Hair loss in women.
Hair loss is “miserable enough for a man: a downright catastrophe for a woman” according to the words of Elizabeth Steel. A survey by Hairline International, the baldness support group, found that 78% of its female members no longer felt like women, 40% said their marriage had suffered and 63% had considered suicide.
Women who lose their hair often worry that they are going bald like a man, and that their hormones are becoming masculinized. In fact, patchy baldness (alopecia areata) and total baldness (alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis) are unrelated to hormones and occur equally commonly in men and women.
Thinning hair after the menopause
Like men, most women develop widening partings and thinning of the hair all over the scalp with age; this is normal. It actually starts in the teens or early 20s, and by the age of 50 over half of all women have thinning hair. After the menopause, thinning of the hair is more pronounced. Hair can also become thin at the front, similar to the male pattern. This is because the hair follicles are responding in exactly the same way as in balding men to the testosterone in the blood. All women have testosterone; this is perfectly normal. The balding does not mean that the woman has more testosterone; it simply means that the hair follicles on her scalp are oversensitive, which is probably inherited. The hair will eventually not become any worse. There is no need to worry that you will become [...]
Tags: alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, alopecia universalis, causes of hair loss women, Hair Loss Women, male pattern baldness, minoxidil, Regaine, Thinning Hair