Most women would have guessed that to be the case. But would you have guessed that changes in your testosterone levels are a key cause of hair loss in women?

Specialists divide the causes of hair loss in women into traumatic or stress related hair loss and non traumatic – which includes just about everything else.

The most accepted cause of non traumatic hair loss in women is an androgen called DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

DHT is formed in the hair follicle from the male hormone testosterone which women possess as well as men. During most of our lives estrogen acts as a blocker to testosterone and prevents the production of excess levels of DHT.

Before the menopause women naturally have high levels of estrogen but there is a rapid decline after the menopause and this is when age related hormonal hair loss can be at its worst.

The result of more DHT in the hair follicle is a shorter hair growth cycle, finer hair and eventually general “effluvium” or hair loss resulting in thinning hair or patchy hair loss.

Women with ‘androgenetic alopecia’ – as this kind of hair loss is known – lose hair in a different way than men. In women, the hair becomes thinner all over the head but the hairline does not recede. Androgenetic alopecia in women rarely leads to total baldness as it often does for men.

There are other factors which can contribute to androgenetic alopecia – or certainly make it worse. Genetics may play a role – if your mother had the condition it may be that you are more likely to develop it.

Another possible contributor is a high fat, high calorie diet. Just how all this works together is still not yet properly understood by hair specialists.

What is very clear is that hair loss is extremely distressing for women – almost certainly more so than for men. The good news is that there are more and more hair restoration products on the market.

Hair restoration for women has become very important in recent years as the condition has been given more focus. Big names in the hari restoration market include – Provillus, Revivogen and Rogaine.

So – don’t dispair. Although hair loss solutions take time to have an effect – many have been shown to be extremely effective and research is moving forward all the time.

Generally speaking the causes of hair loss in women are classified as either traumatic or non traumatic.

Traumatic causes are quite easy to understand – stress of a kind sufficiently severe to cause a major reaction in the body resulting in sudden hair loss.

Traumatic hair loss can be physical or mental and can make your hair fall out prematurely months after the stress is experienced.

Some people experience sudden hair loss after a traumatic event such as the death of a family member or someone close or an accident. These events may trigger hair follicles to enter the “resting” phase of the hair growth cycle prematurely – resulting in an increase in the amount of hair shed about 3 months after the event.

With traumatic hair loss – hair can be lost at an alarming rate – up to as much as three to four thousand hairs per day.

Alarming it may be but traumatic hair loss of this kind can be totally reversed for most women. Provided there is no ongoing stress as a result of the initial trauma – the body should be able to recover and the normal hair growth cycle resumed within about 6 months to a year.

Natural hair restoration products – like Provillus – can be taken to boost hair regrowth. Following a diet full of natural hair feeding vitamins and minerals will also aid recovery.

One of the key things in this situation is to understand that your hair will grow back. Fearing the worst and living in a state of anxiety about your hair falling out – although understandable – will cause you more stress.

Accepting the problem as a short term reaction to a traumatic event – combined with a hair restoration product if you choose – is the quickest way to reverse traumatic hair loss.

Most of us don’t realize that hair loss is essential for hair growth. Every hair on your head will at some point fall out and be replaced.

You may not have appreciated that you have around 100,000 hair follicles at birth and the same number right throughout your life. Most of us will lose around 100 hairs a day as part of a natural hair growth cycle.

Losing this amount of hair is nothing at all to worry about – it is only when hair loss becomes excessive that you have a problem.

Losing too much hair is one way the body has of telling us that all is not well. Shining, radiant hair is a sign of physical health and mental ease. Dull, lifeless thinning hair is a clear sign that something is wrong.

Shiny, flowing hair is so much part of the traditional image of female beauty that for women losing it can feel totally devastating.

But why do women find hair loss or thinning hair so much more distressing than a man? Unlike men, whose lack of hair may be mocked but accepted as a fact of life – female hair loss is less understood and less well tolerated.

For most women how our hair is looking and behaving on any given day will determine how we good we feel about ourselves. Bad hair days are the cause of much misery because hair is so important to the way we look – and we know it.

It’s also unfortunately true that society doesn’t deal with hair loss in women very well. There may be unsympathetic and curious reactions from other people – especially with total hair loss or patchy baldness.

Amazingly – hair loss can affect a woman’s chances of finding work or (possibly more understandable) a partner. Hair loss – even when it doesn’t result in bald patches – can seriously undermine a woman’s self confidence and self esteem.

The good news for women is that we are generally much better at seeking help and taking action when things go wrong with our bodies. Male pattern baldness is a natural process for a large number of men – for women it’s a sign something is wrong. Women know this and will usually seek help quickly.

The even better news is that there are hair loss solutions now that wil help many women in this situation. Hair restoration products based on natural high dose vitamins and minerals are available which have helped many women. There are other forms of medical hair restoration too which give women more choice and control.

Hair restoration for women has a good success rate – far more than for men. So the message is – hair loss may feel like your worst nightmare but it can be treated and the chances of a positive outcome are good.

The problem, of course, is not the fact that you go on a diet but the kind of diet you go on. Many weight loss diets are deficient in essential nutrients needed for thick, glossy and healthy hair.

Although diet related hair loss is often the result of iron deficiency, a range of other nutrient deficiencies can result in thinning hair when you try to lose weight.

Hair loss can be triggered by changes in levels of the following five essential nutrients: zinc, magnesium, proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins D,B and A

As the major followers of weight loss diets – women are more likely to suffer from hair loss or thinning hair caused by dieting. On the plus side – they are also more likely to notice the problem and seek help.

The fact that so many different nutrients can be the culprit in hair loss means that any diet that focuses on one class of food at the expense of another – carbs vs proteins, fats vs sugars and so on – could potentially cause hair loss.

Diets low in protein and iron, such as vegetarian diets and very low fat diets, often result in deficiencies. But high protein diets like Atkins that initially discourage fruits and vegetables can also trigger hair loss.

Rapid weight loss in itself is a stress on the body and can also trigger metabolism changes that affect hair growth and result in thinning weakened hair and substantial hair loss.

For hair health and to avoid hair loss, experts agree that the best weight loss plans are reduced calorie diets that promote gradual weight loss with a boost of healthy foods from all of the food groups.

The good news is that hair loss caused by poor diet is one of the easiest types of hair loss to treat. Following a nutrient rich diet with additional healthy hair nutrients like zinc, essential fatty acids and vitamins B and A, plus sufficient exposure to the sun to produce vitamin D on a daily basis should treat diet related hair loss efficiently.

Taking a hair loss supplement like Provillus if you are dieting will also help to maintain essential levels of nutrients and boost your hair growth as you shed weight.

Watching what you eat can result in healthy weight loss without hair loss if you are sensible. What’s more – a slimmed down body with a healthy, glossy head of hair has to be the best result all round.