Hair Fall in Women: Common Causes and What Actually Helps

Losing some hair daily is normal. Losing noticeably more, or seeing your parting widen, usually has an identifiable cause, and identifying it matters because the right response depends entirely on the reason.

What Counts as Normal

Shedding somewhere in the region of 50 to 100 hairs a day is typical. Hair grows in cycles, and a proportion is always in a resting or shedding phase. What is worth paying attention to is a change from your own baseline, or thinning that shows at the scalp.

Common Causes

Telogen Effluvium

A large number of hairs shift into the shedding phase at once, usually two to three months after a trigger. Common triggers include illness with fever, surgery, significant weight loss, childbirth, or severe stress. The delay between trigger and shedding is why the cause is often missed.

This type is usually temporary and recovers once the trigger has passed.

Iron Deficiency

Low iron is one of the most common contributors in women, particularly with heavy periods. It frequently appears alongside fatigue and breathlessness. A blood test is the only way to confirm it.

Thyroid Imbalance

Both underactive and overactive thyroid can cause hair loss, generally alongside other symptoms such as weight change, temperature sensitivity or fatigue.

Hormonal Changes

PCOS, postpartum hormone shifts, stopping hormonal contraception and menopause can all affect hair. In PCOS this can present as thinning on the scalp alongside unwanted growth elsewhere, driven by androgen levels.

Female Pattern Hair Loss

Gradual thinning, typically widening at the parting, with the hairline usually preserved. It is genetic and progressive, which makes early attention more useful than waiting.

Traction and Styling Damage

Tight styles worn consistently, plus heat and chemical processing, cause breakage and can eventually damage follicles. This one is largely within your control.

What Actually Helps

Get tested first. Iron, ferritin, thyroid function and vitamin D are the usual starting panel. Supplementing blindly wastes time and money if the cause is elsewhere.

Address the underlying cause. Correcting an iron deficiency helps if iron is the problem. It will not help if the cause is thyroid.

Be patient. Hair grows roughly a centimetre a month. Even when you fix the cause, visible improvement takes three to six months. Judging any approach after four weeks will mislead you.

Reduce mechanical stress. Looser styles, less heat, gentler handling when wet.

Where Products Fit

A shampoo cannot correct a thyroid problem or an iron deficiency. What a well-formulated one can do is support scalp condition and reduce breakage while the underlying issue is addressed. Biohir Anti Hairloss Shampoo combines Saw Palmetto, Procapil, Biotin and Zinc Pyrithione, and our ingredient breakdown covers what each one does.

When to See a Doctor

Worth getting checked if shedding is sudden or severe, if you can see scalp through the hair, if there are bald patches, or if it comes with fatigue, weight change or irregular periods. The NHS guide to hair loss is a good starting reference.

You can browse our range in the Hair Care collection.