If you are a woman and have experienced baldness, you know how psychologically damaging this can be. Female pattern baldness usually involves a typical pattern of hair loss with a genetic predisposition, aging and hormones. Alopecia in women is not as common as it is in men. Hair grows at an average rate of about a half an inch per month. Hair grows for two to six years and then goes into a state of rest and eventually falls out. Hair regrowth soon begins after the old falls out, so at any one time about 85% of the hair is growing and 15% is resting.

Baldness in women occurs when hair does not grow back into place. Female pattern baldness is not well understood, but it is associated with aging and genetic predisposition. Also, the levels of endocrine hormones, particularly ones called androgens which are male sex hormones, have a key role to play. Changes in androgens actually affect hair production. After menopause, many women find that thinning hair is common and their facial hair is more coarse. Even though new hair is not produced, follicles remain alive and this suggests the possibility of new hair growth.

Female pattern baldness is different from male pattern baldness in the following ways. The frontal hairline usually

remains intact from where it basically fans all over the head. Hair loss on the crown may be moderate, but this rarely progresses to total or near baldness as it does in men. Women can have a temporary shedding of hair called telogen effluvium. Some can have alopecia areata which is an immune disorder, or hair loss can be a result of certain medications and skin diseases. Alopecia areata in women usually starts out with patchy hair loss and can progress into more severe hair loss over time, if not treated properly.

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