Vitamin A is extremely important for our vision, skin and hair. It stimulates the growth of cells and tissues, playing an important role in the metabolism of mineral salts and proteins. This vitamin can be obtained from either vegetable or animal sources.

Vitamin A deficiency leads to reduced resistance to infection of mucous membranes, chronic malabsorption of lipids, impaired vision, and dryness of the conjunctiva, total blindness, hypertension, enamel hypoplasia and more. This vitamin is found in eggs, papaya, pumpkin, apricots, butter, spinach, leafy vegetables, fish liver, beef liver and pea.

B vitamins play a key role in the activities of enzymes and a variety of other bodily functions. Vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and folic acid maintain the health of our hair and can be obtained from potatoes, dried beans, fish, beef, chicken, green leafy vegetables, dairy products, bananas, mushrooms, liver, shellfish, poultry and milk. Vitamin B1 stimulates the nerves and the metabolism of carbohydrates. Vitamin B2 is good for our mental health, while vitamin B3 prevents anxiety and depression. Vitamin B5 protects us against allergies and vitamin B6 regulates mood disorders, Vitamin B12 promotes hair growth.

Vitamin B deficiency often leads to anemia, psychosis and dementia, hair loss, muscular weakness, constipation, pernicious anemia, skin disorders, dandruff, heart arrhythmias, extreme fatigue and nervous system disorders. In some cases, such a deficiency causes respiratory infections, extreme fatigue, stomach distress and constipation.

Iron stimulates the secretion of myoglobin, hemoglobin and enzymes. About one-third of the world. ’s population suffers from iron deficiency because only 8% of the total amount of iron ingested reaches the bloodstream. This mineral plays a vital role in various bodily functions, cures anemia and increases the body. ’s resistance.

Iron deficiency may cause feeling of tiredness, lack of energy and anemia. Women are more predisposed to iron deficiency, especially those who have heavy periods. This is why they are often affected by hair loss. Iron can be found in eggs, poultry, meat and fish, soybeans, tofu, lentils, pasta, spinach, shrimps, almonds and peas.

Protein deficiency is one of the most common causes of hair loss. Symptoms include splitting and/or falling hair, extreme fatigue, low blood pressure and brittle nails. An overdose of vitamin A may also trigger hair loss.

Now you understand what the connection between vitamin deficiency and hair loss is. Pay special attention to your diet and diversify your menu. Consult a doctor if your condition gets worse.

Learn more about vitamin deficiency and hair loss. Stop by John Farikani’s site where you can find out all about hair loss and what it can do for you. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

Young girls will learn how women are supposed to behave from the women that are in their life. If the women around them, older sisters and mother, are primping in front of a mirror a great deal of the time, the young girl will learn that her looks are the most important part of her.

If that same young girl grows up and loses her hair, she will be lost in regards to how she is supposed to behave. Her self-esteem will be gone and she will believe that the best part of her is lost.

Hair loss is quite common in women. There are a great many treatments that are available to women who find themselves in this situation. If you are experiencing a hair loss you should check with your doctor to find the cause of the loss.

The reasons that women experience hair loss are quite different than the reasons that men do. Men generally experience hair loss that is due to genetics. In women there are a variety of other reasons for the loss.

Age, stress, diet, illness and hormones are some of the reasons that women lose their hair. The most common among these reasons is stress. The best treatment for hair loss is to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

Women tend to have very stressful lives. They are usually caring for a family and trying to work at the same time. This can cause a great amount of stress in their lives. The hectic schedule can cause some women to not take care of themselves. Her diet can become poor and she may not get enough rest.

Hair needs proper nutrition to be healthy and strong. If you do not have enough nutrition in your diet you may begin to suffer from a hair loss.

Hair loss can be the result of an illness that has not been diagnosed. That is why it is important to check with a doctor when you notice a hair loss. There could be a medical reason for the hair loss. If the illness is properly treated it may stop the hair from falling out.

Women will begin to lose their hair as they age. Sometime around age fifty or so a woman’s hair will begin to thin and fall out. There are some treatments that can help with this type of hair loss. A visit to a dermatologist might offer some solutions for this type of hair loss.

Hormones are another reason that a woman will begin to lose her hair. There may be a treatment that will help with this type of hair loss. Check with your doctor to find out if there is a good treatment plan for your hormonal hair loss.

If you are taking medications this may be the cause of your hair loss as well. Check with the side effects of any medications you are taking to determine if a side effect is hair loss. Stopping the medication or changing to another type may prevent further loss of your hair.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group marketing company.

Peter develops and implements strategic marketing programs for businesses including female hair loss and hair loss treatment.

Source: Hair Loss

Millions of women are prescribed the pill each year in this country, but very few are aware that oral contraceptives are a common trigger of hair loss for many who use them. The relationship between birth control pills and hair loss is very similar to that of giving birth and balding. Female hair loss reasons are often associated with a fluctuation of a hormonal imbalance where estrogen levels rise and fall significantly. These pills contain hormones that have a direct effect on the follicles in the scalp that produce hair growth. The initial effect on females increases the number of these follicles when they first start taking these pills.

