1.Mental or physical factors
Excessive mental stress is a common cause of hair loss. Mental tension, depression, fear or serious insomnia can lead to neurological disorders, capillaries continue to be in a state of contraction, hair follicles do not get sufficient blood supply, and the scalp is located in the uppermost part of the body, so the hair is most likely to fall off. If the stress continues, coupled with a weak psychological quality, it is easy to occur hair breakage (hair) fetish, hair eating (hair) fetish, hair pulling fetish, etc. Trauma to the head, lesions of the crestal medulla, medulla oblongata, midbrain and brainstem can cause hair loss. Mental factors can also seriously affect the hair growth cycle. Prolonged visual fatigue, excessive mental stress, excessive nervousness, impatience or apprehension, and staying up late can all lead to shortening of the hair growth cycle and hair loss, resulting in premature baldness. Commonly, such as postpartum hair loss, hair loss after serious illness, hair loss after examinations and hair loss of some unit heads or businessmen who have major responsibilities.
2.Hormone imbalance and genetic factors
The growth hormone secreted by the pituitary gland can promote the growth of hair, while the lack of growth hormone will slow down the growth of hair; sex hormones also affect the beauty of hair: female hormones make hair soft and lustrous; male hormones make hair hard and thick, once the sex hormones in the body are out of balance, hair abnormalities may occur. Therefore, postpartum, menopause and oral contraceptives can cause hair loss due to estrogen deficiency for a certain period of time; hypopituitarism, adrenal tumors and advanced acromegaly can lead to hair loss. Most women lose their hair near menopause, and it is confirmed that hair loss can indeed be caused by hormones. If this is the case, you can choose to receive hormone therapy or take medication prescribed by your doctor.
3.Disease and medication factors
Anemia, malnutrition, acute hyperthermia, infectious diseases or long-term liver disease can affect hair growth and color if they interfere with the function of hair cells at the root, or even inhibit the normal division of hair cells, leaving the hair in a resting phase and hair loss. In addition, when suffering from ovarian tumor, it can lead to increased dandruff and greasy hair due to excessive secretion of androgens, resulting in seborrheic dermatitis and hair loss.
The relationship between drugs and hair
Many drugs can damage hair and hinder beauty. Immunosuppressants, chemotherapy drugs, arsenic agents and other drugs can cause hair loss, long-term use of antibacterial agents and painkillers, prone to thin and short hair, shedding phenomenon. Some nutritional supplements contain stimulants, which can easily damage hair with long-term use. Common medications such as antidepressants and high blood pressure medications can cause hair loss and the doctor can advise the patient to switch to another medication.
Other medications such as chemotherapy, diet pills, stomach ulcer pills, vitamin A acid, and chemotherapy for cancer treatment are known to cause hair loss. When chemotherapy is stopped, hair will grow back gradually.
4.Food and nutrition metabolism factors
Malnutrition caused by partial diet, unbalanced nutrition or impaired absorption due to poor digestion and chronic wasting disease can lead to the suppression of normal hair growth and the entry into the resting phase, and hair thinning, scorching, early graying or loss. Excessive sugar or salt consumption, protein deficiency, iron deficiency, zinc deficiency, excessive selenium, and certain metabolic diseases such as argininosuccinic aciduria, homocystinuria, hereditary orothenic aciduria, and methionine metabolism disorders are also causes of hair loss.
The relationship between nutrients and hair
Iodine can promote the formation of melanin in the hair cortex, which helps the cells to proliferate actively and produce sufficient amount of melanin. Black hair will turn white during the growth process when iodine is lacking; calcium when calcium is lacking in human body, hair will become excessively thick, dry and fragile to break; vitamins when lacking folic acid, pantothenic acid or B vitamins, hair will turn gray; protein children who are severely lacking in protein, hair will slowly turn red; metal elements Zinc deficiency will lead to hair loss and baldness; lack of copper, iron and cobalt will cause hair to gradually turn yellow until it turns white.
5.Congenital factors
Congenital factors such as: developmental defects, various syndromes, early aging disease caused by the complete absence or thinning of hair; hair follicle dysplasia resulting in fine and fragile hair breakage. Congenital baldness is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, mostly seen in the offspring of consanguineous marriages.
6.Physical and chemical factors
The living environment is closely related to the beauty of hair. The black smoke and exhaust gas in modern cities seriously pollute people’s living space, which is harmful to the hair; long-term work in strong sunlight will cause the melanin of hair to fall off and turn brown, and can cut off the supply of protein in the hair, making the hair rough and shiny.
