Cupping guides

Hair loss: causes in women and men (stress, iron deficiency, hormones, thyroid, heredity, after pregnancy, medicines), how to know which type you have, how much hair is normal to shed, what helps, when to seek care, and scalp massage

More hair in the brush, a thinner ponytail, a wider parting or clumps in the shower: hair loss is frightening, and the first thing you need to know is that there are a few types that look completely different and have completely different causes. The most common is telogen effluvium, where hair sheds evenly over the whole head two to four months after a strain (stress, illness, fever, childbirth, rapid weight loss, iron deficiency, thyroid, a new medicine) and grows back by itself once the cause is gone. The second most common is hereditary hair loss, which in women gives a wider parting and thinner hair on the crown and in men a receding hairline and thin crown, and which needs treatment to slow down. Here is how to tell the types apart, how much hair is normal to shed (50–100 strands a day), the causes in women and men, which tests to ask for (ferritin, TSH, B12, vitamin D), what really helps (iron if deficient, minoxidil, time, food, stress management) and what doesn't (most supplements and shampoos), when to seek care, and how scalp massage and light cupping of the hairline increase blood flow to the hair follicles.