When you reach middle age, hair loss becomes a real problem. Often women start to contemplate going bald. The alarming rate at which they find hair on their combs and pillows or in the shower is enough to instill fear. And while people think that alopecia only affects men, the truth is that about 40% of hair fall sufferers are actually women – and mostly in their middle ages. Now the point is that merely knowing the statistics isn’t enough.

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Actually, there are a number of causes for this – and while a few of them are preventable, the rest are also manageable. And today we’ll be looking at both the groups of causes as well as what can be done.
Some of the inevitable causes for hair fall
It is said that losing between 50 and 100 strands of hair during perimenopause as well as menopause is fairly common. And this is not without valid reason. And the most common (and also, unfortunately inevitable) ones are as follows:

Your age is one big factor. As the rest of your body ages, so do the hair follicles. And this could be causing the accelerated hair fall.
Also, the sudden fall in the levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body is another contributing factor. In fact, hair fall is usually seen as one of the first indicators of the hormones being thrown off balance.
Vitamin deficiencies (particularly Vitamin D) brought on by age and lifestyle can also contribute to thinning hair.
And of course, heredity is one big factor, just as it is in men. If the women in your immediate family are prone to balding or suffering from thinning hair in middle age, you could also be at risk.

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Now – the vitamin deficiency as well as the hormonal imbalance can be tackled with the help of supplements. At the same time, for the other two causes, you can try out various anti aging products or natural treatment options that can help to rejuvenate and reawaken your hair follicles and promote hair growth, health, and about such treatment options you can try out – we have dealt with them elsewhere.
And now…
Some classic causes you CAN avoid!
Here is a list of the common causes that are very much in your hands and avoidable:

Stress – excessive stress leads to weakened hair follicles and hair fall. But managing stress effectively can actually help.
Eating an unhealthy diet – since everything works inside out, what you put in your body has a direct impact on health of hair and skin. Naturally, when you do not follow a healthy and balanced diet, this leads to hair growing unhealthy and dry and also falling. However, hair can be made healthy again by switching to a proper diet.
Smoking or alcohol abuse – these are also seen to affect rate of hair growth and can even be responsible for hair fall.

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Excessive hair styling – this puts unnecessary stain on your hair follicles and roots – causing them to weaken and hair to fall out. This is a problem even with people who tie tight ponytails and braids. The condition in their case is called tension alopecia.
Harsh chemical hair products – these chemicals are unhealthy for both the hair follicles as well as for the hair shaft. These lead to unhealthy dry hair, and also hair fall.

When you’re young your hair follicles can still withstand the styling, but as you age, so do they. In fact, in many cases, excessive hair fall is a result of a combination of these factors. But if you just pay attention to what you eat, as well as go for less harsh and natural ways to style your hair, you can actually control the amount of hair you lose!

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So you see – some hair loss, especially during menopause as well as post it is perfectly normal. But yes, if the amount of hair you are losing is truly alarming, then check out some of the means to control it here. And there is really no need for you to be all that alarmed in case there is a slight rise – because as we said, your body is changing. It is slowly settling into a different way – and along the way, some of these changes are quite normal!