There are many different causes and types of female hair loss, with everything from hormones, stress and cancer treatment being responsible for the loss of what some women consider to be their best feature.

Whatever the cause, hair loss in women can be devastating. The lack of control over what is happening, and the confusion as to why it’s happening, only makes sufferers feel more worried, stressed and depressed.
This is why it’s important to get a formal diagnosis, as identifying the cause of the hair loss is the first step on the road to recovery. What’s more, taking positive, decisive action will help you feel that you have regained more control over your situation.

Your doctor may be able to prescribe you a treatment, but there are no guarantees that this will work. As with everything, it depends on your personal circumstances and the type of hair loss you have. You need to prepare yourself for disappointments and setbacks, as these will only upset you and possibly worsen your hair loss condition if they take you by surprise.

There are, however, a number of options and alternatives for you to consider. Find a specialist female hair loss clinic and ask for a consultation – there are options such as natural hair extensions and human hair wigs that may be able to help you disguise your hair loss until you can fully come to terms with it.

Whilst you can go to a doctor or a hair loss specialist for diagnosis and treatment for your condition, these places can’t help you deal with the emotional ramifications of losing your hair. This is why you need to find some kind of support system, to help you come to terms with your hair loss and how it makes you feel about yourself.

Friends and family can be a wonderful source of support during hair loss, but some people feel that those closest to them can’t always fully understand what you’re going through unless they have personally experienced it themselves.

Luckily, there is a whole community of women with hair loss out there, so you needn’t feel alone or that you have no one with whom to share your feelings and concerns. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of websites set up by hair loss sufferers. There are some to deal specifically with alopecia, hair loss caused by chemotherapy treatment for cancer, or pattern baldness, a condition that is often genetic.

Whilst talking to people who are going through the same as you won’t make your hair grow back; it does help you to cope with what’s happening to you a little better.

When it comes to hair loss, even the mildest of conditions can cause you to worry and lose confidence in your appearance. Even if you don’t have severe hair loss, there are specially designed solutions available for you, whether you’ve noticed a small bald patch forming or that your hair is starting to thin.

One very effective solution for thinning hair problems or mild hair loss in women is Medi Connections. It is best suited for women who have noticed a general reduction in the thickness and volume of their hair, or those who have always disliked naturally having very fine hair.

Medi Connections works similarly to hair extensions, but are an ultra-fine, lighter version used to cover selective, targeted areas of thinning hair. It is used when a little extra coverage is needed to disguise thinning or balding, boosting the volume of the hair and restoring your confidence. With Medi Connections, you can still wash and style the hair as normal, and it creates no hindrance to natural hair regrowth.

Due to its targeted application, this hair replacement solution isn’t really suitable for heavy use over the whole head. In the case of more severe hair loss, something like the Intralace System or a human hair wig may be more effective.

Sadly, hair loss is a near certain consequence of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

This can be a bewildering and stressful time for patients, as they struggle to cope with a life-threatening illness and a debilitating and often aggressive chemotherapy treatment programme. Add to this a rapid shedding of hair and the corresponding loss of your sense of identity, and the situation is terrifying.

Knowing the facts can sometimes help to allay some of the panic you may feel during your chemotherapy course, even if it’s just about hair loss. The following are a few commonly asked questions about chemotherapy and hair loss, and a brief answer for each:

Q: When in my treatment will my hair start to fall out?

A: This varies from patient to patient, but it most commonly starts to happen after the second treatment.

Q: Is there anything I need to do at this time?

A: The best thing you can do is to take care of your scalp, washing regularly to make yourself feel more comfortable and to provide optimum conditions for regrowth.

Q: How can I cover or cope with my hair loss?

A: Whilst you wait for your hair to regrow after you finish your treatment, it is recommended to seek a temporary solution such as human hair wigs to cover your hair loss in the interim.

According to reports, an eyelash lengthening serum is currently being tested in America to discover whether it has applications for treating hair loss.

The serum is called Latisse, and it is currently used to enhance and darken eyelashes as a kind of cosmetic product for people who are unsatisfied with the length of their lashes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medication, available only on prescription, claims to help lashes actually grow in length.

This product is now being considered as a possible solution for people suffering with hair loss. The company which makes the product, Allergan, is currently conducting clinical trials of Latisse with alopecia and other hair loss sufferers. Within the reported test group are both women and men displaying signs of pattern baldness.

If Allergan can develop Latisse into a hair loss solution that actually works, as well as being able to secure FDA approval, the finished product is likely to take the form of a cream that is rubbed into the scalp.
If it does actually work, however, Allergan’s product is likely to be astronomically expensive. This means that people who are completely bald or have large bald patches may have to look for a more realistic hair loss solution.

With conditions like female hair loss, there are so many myths and untruths in circulation that it can be difficult to know what to believe.

Unfortunately, some individuals or companies may wish to capitalise on the desperation of hair loss sufferers by playing on this ignorance of the facts. This is why it’s important to bust some of the most commonly believed myths about female hair loss and deal with the facts instead.

Hair loss myths: what’s true and what’s not?

• Hair loss is caused by wearing hats, toupes or wigs too much. Unless your headwear is excessively tight, this is untrue. Hair does not need to breathe – the follicles get all the oxygen they need from the bloodstream.

• Certain hairstyles can cause hair loss. This is to some extent true, as hair can start to fall out if it is constantly pulled too tight. This is called traction alopecia.

• Hair loss can be cured by massaging the scalp or washing hair in cold water. This is untrue – these methods may improve blood circulation to the hair follicles, but it won’t necessary cause the hair to grow back.

Instead of believing every hair loss myth you hear and worrying, hair loss sufferers need to focus on getting a proper diagnosis, finding the appropriate treatment and be patient.