A person loses nearly 100 strands of hair every day. There are about 100,000 hairs on our scalp. Physical or emotional stress may exacerbate hair loss. Other reasons include: serious infections, high fever, childbirth, major surgeries, crash diets (especially those not supplying enough protein), some drugs such as ibuprofen, contraceptive pills or certain antidepressants, menopause and genetic inheritance. Hair loss caused by menopause or childbirth often goes away between 6 months and 2 years afterwards.

Inherited or "pattern" baldness affects men more than women. Male pattern baldness can occur any time after puberty. About 80% of men show signs of male pattern baldness by the age of 70.

In the case of hair loss due to illness (e.g. fever), radiation therapy, use of medicines or other causes, no treatment is needed. Hair will grow back when the illness ends or the therapy is completed.

Tips to stop hair loss

Eat a healthy and balanced diet every day. Apart from vitamins B, which are beneficial to hair health and growth, you should add vitamins A, C and E, zinc, magnesium and selenium, which help to stop hair loss caused by stress. Omega-3 fatty acids also improve the condition of your scalp.

1.     Sleep at least eight hours per night. Sleeping helps your body to recover from any kind of stress and it is important for the health of your scalp.
2.     Allow yourself as much time as necessary to recover from major physical stress, such as childbirth or a surgery. If you put too much pressure on yourself after a serious illness or a surgery, you will just increase the chance of losing hair.
3.     Control your hormone levels. Although hair loss is linked to physical stress generated after childbirth, some cases have shown that hormonal problems also play their part.
4.     Strengthen your hair roots with paraben-free natural hair lotions and stimulate hair follicles with massages.