Female Hair Loss at the Temples - What is the Cause? How is it Treated?
The other day, I received an email from a woman who sent me a photo which zoomed in on the temple area of her hair.
She had it pulled straight back into a ponytail so that I could see that area clearly.
She wrote: "why is my hairline receding like a man's? What would cause a female or woman to have hair loss in the temple region?" I'll answer these questions in the following article.
The Most Obvious Answer For Hair Loss In The Temples For Women: AGA Or Androgenic Alopecia: If you asked doctors about a woman's hair loss in the temples, most would tell you the most likely culprit is DHT or androgens.
This is the hall mark of thinning that is supposedly genetic or hereditary.
However, cases of AGA with no family component are becoming more and more common place.
Many women mistakenly think that if they have AGA, it means that they have too much testosterone or progesterone and / or not enough estrogen to counter it.
This isn't always the case.
So often they will look at their blood work and see these hormones within normal levels and discount this as a possibility, not understanding that it is often a sensitivity to these androgens and hormones rather than an excess of them which is causing the thinning.
So treatment which addresses the sensitivity rather than trying to diminish the hormones (which are often necessary to feel your best) is typically going to yield better results.
TE (Telogen Effluvium), CTE (Chronic Telogen Effluvium), Or Shedding / Accelerated Hair Loss Can Cause A Thinning Of The Temples Also: Many women who find their hair lines receding have the immediate dread that they have AGA.
They assume that thinning and receding like a man means that they have the same root cause as men for their hair loss.
This isn't always the case.
Any excessive hair loss or shedding is going to show up more in areas that were already more sparse to begin with.
Examples of this are your bangs, your crown, and your temples.
If you look at the hair line of even people with healthy thick hair, you'll see that the temples are just naturally more sparse.
Typically the hair there is also baby fine, short, and sometimes lighter in color.
So any accelerated loss is going to show up in this place first and be more noticeable.
It's just the very simple equation of less there plus some loss is going to equal a more noticeable difference.
It can be important to take a close look at your situation to determine if you can find another reason for this loss.
Have you recently given birth, started a new medication, been ill, changed your diet in a severe way, seen a decline or change in hormones or noticed any scalp issues? If you can pinpoint and then treat the root cause of your loss, you'll likely begin to see regrowth in this area relatively soon.
How Women Can Treat Receding Temples: Obviously, the best solution to the problem is going to be based on what the problem is.
Treating TE like AGA is often not going to really help you.
Assuming you have CTE when you really have a sensitivity to androgens (even though you may have no family history) could well delay prompt treatment.
The best case scenario is to pinpoint the reason for this happening and then aggressively treating it.
If you aren't sure or are just starting this exploratory process, the best thing to do in the mean time is to aggressively stimulate healthy regrowth and to thoroughly care for your hair and scalp, concentrating on lessening any inflammation or scalp issues.
She had it pulled straight back into a ponytail so that I could see that area clearly.
She wrote: "why is my hairline receding like a man's? What would cause a female or woman to have hair loss in the temple region?" I'll answer these questions in the following article.
The Most Obvious Answer For Hair Loss In The Temples For Women: AGA Or Androgenic Alopecia: If you asked doctors about a woman's hair loss in the temples, most would tell you the most likely culprit is DHT or androgens.
This is the hall mark of thinning that is supposedly genetic or hereditary.
However, cases of AGA with no family component are becoming more and more common place.
Many women mistakenly think that if they have AGA, it means that they have too much testosterone or progesterone and / or not enough estrogen to counter it.
This isn't always the case.
So often they will look at their blood work and see these hormones within normal levels and discount this as a possibility, not understanding that it is often a sensitivity to these androgens and hormones rather than an excess of them which is causing the thinning.
So treatment which addresses the sensitivity rather than trying to diminish the hormones (which are often necessary to feel your best) is typically going to yield better results.
TE (Telogen Effluvium), CTE (Chronic Telogen Effluvium), Or Shedding / Accelerated Hair Loss Can Cause A Thinning Of The Temples Also: Many women who find their hair lines receding have the immediate dread that they have AGA.
They assume that thinning and receding like a man means that they have the same root cause as men for their hair loss.
This isn't always the case.
Any excessive hair loss or shedding is going to show up more in areas that were already more sparse to begin with.
Examples of this are your bangs, your crown, and your temples.
If you look at the hair line of even people with healthy thick hair, you'll see that the temples are just naturally more sparse.
Typically the hair there is also baby fine, short, and sometimes lighter in color.
So any accelerated loss is going to show up in this place first and be more noticeable.
It's just the very simple equation of less there plus some loss is going to equal a more noticeable difference.
It can be important to take a close look at your situation to determine if you can find another reason for this loss.
Have you recently given birth, started a new medication, been ill, changed your diet in a severe way, seen a decline or change in hormones or noticed any scalp issues? If you can pinpoint and then treat the root cause of your loss, you'll likely begin to see regrowth in this area relatively soon.
How Women Can Treat Receding Temples: Obviously, the best solution to the problem is going to be based on what the problem is.
Treating TE like AGA is often not going to really help you.
Assuming you have CTE when you really have a sensitivity to androgens (even though you may have no family history) could well delay prompt treatment.
The best case scenario is to pinpoint the reason for this happening and then aggressively treating it.
If you aren't sure or are just starting this exploratory process, the best thing to do in the mean time is to aggressively stimulate healthy regrowth and to thoroughly care for your hair and scalp, concentrating on lessening any inflammation or scalp issues.
