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Female hair loss. We all know what alopecia is. But what is telogen effluvium? No explanation is normally given, and no treatment is suggested. Is there a treatment and do I need treatment?

Hair growth has three different stages. Hair in its growth stage is called the anagen phase. This lasts between 2 and 6 years. A women with a long anagen phase have the longest hair. 90% to 95 % of hair is in this stage at any one time.

The catagen phase is a very short stage. It is the stage between anagen and telogen.

The telogen phase is a resting phase, when the hair growth stops. 5% to 10% of hair is in this stage at any given time. In the telogen phase, the hair follicle shrinks away from the hair, and hair falls out, this is a natural process. About 120 hairs a day are lost. This is normal hair loss. The telogen phase lasts 2 to 3 months at a time, and then the lost hair is replaced by new baby hair, called vellus hair.

A telogen effluvium is an abnormal number of hairs that have prematurely entered the telogen phase and fallen out. It lasts 6 or fewer months. Stressful event precedes this phenomenon, and the stress can be either mental or physical. Surgery,a yoyo diet and the birth of a child are examples of physical stresses that usher in a telogen effluvium.

The prognosis of a telogen effluvium is good. The hair grows back with treatment.

Check with a Westminster Trichologist to see if treatment is needed inyour particular case.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help