One of the reasons why female hair loss conditions such as alopecia are so distressing for sufferers is because of how suddenly they can occur. Seemingly without warning, some alopecia sufferers have woken up one morning to find that some of their hair has fallen out. If this happens, the first question that often comes to mind is “why me?”
Whilst you will only find out the likely cause of your hair loss condition by visiting your GP or hair loss specialist for a formal diagnosis, a common factor in alopecia sufferers is genetics. Your susceptibility of developing alopecia can be affected by hereditary factors. In fact, around 25 per cent of alopecia patients have a family history of the condition.
However, alopecia is not a single gene that can be passed on; it is a combination of different genes that predispose you to the condition.
Other factors
As well as hereditary factors, you may be more likely to get alopecia if you have had asthma, eczema or a thyroid disease.
Combined with these factors, there is also evidence to suggest that the onset of alopecia is triggered by emotional or physiological trauma or stress.