Causes of Hair Loss in Woman

Causes of hair loss in woman

What Causes Hair Loss in Women?

The most common type of hair loss in women is female androgenetic alopecia (female pattern baldness). It occurs in about 20% of American women overall. In one study of 1,008 Caucasian women, female androgenetic alopecia was found in 3% of women aged 20-29 years, 16-17% of women aged 30-49 years, 23-25% of women aged 50-69 years, 28% of women aged 70-79 years, and 32% of women aged 80-89 years. The statistics reflect the increased incidence of female androgenetic alopecia during and after menopause.

The underlying cause of female androgenetic alopecia is believed to be related to production of androgenetic (male) hormones and the effect of androgenetic hormones on the hair follicle - the same underlying cause responsible for male androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness). The pattern of hair loss in female androgenetic alopecia has some distinctive features that differentiate it from male-pattern hair loss. In general, there are three patterns of hair loss in female androgenetic alopecia:

Grade I: Thinning hair on the central scalp (top of the head).

Grade II: Thinning hair and patches of greater scalp hair loss.

Grade III: Male-pattern alopecia with hair loss at the front of the scalp to mid-scalp. However, it is very rare to see complete male-pattern "cue-ball" baldness in a woman.

Other causes of hair loss in women include scalp scarring from injury or an underlying disease, traction alopecia due to injury from tight braiding or corn-rowing of hair, and trichotillomania (compulsive hair plucking).

Other Causes of Hair Loss

Hair loss can be caused by a number of other factors, including stress, bacterial, or self-induced.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is a recurrent disease, which can cause hairloss in any hair-bearing area. The most common type of alopecia areata presents as round or oval patches of hair loss most noticeably on the scalp or in the eyebrows. The hair usually grows back within 6 months to one year. Most patients will suffer episodes of hair loss in the same area in the future. Those who develop round or oval areas of hair loss can progress to loss of all scalp hair (alopecia totalis). The cause of alopecia areata is unknown but commonly thought to be an autoimmune disorder (the body does not recognize the hair follicles and attacks them). Stress and anxiety are frequently blamed by patients as the cause of their hair loss. The most common treatment is with steroids (cortisone is one form) either topically or by injection. The outcome of treatment is good when the alopecia areata process is present less than one year and poor, especially in adults, if the disease has been present for longer periods of time. Minoxidil (Rogaine?) can help to regrow hair. Surgical treatment of this disorder is not recommended.

Traction Alopecia

Traction alopecia is caused by chronic traction (pulling) on the hair follicle and is seen most commonly in African-American females associated with tight braiding or cornrow hair styles. It is generally present along the hairline. Men who attach hairpieces to their existing hair can experience this type of permanent hairloss if the hairpiece is attached in the same location over a long period of time. Trichotillomania is a traction alopecia related to a compulsive disorder caused when patients pull on and pluck hairs, often creating bizarre patterns of hairloss. In long term case of trichotillomania, permanent hairloss can occur.

Scarring Alopecia

The diseases which cause permanent hairloss do so when scar tissue replaces destroyed normal tissue. They include:

Lupus Erythematosus - occurs more frequently in females than in males and is more common in adults than in children.
Scleroderma - hair loss tends to be slowly progressive
Infectious Agents - Bacterial folliculitis, fungal infections, herpes zoster