Unlike men, the most common causes for Hair loss is quite diverse. If you are a woman experiencing hair loss it could save you time, money and a great deal of frustration. Contained herein are all you need to know about the hair loss conditions that predominantly affect women.
Female Pattern Baldness(FPB)
Female pattern hair loss is the most common condition that we see and treat in women. Whilst genetic thinning and baldness is more common in men, tens of thousands of women in the region suffer from female pattern hair loss. However, it affects the genders differently. While men experience 'vertex balding' and/or 'receding frontal hairline', women with female pattern hair loss generally experience 'diffused thinning', generally throughout the top of the head or crown.
Female pattern hair loss usually begins at around the age of 30 and even as early as in the 20s or earlier. The thinning hair usually becomes noticeable around age 40, and may be even more noticeable after menopause. By the age of 50, 50% of women will experience some degree of hair thinning from female pattern hair loss or another condition such as Diffuse Hair Loss or Telogen Effluvium.
Female pattern hair loss is often an overall thinning - two hairs where five used to be, rather than a bald area on top of the head like men. Women sometimes have a receding hairline too. Temporary conditions such as pregnancy, medication, diet, or stress can cause hair thinning, but 70% of women who experience this condition can attribute it to Androgenetic Alopecia, or Female Pattern Hair Loss. The signs and symptoms of female pattern hair loss are general thinning of hair over the top of head and moderate loss of hair on the crown or hairline.
Diffuse Hair Loss
Diffuse Hair Loss is another name for Chronic Telogen Effluvium. It involves an increased rate of hair fall and subsequent thinning from all over the scalp. Whilst the hair appears thinner, there is no loss of follicles. Diffuse hair loss causes a fairly even amount of shedding all over the scalp, making the hair appear thinner due to this excessive hair fall. Whereas, regular Telogen Effluvium is a temporary hair loss condition, Chronic Telogen Effluvium is more prolonged, lasting more than six months. This hair loss condition is seen most frequently in women, although Diffuse Hair Loss can also present in men.
There are a number of reasons that diffuse hair loss may occur.It could be any of the following: a lack of certain nutrients, stress, or as a side effect of illnesses such as anaemia and thyroid conditions.
Telogen Effluvium
Telogen Effluvium occurs when sudden or severe stress causes an increase in the shedding of the hair. A sudden or stressful event can cause certain hair follicles to prematurely stop growing and enter into the telogen (resting) phase. The hairs affected by Telogen Effluvium will then stay in the resting phase for about three months after which time they will shed. Often the person experiencing Telogen Effluvium will have recovered from the event before the hair loss occurs. In most cases of Telogen Effluvium, the hair loss is temporary and the hair soon recovers. However, in some cases of Telogen Effluvium the hair loss continues until the underlying cause is resolved.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is characterised by sudden patchy loss of hair, which is due to many follicles prematurely and rapidly entering the telogen (resting) phase. The cause of Alopecia Areata is unknown but this type of Alopecia falls into the category of autoimmune disorders. Alopecia Areata is relatively common and can affect as many as one person in a thousand at some time in their life. Occasionally, Alopecia areata becomes very widespread and severe and develops into Alopecia Totalis or Alopecia Universalis. Alopecia Areata is considered by some to have an autoimmune mechanism but there may be an external trigger such as a sudden shock or extreme stress.
What are the Initiating Factors for Alopecia Areata?
The triggers that promotes the onset of Alopecia Areata hair loss is unknown. There are several suggested factors that may influence the course of Alopecia Areata. They are:
• Psychological long-term chronic stress
• Shock and sudden extreme stress
• Physical trauma
• Local skin injury
• Genetic predisposition
• Viral/bacterial infection
• Pregnancy/hormones
• Allergies
• Chemicals
• Seasonal changes
Traction Alopecia
Traction Alopecia is a type of hair loss caused by excessive amounts of tension being placed on the hair shafts. This causes the hair to be pulled and can damage the follicle. Over long periods of time under these circumstances, Traction Alopecia will cause the production of hair to slow down and finally cease. Hairstyles that place the roots of the hair under constant pressure are the main cause of Traction Alopecia. These include tightly-fitting hair extensions, weaves, hairpieces and tautly woven styles like braids and cornrows. Traction Alopecia generally affects the hairline, causing hair loss around the front of the scalp and at the temples. Due to the nature of the hairstyles that tend to cause Traction Alopecia, this hair loss condition is predominantly seen in women. However, men who wear their hair in tight braids, dreadlocks or sport hair extensions are also susceptible to Traction Alopecia.