Once the female’s body starts to get used to the increased hormones from birth control pills, the rate of hair growth starts to slow down. It could take several months before you start to notice that you are losing large amounts of hair. The reason for this is that the rapid growth caused by taking the pills has now reached the mature stage and the hair is ready to fall out.

Hair loss triggered by the pill varies. In some cases, the loss is minimal. Other times, it can be drastic. Hair loss may not occur until after a woman has stopped taking the pill. While oral contraceptives are safe and effective, women whose family histories include hair loss need to be forewarned that taking the pill could cause them to lose their hair. Knowing this, women can make better and more informed decisions about how to approach birth control.

There are a number of different oral contraceptives available. Those with low androgen index are less likely to cause hair loss. Women concerned about the possibility of hair loss as a side effect of using oral contraceptives should ask their doctors about low-androgen index pills and non-hormonal birth control methods.

The American Hair Loss Association (ALHA) recommends that all women interested in using oral contraceptives for the prevention of conception should only use low-androgen index birth control pills. Pills with the least androgenic activity include norgestimate (in Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho Tri-Cyclen), norethindrone (in Ovcon 35), desogestrel (in Mircette), or ethynodiol diacetate (in Demulen, Zovia). If there is a strong predisposition for genetic hair loss in your family, the AHLA recommends the use of another non-hormonal form of birth control. Each woman should decide based on her own needs in consultation with her own doctor.

Trichotillomania (TTM) is a compulsive urge to pluck out hair, resulting in noticeable hair loss. It is also referred to as ‘compulsive hair pulling’. TTM has been classified as both one of the families of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well as an Impulse Control Disorder. It involves the repetitive, uncontrollable pulling of one’s body hair. Most commonly, scalp hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows are pulled, although hair may be pulled from any location. Trichotillomania is more common in children than in adults and occurs more frequently in women than in men. Hair pulling is the chief complaint in about 0.5 percent of all patients who present to children’s mental health services.

Typical symptoms of Trichotillomania include:

• Recurrent pulling out of one’s hair resulting in noticeable hair loss.
• An increasing sense of tension immediately before pulling out the hair or when attempting to resist the behavior.
• Pleasure, gratification, or relief when pulling out the hair.
• The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
• The disturbance is not better accounted for by another mental disorder and is not due to a general medical condition (e.g., a dermatological condition).

What causes trichotillomania? It is likely that genes make people vulnerable to trichotillomania and related conditions. Hardly any research has been conducted. In some cases of trichotillomania, stress plays a causal role, and hair-pulling can be seen as a soothing behavior that is driven by rising tension. For others, hair-pulling is undertaken during times of relaxation and may in fact serve a self-stimulatory role, or even run automatically. Environmental factors can also contribute to the onset. People with TTM often feel depressed and ashamed and have low self-esteem.

The primary treatment approach for Trichotillomania is habit reversal combined with stress management and behavioral contracting. Parents can help by recognizing the problem in its early stages and getting involved in its treatment. Treatment may involve self-monitoring of hair-pulling episodes as well as the feelings and situations that are most likely to lead to hair pulling. Youngsters are then systematically introduced to new behaviors, for example, squeezing a ball or tightening their fist, whenever they feel the urge to pull at their hair. Relaxation training and other stress reduction techniques may also be used including reward charts that help track and monitor a child’s progress with the added incentive of earning small rewards for continued progress. In addition, cognitive therapy, is found to be effective.

One of the numerous hair loss conditions people tend to suffer from today is telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is a hair loss condition that is characterized by a general thinning of the hair over a period of months. It is usually found in people who have recently experienced trauma with common causes including childbirth, major surgery and severe illness.

Telogen is the name for the relaxing stage of the hair growth cycle. Telogen effluvium is a form of non-scarring alopecia distinguished by diffuse hair shedding, often with an acute onset. A telogen effluvium is when some stress causes hair roots to be pushed precociously into the resting state. Telogen effluvium can be severe or chronic. Hair growth happens in a cycle which is divided into three phases: a growth phase, a regression phase and a resting phase. Various hairs are in different stages of the cycle at any one time. Telogen effluvium may affect hair on all parts of the body, but, normally, only loss of scalp hair is symptomatic. Generally, most of the hairs are in the growth stage. In this condition, one can lose over 300 hairs per day.

A considerable number of different causes for telogen effluvium exist. Among the common causes are:

• Surgery
• Severe infections
• Severe chronic illness
• Major physical trauma
• Major psychological stress
• High fever or severe infection
• Extreme weight loss
• Extreme change in diet and “crash dieting”
• Abrupt hormonal changes, including those associated with childbirth and menopause
• Iron deficiency
• Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism

Diagnosis of telogen effluvium involves a three step process:

1. Assess the type of hair loss suffered – generally telogen effluvium is typified by a rapid thinning throughout the scalp rather than the localized loss evident in most other conditions.
2. Review life events over the previous six months – typically some sort of traumatic event will have occurred.
3. Undergo a hormone test to rule out other abnormalities.

As far as treatment is concerned, telogen effluvium usually disappears as the effects of the trauma previously experienced begin to wear off. Consequently, there are no treatments specific to this condition although a product such as minoxidil may help to accelerate the regrowth process.