Hair Loss in Women Due to High Testosterone

Women account for up to 40 percent of all Americans suffering hair loss, according to the American Hair Loss Association. As ego-shattering as hair loss can be to men, it is even more devastating to women, for whom a full and healthy head of hair seems to be a prerequisite for happiness. Widely implicated in women's hair loss are hormonal imbalances, most notably abnormally high levels of testosterone.

Testosterone

• Testosterone is a steroidal hormone that is present in both men and women, but at far higher levels in men. In men, testosterone is produced in the testes, while in women, the hormone is secreted by the ovaries. Men's bodies produce roughly 40 to 60 times the amount of testosterone found in women. However, research has shown that women are far more sensitive to the hormone, which means that significantly lower levels of testosterone can have a noticeable effect on women.

DHT

• Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, is a derivative of testosterone that is thought to be one of the biggest culprits in hair loss among both women and men. According to the American Hair Loss Association, DHT "is the enemy of hair follicles on your head. Simply put, under certain conditions DHT wants those follicles dead."

How DHT Works

• While DHT is the primary cause of one of the most common forms of hair loss in both men and women, the level of underlying testosterone, of which DHT is a byproduct, is obviously a big concern--particularly in women, who are more sensitive to the effects of the hormone. Helping to convert testosterone into DHT is an enzyme called Type II 5-alpha reductase, which is present in the oil glands of hair follicles. Once DHT has been created, it binds itself to receptors in the hair follicle and eventually kills the follicle. When that process is replicated in multiple follicles, significant hair loss is bound to follow.

Androgenetic Alopecia

• The most common form of hair loss in men and women is androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male- or female-pattern baldness. DHT plays a big role in this type of hair loss. Almost an accomplice to DHT in female-pattern hair loss is a lowered level of female hormones, which at more normal levels could help to keep both testosterone and DHT levels in healthier balance and thus prevent or at least forestall the hair-loss process.

Birth-Control Pills

• A woman's hormonal balance, if it stays within normal limits, is less likely to allow DHT to gain an upper hand and do its dirty work in terms of triggering hair loss. Because maintaining a healthy balance is obviously important, women should be aware of the impact that oral contraceptives can have on that balance. The American Hair Loss Association recommends that women, particularly those with a genetic predisposition to hair loss, use only low androgen index birth-control pills. Your doctor or gynecologist can help you find the best oral contraceptive in this group.