Hair Savers

Thinning Hair (Alopecia Androgenetica) In Women

More women now have the female version of male pattern baldness. Alopecia androgenetica in a man usually appears as receding temples with perhaps a bald patch on the crown; in a woman as diffuse thinning throughout the scalp.

Thinning hair in women is a hormonal, hereditary condition caused by a genetic predisposition and totally different from the scalp disease alopecia areata.

When there is hair loss, there is frequently also a background of illness, weight loss, nutritional deficiency or thyroid problems. Fluctuating levels of the male hormones, the androgens, which women have in their bodies just as men do though in smaller amounts, can act as a trigger to alopecia androgenetica.

Whether the condition shows itself or not is down to the vital triggers in our lifestyle which can kick-start it into action. Medical interference with hormones is frequently to blame. In younger women the culprit is often the progestogen content of the contraceptive pill, or of hormones taken to prevent premenstrual syndrome or to combat infertility.

If the hormonal balance tips too much towards the androgens, women lose their hair.

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