Everyone has approximately 5 million hairs on their body. Most of them are located on your head. Individual hairs usually grow for about six years, then they fall out and new ones grow in. For millions of people, damage to the hair follicles under the skin may inhibit new growth causing full or partial baldness. Hair loss can be temporary, or it can be permanent, depending on its underlying cause.

You may notice several symptoms that may signal a loss of hair. Maybe your hair isn’t as thick as it used to be. Thinning may be occurring all over your head (and even over your entire body). This is most common sign of hair loss in women. Or you may notice an abundance of hair on your clothes or in your comb or brush after grooming. In severe cases, heavy shedding may occur, or clumps of hair may fall out without a noticeable reason.

In the most cases, balding is an inherited type of hair loss called androgenetic alopecia. Men with this condition usually notice the hair on the front hairline and forehead and on top of the head growing thinner or disappearing altogether as they get older, eventually, only leaving the hair around their ears, the sides, and back of the head. Women with this condition typically have gradual thinning throughout the scalp, with the most at the crown of the head.

Other causes of hair loss oftentimes feature a distinct pattern. For example, conditions such as trichotillomania (compulsively pulling at the hair) feature large balding areas surrounded by hair growth areas where hair has been pulled out, while alopecia areata, in which the immune system actually attacks hair follicles results in obvious patches of hair loss. Stress and certain medications too can cause clumps of hair to fall out in certain areas.

Hormone changes too — especially several months after childbirth — can cause excessive shedding, leaving hair volume thinner than it had been during pregnancy and early motherhood, but not thinner than it was prior to getting pregnant.

Why is the pattern of hair loss symptoms so important? It can be used as a guide for physicians to figure out if there is an underlying cause for your hair loss and how to best treat it. While genetic hair loss can’t be cured, many other afflictions that could be causing your severe hair loss can Â? and should Â? be! See you doctor immediately if you notice any of these symptoms suddenly or no apparent reason:

· Excessive hair shedding.

· Severe thinning over a short period of time.

· Clumps of hair falling out.