and facilitate the appearance of alopecia.