Thinning Hair in Women

Hair loss leading to thinning can be more upsetting for a woman than for a man. A man can get by even if he loses more than 50% of his hair. Society accepts it. For a woman, her head of hair is the crowning glory of her appearance and is an important part of her personality. A woman’s hair is her defining feature and often used to describe her, as for example in “who was that blonde I saw you with at the party last night?” A woman knows how important her hair is to her appearance and therefore to her success in life. To discover that she is in danger of losing this precious asset can be devastating, causing deep distress and undermining her self-confidence.

It is not surprising then that a whole industry has evolved around helping women keep their hair and make the best of it. There is a bewildering array of products out there claiming extravagant benefits and it can be difficult for a woman, faced with hair loss, to know where to start.

If you are suffering hair loss it is important to try to establish the cause. This way you are much likely to be able to find effective treatment, rather than blindly trying one product after another. There is no quick fix for this problem but picking the right treatment will save time and money in the long run.

If you have lost a lot of hair in a short period of time and have recently gone through a difficult time in your life, then it will be obvious that these two things are connected. Emotional trauma from the loss of a loved one, a traumatic accident, a serious operation or cancer treatment can upset the normal growth cycle of your hair and cause premature loss. In these circumstances your hair is likely to grow again but will take time, so you will need to resort to a wig or other means of cosmetic treatment in the meantime. If you are experiencing large areas of the scalp where hair is lost leaving circular or irregular bald patches you may be suffering an autoimmune condition and should see your doctor for advice. Other causes of patchy hair loss include hair pulling, an emotional response to stress or psychological problems. Again it is necessary to seek appropriate medical advice.

For most women, their hair loss is not quite as dramatic as this, but is more diffuse in nature causing hair thinning rather than bald patches. The concern is that the condition may be progressive and ultimately give rise to bald patches. Early recognition of a problem can help enormously as re-vitalising one’s existing hair is a lot easier than trying to get new hair to grow on completely denuded areas of scalp. Unfortunately, gradual thinning of one’s hair is not always easy to spot. You may get a clue if you find increasing amounts of hair in your brush after its use. You can try to gauge hair loss and see if its getting worse by carefully cleaning your brush of any hair, then using it four times and keeping the hair that is trapped in the brush. Then, two weeks later, repeat this and see if more volume of hair has been caught up in the brush. An alternative is to part your hair in the middle and closely examine the width of the gap along the line of the parting. If, over time, this width seems to be increasing then there may be cause for concern.

If you do suspect that you are losing hair then it is best to see a trained professional hair specialist or dermatologist. There may be a medical condition that can be corrected. The most common cause of hair loss in men is male pattern baldness and this can affect women too. It is caused by the effect of a hormone, DHT, on sensitive hair follicles, and requires treatment with anti-androgens to halt hair loss, and with nutrients to promote new hair growth. Sometimes treatment with minoxidil is advised in order to help stimulate new growth of hair. Low- level laser therapy is another option for stimulating hair growth, and is said to help in a large number of cases.

Although hair loss can be worse for women, it need not spell the end of all social life. There are ways and means to mitigate the effects and continue to lead a normal lifestyle.