Your hair ultimately reflects the overall condition of your body. If your body is healthy and well nourished, your hair will be your shining glory.
If you are having any health problems or suffering from any nutritional deficiencies, your hair may stop growing or show damage.
For hair loss caused by illness (such as fever), radiation therapy, or medication use, no treatment is necessary. The hair will usually grow back when the illness has ended or the therapy is finished. A wig, hat, or other covering may be desired until the hair grows back.
Baldness is not usually caused by a disease, but is related to aging, heredity, and testosterone. In addition to the common male and female patterns from a combination of these factors, other possible causes of hair loss, especially if in an unusual pattern, include:
Hormonal changes (for example, thyroid disease, childbirth, or use of the birth control pill)
A serious illness (like a tumor of the ovary or adrenal glands) or fever
Medication such as cancer chemotherapy
Excessive shampooing and blow-drying
Emotional or physical stress
Nervous habits such as continual hair pulling or scalp rubbing
Burns or radiation therapy
Alopecia areata -- bald patches that develop on the scalp, beard, and, possibly, eyebrows. Eyelashes may fall out as well. This is thought to be an immune disorder.
Tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp)

Some women also develop a particular pattern of hair loss due to genetics, age, and male hormones that tend to increase in women after menopause. The pattern is different from that of men. Female pattern baldness involves a thinning throughout the scalp while the frontal hairline generally remains intact.
A careful medical history and examination of the hair and scalp are usually enough to diagnose the nature of your hair loss.
Each individual hair survives for an average of 4 1/2 years, during which time it grows about half an inch a month. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one. Genetic baldness is caused by the body's failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss
