Hereditary hair loss in women is much more common than most people would think. It is estimated that up to 40% of women will be affected by female pattern hair loss at some point in their lives. The term androgenetic alopecia, which is widely used for male pattern hair loss, should be avoided in women as the disorder is not always clearly driven by androgens.
While several male role models with balding exist in the media, there are none for women. Hair loss in women significantly affects their quality of life, confidence, relationships and many other aspects.
Ludwig staging of female pattern hair loss
In most cases thinning is noticed in the mid scalp area, such that parting the hair centrally reveals more and more scalp as shown in the diagram below. Typically the hair line is spared and does not recede backwards as it does with men.
The good news is that complete or almost complete hair loss occurs in less than 1% of women.
Miniaturisation
As in male pattern hair loss, terminal hairs become progressively thinner and shorter with each cycle such. Eventually the hairs become fine vellus hairs which are barely visible. This leads to the perceptible thinning. Usually 50% of the hairs will have become miniaturised before thinning is appreciable
Treatment
Options for treatment include:
Minoxidil. This lotion or foam can be obtained at any pharmacy and has been shown to slow down the process of female pattern hair loss in about 40% of users. Minoxidil needs to be continued indefinitely for the effect to be maintained.
Oral minoxidil is a highly effective option we specialise in for female pattern hair loss.
Spironolactone is also another medical solution for hair loss that we offer.Camouflage. Virtually every woman with hair loss will have tried to hide the problem. This may be with a hair style that is less revealing, a powder based camouflage spray or a hair system such as a wig or a more customised product.Hair Transplantation. Women make up an increasing share of patients undergoing hair transplantation. This can be a very successful method of restoring hair. A good candidate for hair transplantation will have mild or moderate hair loss, good donor hair density, and enough elasticity in the scalp. We do not offer hair transplantation.
