When Should I Be Concerned About My Female Hair Loss?

I am a healthy 25 year old female and recently I have noticed a great deal of hair loss. About 2 weeks ago, I started to notice an unusual large amount of hair in my hair brush and on my bathroom floor when I would get done styling my hair. I didn’t really think about it, until my boyfriend started pointing it out to me. He noticed that after I got out of the shower, there would be a clump or two of hair that had fallen out of my head. Is this something to be concerned about? I have no idea what would cause this.

Just seeing hair coming out more than usual is not an indication of hair loss in women. If you have a long hair, you might be just going through normal hair cycling. If you noticed widening in parting of your hair, or if you could see your scalp more than usual, you should be alarmed and those might be indications that you are really losing hair. Hair loss in women as described in multiple posts in this site could have several treatable causes, like hormonal changes, medications, and medical conditions. If you have any of the above problems, you need to see a hair specialist and get your hair mapped for miniaturization.

Hair loss in women can sometimes be caused by underlying medical conditions, so it is important for you to be evaluated by your own physician. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. It is also important to review the use of medications that can cause hair loss, such as oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin and prednisone. The following laboratory tests are often useful if underlying problems are suspected: Estradiol, FSH, LH, SHBG, Prolactin, T4, TSH, ANA, Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Free and Total Testosterone. It might help to print this page out and show this to your family physician.