Causes of Female Baldness

Baldness or thinning hair no longer applies to just men. Many women struggle every day with hair loss and baldness. There are many causes of female baldness that stem from hereditary problems to psychological issues. Many women refuse to get help because they feel embarrassed. What they don't realize is that some of the hair loss can be corrected.

Androgenetic Alopecia

• Androgenetic alopecia is a form of pattern baldness brought on by heredity. There are three ways hair begins to thin with androgenic alopecia. One way is thinning forming over the back of the scalp. A second possibility may be thinning of hair over the entire scalp but it becomes more noticeable in the front and doesn't yet affect the hairline. Third, there can be thinning all over the scalp, noticeable in the front and sometimes breaching the hairline.
  To diagnose the true cause of female pattern baldness, women should consult a hair restoration doctor.

Conditions

• There are conditions in a woman's life that may also affect hair loss or baldness. Hormonal changes like menopause can cause hair to become brittle and fall out. Stress can also cause hair to fall out and become thin. Another reason hair may fall out is during pregnancy. All these conditions are usually temporary or can be treated and the hair can grow back.
  Alopecia areta is an autoimmune disorder that can bring on thinning hair or baldness. It ranges from mild thinning to extensive areas of baldness. Most of the hair falls out and the hair that remains is in patches.

Psychological

• Trichotillomania is a serious disease. This disease involves women physically pulling their hair out. When women pull their hair out, most leave a patchy baldness in a certain part of the scalp. There is treatment for this disease but women who are affected must first fix the psychological reason as to why they are pulling their hair out.
  Anorexia is another reason why women may experience hair loss or baldness. When a woman becomes anorexic, she doesn't eat or will eat very little and therefore does not get enough nutrition. Her hair may become brittle and begin falling out. Once anorexia has been treated, the hair can grow back.

Chemicals

• Women who go through cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation will experience hair loss. This is due to the chemicals killing the cells in the body, including hair cells. When in treatment, a woman's hair begins to fall out until she has no hair left. Once the treatment is stopped, hair eventually grows back in most cases. Some women can remain hairless due to aggressive treatment of these chemicals.

Medications

• Some medications can cause hair to fall out or thin. After medication is stopped the hair will grow back. Some medications that cause hair loss are medications that treat gout, blood thinners, birth control, and taking to much vitamin A.