Women baldness and hair loss with aging

Why don't women tend to go bald when they grow older?
(August 7, 2008)

Hair loss is just as common among women as in men. However, it is not as detectable since the pattern of hair loss among men and women take place in very different ways. Due to androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness men tend to lose a larger volume of hair gradually over a period of time. The loss of hair in women is much more subtle than that observed in men. Women experience hair loss all over and not just in patchy places, and hair loss is evident when hair all over the scalp appears thinner.


It is a myth, that women do not experience hair loss; the kind of hair loss that women experience varies greatly from that of men. Men also experience the female pattern hair loss that is obvious on the top of their heads. Among women too, hormonal imbalances are to be blamed for the loss of hair. While some women may have a hereditary predisposition to loss of hair, some others have a large amount of testosterone touch reacts with the enzymes in the hair cells causing hair loss or thinning of hair.

As women grow older it is likely that changing hormones and menopause can result in hair loss or hair thinning, more than usual. Certain medications that contain large amount of vitamin A and other medication side-effects also cause hair loss. Most women who experience anaemia, severe emotional trauma, connective tissue disease (such as Lupus), types of endocrine disorders (especially those that result in excessive androgens), some type of surgery, or have resorted to severe dieting or crash dieting are also victims of hair loss. Certain disorders such as the polycystic ovary syndrome, hypothyroidism and sometimes pregnancy can also cause female pattern baldness. In most cases among women, hair loss is usually a precursor to disease or internal disorders. Hence women who experience female pattern baldness must undergo medical examination to detect underlying causes. Some diseases that are auto immune can result in patchy hair loss where hair comes out in clumps; this syndrome is known as alopecia areata.

Contrary to popular notion, age plays a major factor in the loss of hair among women. Total hair volume tends to decrease and thin out over a period of time among both sexes. The hair loss however takes place at different rates over different periods in an individual's life and sometimes is largely noticeable among women during periods of hormonal imbalances such as pregnancy or menopause.