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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Health Check Tools

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Women
• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

You lose up to 100 hairs from your scalp every day. That's normal, and in most people, those hairs grow back. But many men -- and some women -- lose hair as they grow older. You can also lose your hair if you have certain diseases, such as thyroid problems, diabetes, or lupus. If you take certain medicines or have chemotherapy for cancer, you may also lose your hair. Other causes are stress, a low protein diet, a family history, or poor nutrition.

Treatment for hair loss depends on the cause. In some cases, treating the underlying cause will correct the problem. Other treatments include medicines and hair restoration.

Start Here

• Hair Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Hair Loss: Who Gets and Causes (American Academy of Dermatology)

Treatments and Therapies

• Hair Transplants (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• How to Treat Hair Loss (American Academy of Dermatology)

Living With

• Experiencing Hair Loss? Your Hair Care Matters (American Academy of Dermatology)
• Living with Alopecia Areata (National Alopecia Areata Foundation)

Related Issues

• Chemotherapy and Hair Loss: What to Expect during Treatment (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Do You Have Hair Loss or Hair Shedding? (American Academy of Dermatology)
• Hair Loss (Alopecia) and Cancer Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Stress and Hair Loss: Are They Related? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Alopecia Areata (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Telogen Effluvium (Harvard Medical School)
• Types of Scarring Alopecia (Scarring Alopecia Foundation)

Genetics

• Alopecia areata: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Androgenetic alopecia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Alopecia Areata (VisualDX)
• Hair Loss, Female Pattern Baldness (Female Pattern Alopecia) (VisualDX)
• Hair Loss, Male Pattern Baldness (Male Pattern Alopecia) (VisualDX)

Health Check Tools

• Hair Loss (American Academy of Family Physicians)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Alopecia (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypotrichosis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Oral finasteride use and sexual adverse events: signal detection from disproportionality...
• Article: Exosome-Based Therapies for Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review of Clinical and...
• Article: Innovations for cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions to combat chemotherapy-induced alopecia: a...
• Hair Loss -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Academy of Dermatology
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

• Alopecia Areata (Hair Loss) (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Hair Loss (Alopecia) in Children (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• Thinning Hair and Hair Loss: Could It Be Female Pattern Hair Loss? (American Academy of Dermatology)

Older Adults

• Age-Related Hair Loss Explained: A Guide for Older Adults (National Council on Aging)
• Hair Loss: Causes, Types, and Other Facts (National Council on Aging)

Patient Handouts

• Alopecia areata (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Coping with cancer - hair loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Female pattern baldness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hair loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hair transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Male pattern baldness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Trichotillomania (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish