Could you be at risk for going bald?

June 4, 9:46 AMJackson Beauty ExaminerDanielle Page

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While Sinead O'Connor did look pretty hot bald, it doesn't mean we all would.  Twenty five percent of women in America will experience female pattern baldness and related emotional trauma.  In fact, women are more traumatized over hair loss than men because it's more socially acceptable for a man to be bald or balding than a woman.

Many people believe that excessive coloring, bleaching, blow drying etc. is the common cause for balding in women.  However, this is simply not the case.  Although it may cause breakage at the root, it is not a factor in female balding.  So what is and are you at risk?

Androgenetic Alopecia accounts for 95% of hair loss in women.

Women with female pattern baldness tend to have less obvious patterns of hair loss than do men.  Like in men, Androgens are responsible for hair loss in women. 

Women also inherit a sensitivity to the effects of androgens (male hormones) on scalp hair follicles. Androgens are produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands in women.  Women who experience hair loss due to this cause generally do not experience all over complete baldness.

Patterns of female Androgenetic Alopecia

1.  The hair thins more toward the back of the scalp than the front.
2. The hair thins toward the front of the scalp but not involving the frontal hairline.
3. With more noticeable hair thinning toward the front of the scalp than the back of the scalp.
4. Diffuse hair thinning occurring evenly over the entire scalp.

 If a woman does experience total loss of hair in an area of her scalp; she should be evaluated for an underlying pathological disease. Women rarely experience total loss of hair in an area if the loss is due to female pattern baldness.

  However, hair loss in women can be caused by other factors than female pattern baldness which include:

• Temporary shedding of hair (telogen effluvium)
• Breaking of hair (from such things as styling treatments and twisting or pulling of hair)
• Patchy areas of total hair loss (alopecia areata -- an immune disorder causing temporary hair loss)
• Medications
• Certain skin diseases
• Hormonal abnormalities
• Iron deficiency
• Underactive thyroid
• Vitamin deficiency

Some symptoms would be thinning of hair over the entire head and hair loss at the crown or hairline that is mild to moderate.

Exams and Tests   

Female pattern baldness is usually diagnosed based on the appearance and pattern of hair loss and by ruling out other causes of hair loss.

A skin biopsy or other procedures may be used to diagnose medical disorders that cause loss of hair.

Analysis of the hair itself is not accurate for diagnosing nutritional or similar causes of hair loss, although it may reveal substances such as arsenic or lead.

Treatment

The only drug or medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat female pattern baldness is minoxidil, used on the scalp. For women, the 2% concentration is recommended. Minoxidil may help hair to grow in 20% to 25% of the female population, and in the majority it may slow or stop the loss of hair. Treatment is expensive, however, and hair loss starts again when minoxidil use is stopped.

Female pattern baldness is of cosmetic importance only and does not indicate a medical disorder, but it may affect self-esteem or cause anxiety. The hair loss is usually permanent. 

Call your health care provider if hair loss occurs and persists, especially if there is itching, skin irritation, or other symptoms. There might be a treatable medical cause for the loss of hair.
 

References