According to the Mayo Clinic, your hair goes through a cycle of growth and rest. The growth phase lasts about two to three years. Your hair grows almost 1/2 inch per month during this phase. The resting phase takes three to four months. Then a hair strand falls out, a new one replaces it and the growth phase begins anew.
Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day. But you have about 100,000 hairs in your scalp, so the normal daily loss of hair shouldn't be noticeable. While a gradual thinning of hair is part of the aging process, hair loss can lead to baldness when the pace of hair loss exceeds regrowth, when new hair is thinner than old hair or when hair falls out in patches.
Types and Causes of Hair Loss
In pattern baldness, hair growth doesn't last as long, hairs are not as thick and they fall out more easily. Heredity is the likely culprit and it also influences the age at which hair loss occurs. With cicatricial or scarring alopecia, permanent hair loss occurs due to inflammation damage to the hair follicle, which prevents new hair from growing. Alopecia areata, another cause of hair loss, is an autoimmune disease with no known cause. Hair generally regrows, but people may lose and regrow hair numerous times. With telogen effluvium, hair loss is caused by changes in the normal hair cycle, which can be caused by a physical or emotional shock to the system, including grief, stress, high fever, extreme diets or nutritional deficiencies. Hair usually grows back. Traction alopecia is caused by excessive hairstyles that pull the hair too tightly and can scar the scalp and damage hair roots.
Folic Acid
Folate is a water soluble B vitamin. Folic acid is the man-made form of folate which is found in supplements. Folate can be found in a number of foods, including bean, legumes, citrus fruits and juices, wheat bran and other whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables, poultry, pork, shellfish and liver. Folic acid helps to form red blood cells and produce DNA. It also aids in the growth of tissues and the proper functioning of blood cells.
Folic Acid Deficiency
A lack of folic acid in your system can cause serious health consequences. For pregnant women, taking an adequate amount of folic acid can prevent certain birth defects. A lack of folic acid can also lead to poor growth, ulcers and diarrhea. It can lead to gray hair as well, according to the government's Medline Plus website.
Folic Acid and Hair Loss
In addition to the causes previously listed, hair loss can also be the result of poor nutrition, medications and disease. According to the Ultimate Cosmetics website, a diet that is deficient in folic acid "can cause hair loss that ranges from simple hair thinning to patchy hair loss or even to total baldness."
Considerations
If you are worried about hair loss, the first step is to see your doctor or dermatologist to determine the cause. If you are not getting enough B vitamins, including folic acid or protein or iron in your system, those deficiencies could contribute to hair loss. And since folic acid and other B vitamins are essential to good health, it makes sense to make sure you are getting enough from your diet or perhaps from supplements. Adults should be taking in 400 mcg per day of folate.
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