The average person loses between 40-120 strands a day. Know your normal amount of hair loss a day and use it as a base line to detect any abnormal hair loss. If you normally lose 40 strands a day and you are suddenly shedding more, you might be starting to have hair loss problems. Also, you can do a pull test. By pulling about 60 strands, you should notice less than 10 strands coming off. Anything more than that may indicate a hair loss problem. These two simple home care methods can tell early signs of hair loss before you see any thinning at your parting or crown or any receding hairline.

The most common hair loss in men is the genetic condition called androgenic alopecia that can start as early as early 20s. It is becoming more common in young people now because of diet, stress, medications and excessive use of styling products e.g. perms and dye. The most common causes for female pattern hair loss are hormonal imbalances, anemia, diet, stress and aging.

As trichologist Dr David Kingsley says, “In almost all cases (hair loss), you can get improvement, even if it’s just stopping hair loss… And about 80% of the time, regrowth is a possibility.” With the rapid advancement in technology, there are now more safe and effective treatment options to minimize hair loss and boost hair growth e.g. supplements, scalp and hair treatments, LLLP, laser therapy, micro-needling, mesotherapy, some FDA approved treatments and Regenera Activa. Hair transplants are another option if you your hair loss is concentrated in specific areas.

Dead skin, sweat, oil, dirt and chemical irritation can clog hair follicles. If untreated, these can lead to inflammation and infection causing folliculitis. Folliculitis can be treated with medications, antibacterial topical products and for stubborn cases laser treatments. If left untreated, folliculitis can lead to permanent damage of the follicles resulting in scarring hair loss.

Male pattern hair loss often occurs on the crown and as receding hairlines. However, female pattern hair loss does not normally present as patches of baldness but rather a general diffuse hair thinning.

Alopecia areata presents as bald spots on the scalp and it is an auto-immune condition. The causes are complicated. Heredity may be a factor and it is usually triggered by stress, or sometimes chemical or physical irritations on the scalp. In most cases if the underlying cause is solved, the AA will correct itself. However, in some cases AA may trigger androgenic alopecia.