Hair loss in women can be emotionally and psychologically devastating. The gradual relentless loss of hair can lead to “see through” hairlines which have (unlike men i.e. Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan) no social acceptability.
The first step to diagnosing women with hair loss is to see a hair loss expert such as a dermatologist. A hairloss history and physical exam is performed. The differential diagnosis of hair loss includes - medical conditions such as underlying thyroid disorders or iron deficiency, poor diet, medications, disruption of the hair cycle due to unusual physical or emotional stress, primary inflammatory scalp diseases, or loss due to chronic abuse from products such as hot combs, relaxants, excessive tension from braids. If all of the above are ruled out, then the diagnosis of female pattern hair loss is made.
After a complete examination and history, if a diagnosis is still unclear, a scalp biopsy is the gold standard to establish a diagnosis. All hair loss conditions can be treated. The choice of therapy, length of therapy and success varies depending on the diagnosis. For example, female pattern hair loss can be successfully treated with either topical minoxidil and/or hair transplantation. Minoxidil is successful in the majority of women that use it for at least 6-8 months . Hair transplantation is the movement of natural one to three hair follicular groupings from the posterior scalp into the thinning frontal scalp. Our office has fifteen years experience in utilizing natural follicular groupings for transplantation. The cosmetic standard for the procedure is to create increased density in a consistently natural appearing manner. Our office performs the procedure using local anesthesia as an outpatient.
In summary, women with hair loss should be able to establish a reason for their hair loss by visiting their regular dermatologist for a full diagnostic workup. Between medical therapy and hair transplantation hair loss can be treated for the majority of women.
Below is the before and after photo of a hair transplantation patient:
