Balding, or hair loss, is a disruption in the normal hair growth cycle that causes an excessive number of hairs to fall out without replacement. While the condition is more commonly associated with men, it may also occur in women for a number of reasons, including genetics, aging, use of certain medications and changes in hormonal balance.
Female Pattern Baldness
Some women lose their hair as a result of female pattern baldness, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. Although doctors do not fully understand the reasons for this condition, it appears to be related to several factors, including advancing age, a family history of male or female baldness and age-related changes in your natural levels of male hormones, called androgens. If you have female pattern baldness, your hair will typically begin thinning at the center part line of your scalp, then spread throughout the top and crown of your head. Unlike men who go bald, you will typically retain your front hairline.
Alopecia Areata
Female baldness may also occur as a result of a condition called alopecia areata, Medline Plus reports. Although the causes of this condition are unknown, it sometimes appears in combination with autoimmune disorders or in families with a history of common baldness. The main symptom of alopecia areata is the development of round bald patches on your scalp. In some cases, you may also experience a total loss of your scalp hair---a condition called alopecia totalis---or a total loss of your scalp and body hair, a condition called alopecia universalis.
Pregnancy
Women may also experience temporary hair loss roughly three months after giving birth, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. This is actually a restoration of your normal hair growth cycle. During pregnancy, hormone levels in your body elevate and stop normal hair loss; when hormone levels recede, the retained hair falls out and your body resets its hair growth patterns.
Additional Causes
Medline Plus lists additional potential causes of female baldness that include iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency, syphilis, temporary shedding related to an injury or surgery, use of medications such as beta blockers and chemotherapy agents, hormone disorders and skin diseases that scar your hair follicles. You may also experience baldness as a result of hairstyles or treatments that damage or break your hair, as well as from congenital abnormalities in your hair shafts, Medline Plus notes.
Treatments
You can treat female pattern baldness with the prescription medication minoxidil, according to Medline Plus. However, if you stop taking minoxidil, your baldness will return. If medications cause hair loss, your doctor may know of alternative products that do not have this effect, the American Academy of Family Physicians notes. Additional causes such as hormone imbalances may also be corrected. In some cases, you may use wigs, hairpieces or other replacement products to address hair loss not correctable by other means.
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