Although there are a number of hair loss conditions that can affect men, the most common is Male Pattern Baldness (MPB). Other names for this condition are Androgenetic Alopecia and Genetic Hair Loss. Let's concentrate primarily on this condition but will also make reference to the less widespread hair loss conditions that could be affecting you.
What is Baldness ?
Balding or loss of hair can occur in men and women due to a number of factors including aging, skin conditions, poor nutrition, certain medications, stress and most commonly, genetic influences. When balding occurs as a result of an inherited genetic disorder, it is referred to as Androgenic Alopecia, also known as Male Pattern Baldness (MPB). It is a condition caused by a bi-product of testosterone named Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT attaches to the hair follicles and causes them to shrink over time, which causes the hair to become thinner and thinner until some men become totally bald on the top of the head. If at the time you were born, the genes responsible for hair loss were present, you will likely experience hair loss upon reaching adulthood. Contrary to popular belief, balding is not inherited from the mother's father; rather, both parents contribute to a child's likelihood of hair loss.
How do I know if I'm losing hair?
This is a very good question, and although the answer might seem obvious, many men do not identify their hair loss until it has become fairly advanced, which could be too late to achieve a full recovery. The reasons men do not identify their own hair loss are usually down to simple denial, or because the process is very slow and it is something that they simply might not notice. At the opposite end of the scale, many men worry about hair loss when they have no reason to worry.
The best ways to know if you are losing your hair are:
• Check the appearance of thinning hair or a receding hairline yourself.
• Other people informing you that you are losing your hair (you may not notice yourself).
• Excessive hair on your pillow, the shower, on your bed or in the bath plug, or on your hands when styling your hair.
How can I identify Male Pattern Baldness?
MPB is in fact easy to identify even for somebody with no clinical experience; as it only affects hair on the top of the scalp and not the sides, causing a horseshoe-shaped pattern of hair loss. There are a number of different common patterns of hair loss – a receding hairline, a thinning crown, or general thinning spread over the top area of the head. MPB never affects the sides or back of the head.
If I do not seek treatment will I eventually be bald?
This depends on a number of factors. First, the condition causing your hair loss – if you have a temporary hair loss condition (which is unusual in men) then the answer may be no. Assuming your condition is MPB, the extent of your eventual hair loss really depends. Those men who have a very early or aggressive onset of MPB are more likely to lose their hair more extensively or at a faster rate, which could result in baldness at an early age. We see men who begin to lose their hair at 18 years old (or sometimes earlier). These men will of course be the ones most likely to reach eventual baldness, sometimes at a fairly early age (mid-twenties). Whereas, some men only begin to see signs of thinning in their mid-to-late twenties, or even later. These men are much less likely to experience eventual baldness and may just have thin hair by the time they reach old age.Thus, the easiest way to tell if you could eventually lose all of your hair is to take note of when the onset of your hair loss began. And how aggressively or quickly your hair is thinning.
When is the best time to seek a solution for my hair loss?
The simple answer to this is as early as possible. We advise that as soon as you begin to notice increased amounts of hair shedding, you should seek advice from a specialist. Male Pattern Hair Loss is a chronic condition that will progress if no action is taken. The more hair lost, the less chances your hair will have of making a full recovery, which is why we always advise the solution before the condition progresses.
As you begin to have hair loss, do you think about hair loss baldness treatment? Do you remember having a full head of hair as a youth? Now when you comb or brush your hair, there is more hair in the brush or in the sink. You look in the mirror, and see that you hair has really receded.
Hair loss can be treated with many different kinds of treatment such as herbal oils, chemical stimulants, vitamin supplements and much more. Although there are several solutions available to control hair loss, there are quite a few if you had already lost or continue losing considerable amount of hair. These are called as alternative methods to combat baldness and they range from going in for hair plugs, hair transplant and hair replacement.
Some of these alternative methods can prove to be ineffective and some can be painful, expensive or even dangerous; as it involves surgical procedures on the scalp. The safest and cost-effective of all is Non-surgical hair replacement and that's what we exactly recommend for you.
We, at Joseph Hair Care Center use our own patented Microdote Technique™, which is one of the world's best non-surgical hair replacement solutions available today.
