Sudden Hair Loss

by Ellen

I am 41 years old and have always had thick hair but, the last 4 months it is falling out like crazy and has become so much thinner. The texture is much finer too. I did have all blood work done and everything was fine. I hate to wash it because so much come out. What should I be doing to restore my hair? I am very worried. Thanks

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Stressing out is one of the worst things you can do right now, but it's certainly understandable to be worried. Although unnerving, it's best to try and remember that this won't last forever hopefully! Most probably you are experiencing a sudden hair loss called alopecia areata.

Its uncanny that this is happening to you, cause it also happened to me this summer. Uncharacteristic of my usual thick hair, my hair started falling out like crazy also. Then I saw a bald spot on the right side of my head. Uh oh!

Alopecia can be caused by stress, autoimmune disorders, seborrheic dermatitis, genetics, or disease. My case was caused by the sudden onset of an autoimmune disorder I developed in June of this year, and extreme stress. Finally, after five months of losing hair, I'm not shedding as much hair now.

You'll really need to understand the natural phases of hair growth to explain whats happening to your hair.

Basically, there are three stages of hair growth: catagen, telogen, and anagen.

The catagen phase is a transitional stage. Three percent of all hairs are in this phase at any given time. The phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks. During this phase, growth stops and the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair. It's the formation of what is known as a 'club hair'.

Telogen is the resting phase and accounts for 10-15% of all hairs. This phase lasts for about 100 days on scalp hair, but its much longer for eyebrow, eyelash, arm, and leg hair.

During this period the hair follicle is completely at rest and the club hair is completely formed. Pulling out a hair in this phase will reveal a solid, hard, white, dry material at the root. About 25-100 telogen hairs are shed normally each day.


Anagen is the active phase of the hair. The cells in the root of the hair are dividing rapidly. A new hair is formed and pushes the club hair up the follicle and out. During the anagen phase, hair grows about 1 centimeter every 28 days. Hair stays in this active phase of growth for two to six years.

Some people have difficulty growing their hair beyond a certain length because they have short active phases of growth. On the other hand, people with long hair have long active phases of growth. (FYI:The hair on the arms, legs, eyelashes, and eyebrows have a very short active growth phase of about 30-45 days, which explains why they are so much shorter than scalp hair.)

In alopecia areata, something causes all the hairs in certain areas to enter the telogen and catagen stage at the same time.

Some people lose hair in only a small patch, while others may have more extensive involvement. Alopecia totalis is the loss of all scalp hair but the conditions is rare. In the majority of people, hair will grow back completely within one year without any treatment.

Suggestions for Alopecia

Be gentle with your hair.

Don't brush it but once or twice a day, gently. (boars hair bristle is best)

Use conditioners that help to pull out tangles. Always leave some conditioner on your hair. In other words, leave a small amount on your hair to protect it when you rinse it out of your hair.

Use overnight oil treatments like coconut oil. Gently massaging the oil into your scalp will help to stimulate circulation.

Although you said that all the blood work's been done, they're either missing something (if you have other symptoms) or it's genetic. The good news is that alopecia areata in most cases, won't last too long.

Hope this helps!