Hair Loss : A Serious Problem

In some numbers, 50 cases, the cause of hair loss in women is due to androgenic alopecia or hair loss.

What is female hair loss?

Female pattern baldness is a hereditary disease inherited from both parents. The genetically ostentatious hair follicles in women who have female pattern hair loss are prone to a byproduct of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone or DHT, which causes the hair follicle to lose normal hair and produce thinner, shorter, colorless hair. This peach-colored hair makes the scalp look thinner and, over time, the miniaturized hair follicles atrophy and cause permanent hair loss, known as balding. There are no peach-fuzz hairs in bald heads, and the scalp seems tight and shiny.

Baldness is an immutable state. Once the hair follicle is stunted, it is gone forever. This would be akin to losing another body part, and since we are unable to reproduce our body parts, there are no female hair loss products or remedies that can force the body to produce a new hair follicle.

Causes of Female Hair Loss

Women, just like men, inherit the gene for thinning hair from each parent. In women, testosterone is produced in the adrenals and ovaries. Although testosterone is converted into DHT in a woman's body, it can not cause female pattern baldness due to the protective effects of estrogen and progesterone. These hormones reduce DHT production and block the binding of DHT to the hair follicle as long as they are present in sufficient quantities. Any condition that can cause decreased production of estrogen and progesterone or overproduction of DHT can lead to thinning hair in genetically predisposed women. In women, hair loss can begin at any age after puberty, but in most cases it occurs during menopause. The normal production of female hormones decreases dramatically during menopause and reduces the natural protection of women from thinning hair.

Hair loss in premenopausal women indicates an abnormal hormonal imbalance that requires medical attention and appropriate treatment.

In postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy restores normal hormone levels and stops the process. In cases where hormone replacement therapy is not recommended, the only other available Rogaine medical option is 2%. Although Rogaine activates the growth phase of the follicle, it does not affect DHT production, which eventually leads to hair follicle atrophy.