Hair loss has many causes. What’s causing your hair loss can determine whether your hair:

  • Falls out gradually or abruptly
  • Thins
  • Can regrow on its own
  • Requires treatment to regrow
  • Needs immediate care to prevent permanent hair loss

Causes of hair loss

Hereditary hair loss

Both men and women develop this type of hair loss, which is the most common cause of hair loss worldwide. In men, it’s called male pattern hair loss. Women get female pattern hair loss. Regardless of whether it develops in a man or women, the medical term is androgenic alopecia.

No matter which term you use, it means that you’ve inherited genes that cause your hair follicles (what each hair grows out of) to shrink and eventually stop growing hair. Shrinking can begin as early as your teens, but it usually starts later in life.

In women, the first noticeable sign of hereditary hair loss is usually overall thinning or a widening part.

When a man has hereditary hair loss, the first sign is often a receding hairline or bald spot at the top of his head.

Other Causes of hair loss

  • Cancer treatment
  • Childbirth, illness, or other stressors
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Scalp infection
  • Scalp psoriasis
  • Scarring alopecia
  • Sexually transmitted infection
  • Thyroid disease

Is regrowth possible?

Yes, treatment can help stop or slow hair loss. It may also help regrow hair. The earlier treatment is started, the better it works. Without treatment, you will continue to lose hair.