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Getting to the Root of
Hair Loss
Women Battling a Common yet Vexing Condition By Teri Brown
Hair loss in women is rarely talked about. Our culture places so much emphasis on a woman's hair that to lose it gives a whole new meaning to the term "bad hair day."
Peg Cochran, 51, of Grand Rapids, Mich., noticed several months ago that her hair seemed a little thin on top. She tired to be philosophical about it but was actually horrified at the prospect of losing more hair.
"I figured if that was my worst problem, I should be grateful," says Cochran. "But I do take pride in my appearance, and obviously having thinning hair does not contribute much. Most people would not notice it just looking at me, but I'm aware of it. I can easily live with it as it is now; my main concern was that it would get worse."
About 10 to 15 percent of the hair on your scalp is in a resting phase. After two to three months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. This lasts for two to six years. This means that about 85 to 90 percent of the hair on your scalp is growing at any one time. In general, hair grows about a half an inch a month. When this cycle of hair growth is disrupted, hair loss is the result.
"Thinning hair ages you instantly," says Cochran. "Women have always been meant to have more hair hair is considered sexy on a woman. A woman who is bald? I don't think so!"
Dr. Sara Romweber, psychotherapist and author of Hair: Surviving the Fall (Rainbow Books, 2004), believes that the emotional toll hair loss has on women is incalculable. This is mostly due to cultural perceptions.
"Our culture views a man's losing his hair differently than a woman losing her hair," says Dr. Romweber. "A man is expected to lose his hair; it's acceptable. However, in our culture, it is simply unacceptable for a woman to lose her hair."
Why does our culture have such different views on hair loss between the sexes? Dr. Romweber believes this attitude has several sources.
"First of all for both sexes hair is a romantic, sensual and sexual object," says Dr. Romweber. "For a woman, however, it is an essential, alluring part of her body, one that she uses creatively to attract and keep a mate, or so she believes. Consequently, a woman enduring significant hair loss feels she is viewed by the larger world as an asexual being. We all know that women are often attracted to balding men, but we worry men are not often attracted to a balding female."
Secondly, our culture expects women to maintain their youth, beauty and sex-appeal, says Dr. Romweber.
Many women often experience a deep level of discomfort when experiencing hair loss. Dr. Romweber believes these feelings are largely due to a sense of not living up to society's expectations to remain young and attractive.
Another reason that women have such a hard time with losing their hair is that hair is a powerful symbol of one's individuality. We tell the world a great deal about ourselves with our hair, and the larger world expects it.
"I write in my book that hair is a powerful tool, one with which we communicate without saying a word," says Dr. Romweber. "For a woman it's a part of the body that she can be creative with, a way of projecting who she is."