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
