Female Baldness. Women have the right to Recover their Hair too.

Female hair loss is becoming a more frequent clinic problem every day. At present it is said that 25 % of white females present FAGA at the age of 35-45 and a 35-40% present FAGA at around 50. One out of three women will suffer excessive hair loss during her life, a problem with no very clear causes. Many women suffering from alopecia say it is a “living hell”, a drama that deeply changes their lives and self-esteem. 

The most common cause for female hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, a genetic problem that causes a big testosterone level transformation. Testosterone is a male sexual hormone that is also found in the bodies of women in small quantities and it transforms into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) when it comes in contact with an enzyme that catalyses this reaction. 

Female hair loss is caused by a genetic predisposition of the hair follicle with normal levels or with mild or severe androgen level growth. 

According to specialists in trichology (scientific study of hair) 90% of consultations are for a false type of alopecia and only a small percentage of women get a diagnosis for female androgenetic alopecia. 

The main problem is that some women tend to have poor hair and this is not an illness but a situation that can not be reversed- (Preventive Treatment)- and it can cause a lot of frustration. These women start worrying when they experience a greater natural hair loss (when seasons change, etc ); this is the so called seasonal alopecia or telogen effluvium. There is a big confusion about the difference of changing your hair and loosing it. Sometimes hair loss is more intense but there is no real problem. Poor hair in women is much more evident and that is why they get so alarmed. 

In general, there is hormonal origin behind all of these cases, but not necessarily a hormonal disease. This is a subtle difference. 

Curiously enough, women who suffer from diagnosed androgenetic alopecia do not normally complain about hair falling out. The problem as regards these patients is known as miniaturization, a reduction in the number of hair follicles resulting in a decrease in hair thickness. There is a visual decrease in hair density in the affected area and besides the process of new hair growth gets slower. 

There are a lot of things to assess before giving a diagnosis and then, deciding what to do and finding the best solution to solve the problem. It is necessary to keep a thorough medical record with information about certain pathologies, recent surgeries, eating habits, medications intake, etc. 

This medical record is extremely important to help your physicians get a specific diagnosis of the problem’s origin. The next step it to fight against it. 

Many times women panic when finding more and more hair falling down the shower drain. In fact, nobody has to worry because there are solutions. The important thing is to find the right treatment, to be patient and most of all, persistent. 

If hair loss or weakness comes together with additional symptoms such as infertility, cystic acne, irregular menstrual periods or galactorrhea, some hormonal tests should be carried out.  

Female baldness may be caused by many and very different reasons. In order to know what the right treatment to be followed is, it is necessary to know the real cause of alopecia.

Causes of female pattern baldness:

• Menopause
• Temporary hair loss (Telogen effluvium)
• Brittle hair (as a result of beauty treatments and torsion or hair pulling ) 
• Total hair loss areas (alopecia areata, an immunological disorder that causes temporary hair loss)
• Medications
• Some  skin diseases
• Hormonal anomalies 
• Iron deficiency
• Thyroid hyper-activity 
• Vitamins deficiency 
• Idiopathic

If you realize you are loosing your hair, neither get desperate nor start any treatment without having a consultation with a professional physician. Never start a treatment of this kind without a pervious control.

Classification: 

One of the main characteristics of FAGA is that it starts by diffuse hair loss in the parietal and vertical frontal region, in the crown, not involving the frontal hairline.  Women do not suffer from total alopecia but their hair grows smaller in diameter, becomes thinner and shorter, making it possible to see the scalp.

This is what Ludwig called “Miniaturization”.