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Female hair loss & thinning

This site is a UK based site devoted to women’s hair loss issues. This includes information about female pattern baldness, female hair fall, female hair thinning, hair loss treatments and other options to consider after female hair loss. This site is not about men’s hair loss or men’s balding.

Male Vs Female Hair Loss

The reason a women may lose or have thinning hair is different to a man. A man going bald is generally related to their genes (inheriting the baldness gene from their parent), their age (getting older) or their hormones (a decrease in testosterone). Men’s hair loss or balding can also (sometimes) be related to their health.

Hair loss personal account: I’ve had thin hair for years. I didn’t notice or pay any attention to it. I raised my children and never noticed or compared how thin my hair was. Then one day (in my forties) I glimpsed at my scalp in the mirror and froze. With the way the light shone onto my scalp it looked like I had no hair. I had some hair but not enough. From that moment on I suffered with anxiety. I had pain in the pit of my stomach from the moment I woke to when I went to bed.

Women don't go bald!

A woman will lose their hair differently to a man. Whilst a man may go completely bald on their scalp and keep a thick patch of hair either side and at the back of their head, a women will have thin, less dense hair on the crown of their head but keep their front hairline. The density across the scalp will be different for a woman. A woman could quite possibly lose hair from the top but still have thick hair at the back and sides of their head.

Whilst the majority of womens hair loss does not result in full baldness there are instances where women do go bald. Everyone's story is different.

A female may notice thinner hair overall or they may see the hair at the top of their head (the crown) is less dense. Another sign of thin loss in a female is a hair parting that is wider than before. Women’s hair thinning can happen at any age, but it affects over half of women over the age of 70. The good news is that it is unlikely that a woman will go entirely bald.

Personal account on trying to hide thin hair: I became obsessed with my scalp and what I could do to get thicker hair. I trawled the internet on how to hide my thin hair and what products I could use to get thicker hair. I became obsessed with trying to fix my thin hair. I still am obsessed. I still look at other people’s hair, their parting, their ponytail thickness and compare what they have to what I haven't. I’ve stopped taking photos of my scalp, but I did go through a phase of taking photos of my scalp repeatedly.

A female with thin hair could make a ponytail with the width the same size as a 5 pence piece. Women with thicker healthy hair can make ponytails with the same circumference has a 50 pence piece (or larger).

What the Doctors say

The medical term for female hair loss or hair thinning is, 'Female Androgenetic Alopecia'. However, this term suggests there are genetics involved. Whilst in some cases this is true, according to NICE Guidelines, female hair loss or thinning hair in women is generally not genetically determined. [Source]. If hair thinning is present and is genetically determined it will be because a parent (or particularly a mother) has thin hair.

Personal account of hair loss research: As soon as I knew I had a problem I read nearly every medical article published about hair thinning and hair loss in women.

Womens hair loss research

Unfortunately, not enough research has been done about genetic hair loss in women. The Doctors and researchers do not know enough about how androgens (hormones), or pathogenesis (disease) affect women’s hair loss. Experts believe that hormones do not play a major part in women’s hair loss so prefer to use the term 'female pattern hair loss' when describing the condition. This differs to men’s hair loss where it is believed hormones do play a part in a man going bald or balding.

Womens hair loss disease related

In summary most (but not all) hair loss reasons in a woman are disease related. Whilst genetics do a play a part in womens hair loss, a woman losing her hair is more likely due to an underlying condition or reaction.

To all women, the following pages are written to help you understand and feel better about your hair thinning or hair loss:

Reasons for hair loss or hair thinning - a detailed list of why a female is suffering hair loss or hair thinning;
Ways to reduce hair loss or hair thinning - how to reduce hair fall, or stop hair thinning getting any worse;
Ways to improve hair loss or thin hair appearance - there are many cosmetic options which help to hide hair loss or hair thinning;
Treatments for hair loss or hair thinning - there are may treatments that can help a woman improve hair growth, including options to improve hair density and hair volume.

Hair loss red flags

With all diseases there are red flag scenarios where medical advice should be sought as soon as possible. If any female suffers excessive hair shedding or has scalp inflammation they should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

In all scenarios professional medical opinion should be sought because this site is for information purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice.