About 100 hairs are shed each day from the average scalp. The normal pattern of cyclical growth of hair may be disturbed by general health factors, either physical or mental. Most women notice their hair becomes thinner and loses its lustre after childbirth and may take a year or two to recover.

Alopecia areata is a condition where the hair is lost in patches. It may spread to involve the whole scalp or even the eyebrows or all the body hair. The cause is uncertain and there are several theories. Some believe it is one of the auto-immune diseases where the body, as it were, develops an allergy to its own tissues and produces antibodies which tend to destroy those tissues.

Cortisone, by mouth or locally applied as a cream, or injected into the skin of the scalp seems to help.

Women whose male relatives suffer from male pattern baldness may also suffer a more diffuse hair loss. This is more usual after the menopause and is due to the action of androgens or male hormones on the predisposed hair follicles. This may respond to the use of oestrogens.

Diffuse hair loss may also be due to metabolic illnesses such as myxoedema or thyroid insufficiency.

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