Over thirty million women in the United States are experiencing hair loss. It affects some women by the time they reach their teens. Heredity is the main cause of hair loss for women. The degree of hair loss and the pattern is different. Most women suffer from thinning hair instead of complete baldness.

Androgenic alopecia, female-pattern baldness, is inherited from either parent. It affects more than thirty percent of women. The woman’s hair becomes thinner with age because some hair follicles stop producing new hair to replace those that fall out naturally. Sometimes, new hairs are shorter and finer than previous ones. This condition affects the entire scalp, not just the crown of the head. It usually does not affect a woman’s hairline.

Women are much more likely than men to use chemical hair treatments, heat, and hairstyles that pull the hair tightly. Properly used chemicals do not cause hair loss. Many women who use hair dyes, hair straighteners, and perms at home damage their hair and scalp.

Hair loss after pregnancy is also common among women. This condition is usually temporary. It stops naturally about six months after delivery. It occurs because the woman’s estrogen level increases dramatically during pregnancy. When it drops after her delivery, this disrupts the normal growth and rest pattern for her hair follicles. As the hair follicles return to their normal alternating cycles of rest and growth, the postpartum hair loss stops.

The onset of menopause increases a woman’s risk of hair loss by as much as fifty percent. It will continue to increase as she ages. Peri menopause and menopause affect the balance between testosterone and estrogen in women. These hormonal changes are responsible for triggering the onset of thinning hair, even for women who have no genetic predisposition. At the same time, many women report that they notice changes in the texture of their hair after menopause. Unfortunately, while the scalp hair becomes thinner, facial and body hair can become more profuse and coarser.

Two-thirds of all women experience hair loss at some time during their lives. From adolescence through menopause, women’s hormones, lifestyle choices, heredity, and even childbirth put them at risk of hair loss. Treatments for female hair loss are available for women who don’t want to resign themselves to wearing wigs and scarves to hide their thinning hair. These treatments not only help women regrow hair, they also boost self-esteem.