They are the crowning glory, and are closely associated with good looks and vanity. In a world where looks are so important that full fledged academic researches are conducted into whether or not looks affect one's professional life, if hair are considered to be of such immense importance, it shouldn't surprise anybody. Hair loss, therefore, is a major issue.
   
On an average, around 10 percent of the hair on your head are at rest, which fall out after two to three months, and are replaced by new hair. The growing phase of these hair lasts for two to six years with each hair growing nearly one centimeter every month during this phase. This means that close to 90 percent of your hair are growing at any given time.

As part of this cycle, some hair fall each day, which is quite natural. What sends the alarm bells ringing is when there is excessive hair shedding. This kind of hair loss is possible in men, women and children alike.

Causes of hair loss
There are number of causes of excessive hair loss including, surgery or any major illness. This is related to the stress caused by the illness or surgery, and affects one temporarily.

Hormonal imbalance can also cause hair loss. An overactive or underactive thyroid gland can also cause hair loss. For such hair loss, thyroid treatment is the answer. Another cause for hair loss is an imbalance in androgens (male hormones) and estrogens (female harmones). In such cases, once the imbalance is corrected, hair loss too gets off the track.
 
There can be hair loss in women, three or four months after the delivery. This too is related to hormones. High levels of certain hormones during pregnancy can cause the body to hold on to hair that were to fall in normal circumstanceS. So, after the delivery, hormones return to their pre-pregnancy state, which causes the retained hair to fall out. The normal cycle of growth and loss thus, starts again. So, nothing to worry about!

Then, there are some medicines that may also cause hair loss. Once, you discontinue the medicine, the hair loss stops. Such medicines include blood thinners (anticoagulants) and the medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer. Antidepressants and oral contraceptive pills may also cause hair loss, and so may an excessive intake of Vitamin A.

In case of children, fungal infections of the scalp may cause hair loss, which can be easily treated with antifungal medication. Hair loss may also be an early symptom of some disease like diabetes or lupus. So, by finding the cause of your hair loss, you may ensure an early detection of some serious ailment and get rid of it in time. That's a pretty good reason for you to pay a visit to the doctor if you find your hairline receding at an alarming pace.

Common baldness
As the name suggests, it is the most common kind of baldness and is also known as male-pattern or permanent-pattern baldness. This kind of baldness is the most common cause of hair loss in men, and is usually an inherited trait. The men in whom hair loss sets in early, develop a far more extensive baldness. Hair loss, in male-patter baldness, results in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head.
   
Then there is female-pattern baldness too in which women find their hair thinning over the entire scalp.

Remedy for hair loss
The very foremost remedy is- take care. Those trendy cornrows and pigtails may exert undue pressure on your hair and cause a kind of hair loss called traction alopecia. Before scarring the scalp, if this pulling pressure is removed, the hair will emerge normally. But, scarring may cause permanent hair loss. Avoid hot oil hair treatments or perms, for the chemicals used to perform them may cause swelling in the hair follicle, and result in scarring.

So far as the treatment is concerned, it depends upon your kind of hair loss. If medicine or hormonal imbalance is the cause of your hair loss, it can be cured by simply replacing the medicine in question, and, in case of hormonal imbalance, by reversing the imbalance.
 
There are medicines available to retard or prevent common baldness. Minoxidil (Rogaine) is one such over-the-counter medicine. It is applied to the scalp, and can be used by both, men and women. Another one is finasteride (Propecia), which is a prescription medicine and comes in pills. It is meant only for men. But, it usually takes up to six months for any of the medicine to produce visible results. So, be patient with them, and don't lose heart too soon.

Follicular unit transplantation
It is a surgical hair restoration technique, wherein hair are taken from the permanent zone at the back of the scalp and are planted into the areas affected by genetic balding. Only the individual follicular units that occur naturally are used for the purpose. The process can bring natural-looking hair on one's bald head again.
   
The major advantage of this process is that Follicular unit transplantation makes the hair grow the natural way, which makes them appear so natural that even on close examination the surgery is virtually undetectable. However, since the method is surgical, all those precautions that are taken in case of any surgery must be taken. Before you go for it, make sure that you have understood all angles of the procedure, fully well.