GoodRx / Maryann Mikhail, MD
Noticing your hair thinning? Or finding loose hairs in your shower? Breathe. Hair loss can be stressful, but it’s often treatable. The first step is to find out what’s causing it.
Your age matters when it comes to causes. The most common reasons for hair loss in younger people are different from those in older people. Whatever your age, identifying the cause and addressing it early is important. We’ll discuss the most common causes for women of different ages here.
Hair loss in your 20s and 30s
Few people expect hair loss to happen as early as their 20s or 30s. But the good news is hair loss during these decades is usually caused by a specific trigger that, when addressed, will likely stop the hair loss. Three of the most common triggers are stress, dieting, and hormonal changes.
1) Stress
Stress takes a toll on your system. It causes your body to enter “survival mode,” in which it rations fuel and energy to support its most vital functions. As you can imagine, hair is last on the list of priorities.
Every hair follicle goes through growth and resting phases. A body under stress pushes hairs out of the growth phase and into the resting phase. Resting hairs eventually fall out. You might see your hair start shedding around 3 months after a very stressful event, and it can last for 3 to 6 months.
But you won’t go bald from stress-induced hair loss. Once the stress passes, most people see regrowth 3 to 6 months later. Depending how long your hair is, it can take 12 to 18 months to fully correct itself.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, stressors that can cause hair loss include:
- Illness
- Surgery
- Death in the family
- Breakups
- A change in medications
- Job loss
- Extreme weight loss
2) Dieting
Crash dieting can have two negative effects on your hair. First, your body perceives rapid weight loss as a stressful event — it thinks you are starving! Second, it might mean not getting the nutrients your body needs to grow healthy hair. In times of stress or nutrient shortages, the hair is the first thing to go. These two factors are why a large number of women with eating disorders suffer from hair loss.
Hair loss from stress corrects itself over time. But, if you have a protein or vitamin deficiency, that could limit the hair’s ability to grow back. It can also change how the hair looks, making it drier, duller, and more prone to breakage.
To prevent hair loss, choose a weight loss approach that is slow and steady. The Mayo Clinic recommends losing between 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Along with this, make sure to eat a balanced diet complete with protein, iron, zinc, niacin, and fatty acids.
And a word about hair loss supplements: Avoid these unless your healthcare provider confirms you have a deficiency. Too much of some nutrients can make you sick and even result in more hair loss!
3) Hormonal changes
Whether you went off the pill or just had a baby, hormonal changes can affect hair growth. Specifically, higher estrogen levels make your hair thicker and fuller. When estrogen levels drop, hair falls out. Fortunately, hair loss should stop as your body adjusts to your new estrogen levels.
While estrogen helps hair, progesterone can cause or worsen hair loss. Some popular progesterone-based birth control medications associated with hair loss are:
- Implants like Nexplanon
- Depo-Provera, the birth control shot
- Birth control patches like Xulane
- NuvaRing, the birth control vaginal ring
Women with health conditions that cause hormone imbalances also have a higher risk of hair loss. Examples include hypothyroidism, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. To see if you have one of these conditions, your doctor might test your hormone levels if your hair loss comes with symptoms like:
- New hair growth on the face or body
- Difficulty losing or gaining weight
- Irregular periods
- Difficulty tolerating changes in temperature
- Hormonal acne
If your hair loss is from a progesterone-based birth control, it should resolve when you stop using it. If the issue is a hormone imbalance, identifying and correcting it is necessary to get the hair back.
