A man can be expected to lose his hair during his later years. This can be generally more expected if his father or other close relatives suffer from male pattern baldness. It is in general not expected for women to lose their hair regardless of her family history. This is due to the general belief that baldness and thinning of the hair is a male problem.
It is due to our social expectations that women feel that they should have a full head of hair. It is only when a women is old and aged that thinning of the hair is acceptable in many societies.
If women experience hair loss during their young to middle years, it is generally caused by female androgenetic alopecia. Hair loss of this kind comes as a shock to most women, therefore more and more of them are opting for restoration treatments and procedures. Many of these procedures are successful hair transplantations.
As mentioned above, the most common type of hair loss experienced by women is female androgenetic alopecia which is also known as female pattern baldness. Overall it targets about 20% of western women, with statistics showing that the older the women is, the more likely they are to experience this type of hair loss. Statistics have also revealed that there is an increase in incidence of this hair loss during and after the menopause.
The main underlying cause for female androgen alopecia is thought to be connected to the production of male hormones (androgenetic) and their effects on the woman’s hair follicles. This is also thought to be the same cause for male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). However there is a distinct difference between the pattern of hair loss in female androgenetic alopecia and male androgenetic alopecia.
Generally there are three patterns of hair loss in female pattern baldness:
Grade 1 – An outward show of thinning hair on the central scalp, which is the top of the head.
Grade 2 – A thinning of hair and greater patches of hair loss on the scalp
Grade 3 – Male pattern alopecia with the loss of hair at the front to mid scalp. It is exceptionally rare to see complete male pattern baldness in women.
There are other causes of hair loss such as scalp scarring, traction alopecia due to injury caused by tight braiding or corn-rowing, compulsive hair plucking (trichotillomania) or an underlying disease.
Those women who are experiencing hair loss should consider a consultation with a hair restoration doctor as they are the experts in this type of hair loss problem.
The medical examination then focuses on the reason for the hair loss, with the most common reason for hair loss in a healthy woman being female pattern baldness in the grades described above.
Should a woman’s physical examination and medical history not indicate an underlying medical condition and it is clear the hair-loss is due to the problem of female androgenetic alopecia, further tests are usually not necessary.
If it is obvious that the hair loss pattern is not female androgenic alopecia, there may be another underlying medical condition for the hair loss. A scalp biopsy is often helpful in determining the cause in this instance.
