Hair Loss
(Baldness)
You can lose hair from a single patch on your scalp or all over your scalp. Rarely, you lose all your body hair.
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It's normal to lose 50 to 100 hairs every day, as new hair grows and replaces old hair
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Having a baby, losing a lot of weight quickly, taking certain medicines, having a serious illness, and going through other physically or mentally stressful situations can cause hair loss
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Twisting or pulling out your hair is another cause of hair loss—people may not notice they're doing it
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It can be bothersome to lose your hair, but hair loss may also be a sign of a serious health problem
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Sometimes medicine can help regrow your hair, depending on what caused the hair loss
What causes hair loss?
The most common cause of hair loss is male- or female-pattern baldness.
Male and female pattern baldness runs in families. It can start as early as your 20s and gets more common as you grow older.
Losing Hair
Other causes of hair loss include:
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Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder in which your body's immune defenses attack your hair follicles by mistake
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Certain medicine (especially chemotherapy)
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Scalp ringworm, a fungal infection
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Certain body-wide disorders, such as lupus
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Hormone imbalances, such as women who have too many male hormones or take anabolic steroids for bodybuilding
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Physical stresses, such as a high fever, surgery, a major illness, sudden weight loss, or pregnancy
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Mental stress, causing you to pull out your hair
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Injury to your hair follicles, such as from burns or radiation therapy, tight braids or rollers, chemical hair relaxers, or hot combs
