Female Hair Loss Explained

There are a variety of factors that can cause female hairloss, the most common is genetics. Like men, hairloss in women can be caused by an inherited condition called androgenetic alopecia. Thinning hair in women can lead to female baldness. We need to remember a woman’s hair is her pride and joy! This can make the issue even more sensitive than male pattern hairloss - in some cases resulting in clinical depression.

Here we discuss the different conditions associated with female hairloss.

Androgenetic Alopecia is the most common reason of female hairloss.

Androgenetic alopecia can be inherited from either side of the family. Hair loss in women usually begins after menopause, but it has been known to affect women in puberty as well. Overall, thinning hair in women is a common result of androgenetic alopecia, though female hair loss can be more pronounced on top of the head.

The reasons for female hair loss may have to do with declining levels of estrogen. Before menopause, estrogen counteracts a set of hormones called androgens, which turn into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). After menopause, more androgens are converted to DHT, which adversely affects some hair follicles in women who are genetically predisposed to this form of female hair loss. It is not known why female hair loss is diffuse, whereas male hair loss follows a distinct pattern.

In addition to androgenetic alopecia, there are two other common causes of female hair loss:

Anagen Effluvium - Hair loss in women can be caused by medications, such as chemotherapy drugs, that poison the hair follicle, resulting in excessive hair loss.

Telogen Effluvium - In certain cases, some women may experience excessive hairloss when an increased number of hairs enter the resting phase at the same time. This causes the hair to fall out and a new hair begins to grow in its place. This type of female hair loss can be caused by dieting, surgery, illness, thyroid problems, emotional stress, blood pressure medications, childbirth, or birth control pills.

Female hairloss can be treated successfully using a wide variety of treatments, please feel free to browse the female treatment section by clicking the icon seen at the top of our product tabs to the left. Additionally, you may use our live chat feature to ask our advisor for some advice on our treatments before making a purchase.

Whyage treatments for female hair loss can be found if you click here.