How many times have you been combing your hair, only to pull out more than a "few" strands of hair? It's common to start noticing hair loss a bit more as you begin to age, and it can be from a variety of reasons. Sometimes losing hair can cause for concern, like signs of Alopecia or health related issues, but typically there are explainable reasons to why your hair is falling out. If you've been searching for a few possible reasons why you have hair fallout, here are some possibilities:

Potential Reasons Why You Are Experiencing Hair Loss

Human hair goes through a normal shedding process.

Animals aren't the only ones that shed and lose their hair. Humans go through a shedding process as well. There are three main stages of hair growth that every hair follicle on your head goes through. They are the anagen, catagen and telogen phases. Once your hair starts the telogen phase, your hair is released from your head and falls off. Then, the hair growth area remains bare for three months, until the hair growth cycle starts all over again. Hard to believe that process happens for each and every hair on your head! No wonder it seems like you are losing hair every day...you are!

Vitamin deficiency can lead to hair loss.

If you are lacking the proper amount of Vitamin B or D, it can result in hair loss. The good news is that there are certain foods that you can eat that can actually help to reverse your vitamin deficiency. Orange juice, egg yolks, mushrooms, and salmon are all excellent sources of Vitamin D. For Vitamin B, consider eating red meats and plenty of broccoli and spinach. It's possible to help slow or reverse your hair loss if you start eating healthier.

Stress levels contribute hair loss.

Hard to believe that your own stress level could be causing your hair to slowly shed, as well. If you've been feeling overly stressed lately, it may be time to take a step back and give yourself a bit of a rest. When your hair starts to fall out because of stress, that means that your body is trying to tell you that it needs you to take a break!

Dry hair leads to increased breakage

This can happen more in the winter than other seasons due to the lack of moisture in the air. Make sure you are using a protein-rich shampoo and conditioner to strengthen your hair. Cut back on the hot tools (or at least use a thermal protecting hair product) and use a wide tooth comb or finger raking versus brushing.

Hormones Can Contribute to Hair Loss

If you've just had a baby and you're noticing what seems to be an abnormal amount of hair loss, this is completely normal. When you are pregnant, your hair cycle remains in the catagen (resting) phase due to increased levels of estrogen. You won't lose hair and therefore your hair appears to be much longer throughout the nine and a half months.

About 3 months postpartum, you'll begin to notice your hair begin to shed with it really picking up by the 6th month postpartum when your hair has resumed its natural hair cycle.

It's important to remember that the human body is quite amazing. When you start to notice something like your hair falling out, more times than not there is an explanation that can be fixed with just a little bit of processing and digging around. Of course, if your hair fall out seems excessive, consider talking to your doctor.