Physical factors such as strains, abrasions, burn trauma and electric injuries; hair loss caused by physical factors: including mechanical hair loss such as hairstyle hair loss and local friction irritation hair loss; radioactive damage is clinically classified into four degrees, all of which can cause hair loss; excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays in sunlight and frequent use of hot blow dryers also tend to thin hair.
Hair loss caused by physical factors is also called physical hair loss.
Chemical factors such as boric acid in shampoo or hair dyeing and perming potions: perms, hair cleansers, hair dyes and other hair cosmetics are common causes of hair loss. In recent years, the incidence of women’s hair thinning has been increasing, which may be related to the abuse of hair cleansers due to some irresponsible advertising. Hair loss caused by chemical factors is also called chemical alopecia.
7.Factors of endocrine disorders
Endocrine factors such as hyperthyroidism; overactive and underactive thyroid gland may lead to thinning hair, thyroid supplements can make the hair back to normal. The amount of thyroxine secretion is also related to the quality of hair: when the thyroid gland is hyperactive, the hair is fine and soft, while when it is hypothyroid, the hair is dry and lusterless.
8.Immune system function response flocculation
The immune system may attack the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss, such as autoimmune flocculation like the hair loss caused by lupus erythematosus; doctors usually inject a small amount of steroids directly into the location of the patient’s hair loss.
9, improper care and human factors
Human factors and the relationship between hair bad habits
(1) Wearing a cap all day will compress the scalp blood vessels and affect blood circulation. Especially in the hot summer, the hat hinders ventilation, easy to make the hair fall off after a long time.
(2) excessive alcohol abuse will lead to gastrointestinal diseases, thus affecting the digestion and absorption of protein, vitamins and other nutrients; wine contains preservatives also have a great negative impact on the beauty of hair.
(3) Frequent consumption of carbonated beverages and stimulation of the stomach and intestines, causing digestive disorders, which affect the absorption of nutrients and lead to hair loss.
(4) excessive exercise can also affect the health of the hair, which can appear soft and fine hair and lead to hair loss.
(5) living in air-conditioned rooms for a long time can lead to increased dandruff and hair loss.
Improper hair care and hairdressing
(1) knife hair tip easy to damage the hair medulla, hair cortex and hair epidermis, often hair splitting and fracture phenomenon, especially immediately after cutting hair perm, more damage to the hair. Cut the hair with scissors, will not damage the hair ends, the hair will continue to grow in a healthy way.
(2) Improper perming and hair coloring can damage the hair cortex. The perm water can dissolve the protein and fat in the hair cortex and make the hair soft and wavy; the hair dye can remove the melanin in the hair cortex, and then penetrate into the hair dye. Therefore, the quality, dosage and application method of perm and hair dye are important, and their correct and proper use can reduce the damage to the hair.
(3) excessive use of hair dryer will damage the hair cortex and hair medulla, making the hair dry, split ends, thinning until shedding.
(4) incorrect choice of hairbrush and incorrect combing method can damage the hair. Can produce electrostatic effect of nylon hairbrush, combing can produce up to hundreds of volts of electrostatic, from the hair stem to the hair root under the discharge, resulting in bubbles between the pores and hair root tissue, for a long time, the pores and hair root completely loose, and cause hair loss; wire brush and hairbrush made of pig hair will damage the hair, should not be used, the best choice of rubber or plastic hairbrush or horned wooden comb.
(5) improper choice of shampoo will affect the hair health and beauty. The petroleum series shampoos and conditioners sold on the market can damage the sebum component of the scalp, leading to increased dander and dry scalp.
10.Fungal infection, parasites, viruses and septic skin diseases and other factors
Infectious alopecia: head chickenpox, herpes zoster virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, syphilis pale spirochetes, and various fungus-induced ringworm can cause hair loss. Local skin lesions such as seborrheic dermatitis, lichen planus, and infection with mold or parasites are also major contributors to hair loss. Lipophilic fungi on the scalp proliferate under the premise of high sebaceous gland secretion, and the plague of lipophilic fungi obtain nutrients from hair follicles and discharge metabolites there, stimulating chronic inflammation of hair follicles and scalp – seborrheic dermatitis, gradual atrophy of hair follicles, gradual decrease of hair growth function, and gradual decrease of hair until baldness. The head mite is a tiny parasite that cannot be seen by the naked eye. It lives in human hair follicles, feeds on sebum and secretes lipolytic enzymes (lipase) that attack the sebaceous glands and block the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss or baldness.