According to womenshealth.org, hair loss affects 50 percent of women. This number can be surprising, since balding in women often goes unnoticed. Women lose hair differently then men. Understanding the causes, patterns and treatments for thinning hair in women helps to ease some of the emotional stress that hair loss brings.
Patterns
According to the New Hair Institute, women may lose hair locally, in a pattern or diffusely. Localized hair loss is often either due to an auto-immune disease or due to scaring. According to womenshealth.org, if you experience patchy hair loss, you should visit a dermatologist for cortisone treatments. Patterned hair loss causes a woman to experience hair loss from the front and top of their scalp, but she will lose little from the sides or back of their head. Diffuse hair loss results in generalized thinning throughout the scalp. The New Hair Institute states that this form of hair loss is the most common. In this form of hair loss, a lot of the hair remains, but the hair shafts become thinner than the normal hair.
Tests
According to the New Hair Institute, two main tests are done to determine hair loss. The first is called the "hair pull," in which a small section of hair is gently pulled and the number of hairs that easily come out are counted. The second is called "densitometry," in which a sample of the scalp is taken and a microscope is used to evaluate the number of hair follicles and the growth stage of hair in each follicle. Various blood tests may be ordered to assess underlying causes of the hair loss.
Causes
The New Hair Institute states, "With age some normal degree of hair loss occurs in everyone so that total hair volume will decrease over time in both sexes." However, some women experience more than others due to heredity, hormone changes (such as during pregnancy, menopause and coming off the pill), anemia, thyroid disease, endocrine problems, gynecological conditions (such as ovarian tumors), general anesthesia, rapid weight loss, crash diets, severe emotional stress and some medications. Womenshealth.org states that many causes of hair loss are temporary.
Treatment
There are surgical and non-surgical treatments for hair loss. According to womenshealth.org, Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia are medications that are known to help establish hair re-growth. However, when these medications are stopped hair re-growth also stops. Moreover, the hair that is re-grown has a peach fuss texture. Surgically, hair transplants can be performed using a micrograft hair transplant technique. Most women can manage hair loss by using mousses, gels, wigs, perms and extensions. These methods provide women with better cosmetic results for a lot less money than the other options.
Myths
According to the American Hair Loss Council, there are many myths associated with hair loss. However, frequent shampooing does not lead to hair loss; hats and wigs do not cause hair loss; 100 strokes of the hair brush will not make hair healthier; perms, colors, and other cosmetic treatments do not cause permanent hair loss; shaving the head will not cause hair to grow back thicker; dandruff does not cause permanent hair loss; and hair loss can begin in the late teens to early twenties in some women.
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