Stress and the genetics — these are two things that are commonly blamed by men and women alike for hair loss. But are you aware that there are so many other things that can cause you to lose your mane aside from having a very nerve-racking day-to-day life and being the hapless recipient of genes that cause baldness?

Your hair serves a bunch of very important roles. They include cooling your body, saving you from excessive UV radiation and safeguarding your brain from trauma. But then it also helps make you look your best — that’s why so many of us spend thousands of dollars on hair care products and hair treatments.

And that is why it can be a very disheartening thing to see that you are losing your hair!

The following are some of the lesser-known causes of hair loss that you should also know about:

Crash Dieting

Are you crash dieting to get rid of unwanted pounds? Well, the only thing that you will lose is your hair! When you go on a crash diet, you are depriving your body of much-needed nutrients. When that happens, all sorts of things can strike, and one of the most attention-grabbing and blood-curdling of them is hair loss.

Iron-Deficiency

Even if you are not on a crash diet, it’s still possible for you to deprive your body of nutrients like iron that you need to keep your mane intact. For instance, your diet may not be a well-balanced one. As a result, you may end up with iron-deficiency anemia, and one of the many telltale signs of it is hair thinning.

Medications or Treatments

Did your doctor tell you to take certain drugs or undergo a treatment and now you seem to be losing your hair? It can be the medications you are taking or treatment you are undergoing to blame. Drugs like blood thinners, beta blockers and antidepressants can cause hair loss. Chemotherapy is also known to cause such.

Ringworm

A form of fungal infection, ringworm can strike just about any part of the body, and that includes the scalp — it’s what doctors are calling tinea capitis. Some of the telltale signs of ringworm of the scalp include itching and the formation of pustules. Oh, and it can also cause you to lose your hair in patches.

Hypothyroidism

Your thyroid gland is situated in the neck, and it secretes hormones that control a lot of processes taking place in the body. Whether your thyroid gland is overactive (hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism), one of the many effects that it can cause is hair loss. Needless to say, a problem with the thyroid gland needs to be treated.

Excessive Hair Styling

Are you fond of sporting hair styles that require you to pull your hair or use tools that expose your tresses to extremely high temperatures? Then don’t be surprised if you seem to be losing your hair. You can also suffer from hair loss if you use shampoos, conditioners and other hair products that contain harsh ingredients.