How to Stop and Prevent Hair Loss in Teenagers

The risk of hair loss is something most men have to live with – no matter how luscious and curly your hair is when you’re young, you might always go bald later in life. And that’s ok, most of the time – there’s nothing to be ashamed about.

Hair loss in teenage males, however, as well as hair loss in teenage girls? That’s very frustrating. Being a teen is harsh enough but being a bald teen or even just having sparse hair due to hair loss, that can be a nightmare to live with. So, let’s try and look into how to prevent hair loss for teenage guys or girls.

What are the possible reasons for teenage hair loss?

To figure out how to stop hair loss in teenage guys or gals, we first have to find out what’s the reason for the condition. While baldness is quite normal for middle-aged or older men, it’s really not to be expected in teenagers. There are several main reasons for hair loss before your twenties – some of them are negligible and short-lasting with the right care, while others can signal some serious health conditions. Let’s go over the main offenders:

  • Certain chemicals, processes, and treatments that you hairstylist is applying to your hair (or, more often, you are doing on your own at home) can easily cause excessive hair loss in both boys and girls. Young girls, in particular, that go overboard with bleaching their hair can really do a number on themselves which is why any adequate barber or hairstylist will always tell you to be extremely careful and to always use the help of a professional.

Fortunately, with the right care, hair loss that’s been caused by such a problem will usually be reversible, as long as you’ve stopped with the unhealthy chemicals soon enough. Depending on exactly how far you’ve gotten and what the exact chemical products you’ve used, the treatments and remedies you should go for will be different. So, while we can’t go over every eventuality in one brief article, the simplest advice is to contact a good hairstylist immediately for advice on how to remedy the situation.

  • Genetics can play a role as well. Go over your family’s history and look for anything related to hair loss in the last three of four generations before you. Both male and female pattern baldness is genetic, for example. And while both types of baldness will usually present themselves later in life, under the right (or, well, wrong) conditions, they can present themselves as soon as your twenties or even your teen years. Hormones will usually play a role in earlier genetic hair loss as well, and we’ll mention them as well below.

Furthermore, keep in mind that recent studies have pointed out that both male and female patterns baldness can be inherited from either parent in both boys and girls.

  • Hormones, stress, or traumatic events such as surgery, an accident, or an illness, can also cause excessive hair shedding. Usually, it’s normal for both boys and girls to shed between 50 and 100 hairs per day, but anything above a hundred can be considered “excessive”. More often than not, hair loss due to such situations will pass after several months or even just weeks, however, if it goes over those several mounts or over half a year, consulting with a dermatologist is a must-have to prevent permanent hair loss. Especially if there is something wrong with your hormonal balance this may not only become a long-term problem but it can also indicate other internal problems in your body.
  • Physical damaged caused by pulling out your hair, twirling it or tugging it can also lead to severe hair loss. It may sound like something mild, but absent-mindedly pulling out your hair is not only common in teens but it can also be a symptom of a condition called “trichotillomania”. People with this condition will frequently pull out there hair when they are nervous or even just distracted, to the point of causing actual hair damage and hair loss. If you or a loved one have, or suspect that you have trichotillomania, consulting a therapist, as well as a “trichologist” (i.e. a hair and scalp specialist), as soon as possible is strongly recommended.
  • There are many other illnesses and conditions that can be underlying and causing hair loss in teens. Some are hormonal, such as uncontrolled diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, or thyroid disease. Others can simply be anorexia and bulimia, causing protein deficiency. There can also be iron-deficiency anemia in athletes. There are even parasites such as ringworm of the scalp or a fungal infection that can also cause hair loss. There are also autoimmune disorders such as “alopecia areata” that can cause bald spots.

Whatever the case, consulting with your family doctor or a dermatologist as soon as possible is obviously a must.

What can be done to prevent and stop teen hair loss?

Having exhausted all the major possible causes for hair loss in teens, the measures that can and should be taken follow quite logically:

  1. Adjust your hair care products to ones that are suitable and healthy for your particular hair. Avoid strong chemicals and focus more on moisturizing, nutritional, and natural products that will help your hair grow strong and fast.
  2. Wash your hair regularly and thoroughly without going overboard with the shampoo and the conditioner. Ideally, you should be taking daily showers but only use your shampoo 2 or 3 times per week.
  3. Keep your hair safe from heat and too much direct sunlight. Yes, too much hot and direct sunlight can be damaging not just to your skin but to your hair as well – keep that in mind at all times.
  4. Avoid unhealthy behavior such as pulling your hair or styling it with too many strong chemical products.
  5. Consult a medical professional as soon as possible if you suspect the presence of an underlying health condition.
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