Ordinarily, we lose somewhere between 50 and 100 hairs a day, but if the rate of hair loss goes beyond this, it can be quite distressing and there may be a problem.
Female hair loss is caused for a number of reasons, including as a result of diet, hormones, medication and illness. Furthermore, hair tends to thin as women age as older women have less oestrogen.
Marilyn Sherlock from the Institute of Trichologists says:
“There is always a cause for hair loss, but occasionally it can be something as innocuous as having had a fever. The high temperature kills the hair, but it won’t fall out for about three months.”
“Healthy hair requires all vitamins and minerals and being low in certain ones, especially iron, can lead to thinning because iron is vital for new hair cells. A crash diet can lead to quite dramatic hair loss too.”
Hair can also be lost following pregnancy. While hair loss slows considerably during pregnancy itself, afterwards, the hair which would have been lost during that time is shed all at once. Typically, the hair will recover within a couple of months, although it could take longer.