Hair Loss in Women

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The advertisements for treatment of balding, and hair loss in men can't be missed. These ads might lead one to believe that hair loss is generally a men's issue. However the fact is that as many as two-thirds of all women experience hair loss at some point.

Fortunately hair loss in women typically does not result in complete baldness, as is often the case with men. In the September 23, 1999 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Vera H. Price examined hair loss and treatments for the two most common types of hair loss -- androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata.

Does Estrogen Affect Hair Loss?

The role of estrogen in hair growth in humans is not clear. However both oral and topical estrogens are prescribed by physicians to treat hair loss in women -- although there are no controlled studies to support this use of estrogen.

Dr. Price warns that women who chose to use oral contraceptives to treat hair loss should take care to select one with little or no androgenic activity such as norgestimate or ethynodiol diacetate. She also warns that women with androgenetic aplopecia should not use testosterone or androgen precursors such as DHEA.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is an immune disease that affects almost 2% of the population in the US. This type of hair loss appears in various degrees of severity from small, round patches of hair loss that regrow without medical treatment to chronic, extensive hair loss that can involve the loss of all hair on the scalp or body hair. This type of hair loss affects both genders equally and can occur at any age, although it occurs most often in children and young adults.

Treatment of this type of hair loss includes immunomodulating therapies such as glucocorticoids, topical immunotherapy, or anthralin, or biologic-responce modifiers such as Minoxidil. The choice of treatment depends on the patient's age, as well as the extent of hair loss. Milder cases often see a greater improvement with treatment than severe cases. In no case does treatment restore full hair in patients with 100% scalp or body hair loss.

Androgenetic Alopecia

Myths Vs. Facts
Myth: Hair loss is inherited from your father	Fact: Both parent's genes are a factor.	Androgenetic aplopecia is genetically-linked hair thinning.
Myth: Female pattern hair loss causes abnormal bleeding.	Fact: Menstruation is not affected.	Hair loss typically begins between the ages of 12 and 40.
Myth: Extensive hormonal evaluation is required.	Fact: Hormonal evaluation is only required if the patient is also experiencing irregular periods, infertility, hirsutism, cystic acne, virilization, or glactorrhea.	Androgenetic aplopecia usually doesn't cause menstrual issues or interfere with pregnancy or endocrine function.
Myth: Teasing, using hair color, other products, or frequently washing hair increases hair loss.	Fact: Normal hair care doesn't affect hair loss.	The only drug approved for promoting hair growth in women is Minoxidil.