When you start experiencing symptoms such as fever or fatigue, you immediately start investigating causes, right? Why should hair loss be any different? If you blindly try to treat your hair loss without understanding the cause of it, you could be doing more harm than good. In order to prevent hair loss and start re-growing healthy hair, diagnosing the cause of the loss is the first step.

Hair loss can be age related, genetic, stress-related, or due to environmental factors. Age related hair loss is the most common type of hair loss, and occurs when the natural re-growth process stops or slows. Remember, everyone loses hair, an average of 100 hairs a day. Problems occur when your hair stops re-growing or you re-grow fewer hairs than what you lose.

Hair loss can be related to stress caused by rapid weight loss, illness (especially prolonged illness), surgery, reaction to anesthesia, or intolerance of certain drugs. A tragedy or even a major life decision such as moving, having a child, or marriage can cause or accelerate stress related hair loss.

Perming, coloring, or bleaching your hair can cause hair loss because it weakens the hair strand. Tight pony-tails or braids can cause hair loss from actually pulling the hair from the roots. Diagnosing and removing the cause of the stress will likely allow hair to re-grow fully.

Poor nutrition can also cause hair loss, and eating a healthier diet will allow hair to re-grow.

These are only a few of the many causes of hair loss. But remember, diagnosing the cause of any symptom is the first step in treatment and prevention. Hair loss is no different.