Hair Loss - Baldness and Women
It's a difficult thing for a man to face the fact of thinning hair.
All sorts of scenarios and eventualities play out in his mind as he thinks about what it means, and considers all of his options.
As tough as this can be for a man though, it doesn't compare to the difficulty experienced by women faced with female pattern baldness.
Though pattern baldness manifests itself differently in women, it does occur almost as often.
In women, it tends to cause hair to thin over the entire head, instead of the familiar horseshoe pattern many men wind up with.
Women with advanced female pattern baldness will have very thin hair, and a scalp that is clearly visible underneath.
The psychological and emotional impact of this can be much worse for women.
For though men are affected in these ways by having to face the loss of their hair, their attractiveness and self-esteem is usually not tied quite so firmly to the hair on their heads.
It's thought that one fourth of women in the United States will eventually suffer from pattern baldness.
There are other reasons why women lose hair other than female pattern baldness.
Causes such as pregnancy, birth control, illnesses, crash diets and severe trauma or stress may also lead to (usually temporary) hair loss.
But pattern baldness is the leading cause just as it is for men.
Like men, pattern baldness in women is an inherited condition.
It requires that one or the other parent passes on the genes that cause it.
It was once thought that it was only inherited from the mother's side of the family - but it's now known that either side can provide the necessary gene.
Of course, just having this gene doesn't mean a person will become bald: only that it is possible.
Just as for men, there are treatments available for women.
Minoxidil (Rogaine), which is sold in 2% and 5% strengths, has shown as much success in women as it has in men.
It stops hair loss in a large percentage of the women who take it, and often re-grows their hair as well.
It is applied topically to the affected areas.
The other FDA approved medication, finasteride (the oral drug Propecia), has not been approved for women, as it can cause birth defects.
Those women who are or may become pregnant should not even handle it.
Hair replacement surgery is another viable option for women as it is for men.
These transplant operations have been improved in recent years and can now leave one with a much more natural look than in the past.
Of course, these treatments are only required by those women having difficulty with thinning hair.
If you're one of the women who can accept it and not let it affect you in any adverse way, you needn't consider them.
All sorts of scenarios and eventualities play out in his mind as he thinks about what it means, and considers all of his options.
As tough as this can be for a man though, it doesn't compare to the difficulty experienced by women faced with female pattern baldness.
Though pattern baldness manifests itself differently in women, it does occur almost as often.
In women, it tends to cause hair to thin over the entire head, instead of the familiar horseshoe pattern many men wind up with.
Women with advanced female pattern baldness will have very thin hair, and a scalp that is clearly visible underneath.
The psychological and emotional impact of this can be much worse for women.
For though men are affected in these ways by having to face the loss of their hair, their attractiveness and self-esteem is usually not tied quite so firmly to the hair on their heads.
It's thought that one fourth of women in the United States will eventually suffer from pattern baldness.
There are other reasons why women lose hair other than female pattern baldness.
Causes such as pregnancy, birth control, illnesses, crash diets and severe trauma or stress may also lead to (usually temporary) hair loss.
But pattern baldness is the leading cause just as it is for men.
Like men, pattern baldness in women is an inherited condition.
It requires that one or the other parent passes on the genes that cause it.
It was once thought that it was only inherited from the mother's side of the family - but it's now known that either side can provide the necessary gene.
Of course, just having this gene doesn't mean a person will become bald: only that it is possible.
Just as for men, there are treatments available for women.
Minoxidil (Rogaine), which is sold in 2% and 5% strengths, has shown as much success in women as it has in men.
It stops hair loss in a large percentage of the women who take it, and often re-grows their hair as well.
It is applied topically to the affected areas.
The other FDA approved medication, finasteride (the oral drug Propecia), has not been approved for women, as it can cause birth defects.
Those women who are or may become pregnant should not even handle it.
Hair replacement surgery is another viable option for women as it is for men.
These transplant operations have been improved in recent years and can now leave one with a much more natural look than in the past.
Of course, these treatments are only required by those women having difficulty with thinning hair.
If you're one of the women who can accept it and not let it affect you in any adverse way, you needn't consider them.
