If your crowning glory is looking a little less lustrous than it was, you’re in good company. Women may be much less prone than men to losing all their hair, but a visible scalp and thinning locks are by no means a male preserve. So why do women lose their hair, what treatments help – and which definitely don’t?
WHAT’S NORMAL FOR HAIR GROWTH?
Your hair is made up of protein and goes through three different ‘phases’ in its lifetime – the growing (anagen) phase, which lasts three to five years; the ‘shrinking’ (catagen) phase, for 10-14 days; and then the resting (telogen) phase, which lasts for about three months. After this, the hair follicle hopefully enters a new growing phase and the whole process is repeated. Your individual hairs move between these phases at different times, so you lose 50-100 hairs a day.
WHAT CAUSES HAIR LOSS?