Female Losing Hair Needs Help
I am a 35 years old woman and have been losing hair rapidly, especially in the front starting at my hairline and continuing back one inch. No one in my family has very thin hair or has a history of hair loss. Both my mother and my mother and father’s mothers had or have thick hair. The only thing abnormal in my blood work is a low level of testosterone. Could this possibly be causing the hair loss? If it is and this normalizes, could my hair possibly grow back?
Thank you for your inquiry.
The first step here is to determine the cause of your hair loss. There are a number of things that can cause female hair loss.
Androgenetic Alopecia (Hereditary Hair Loss)
The most common of these is Androgenetic Alopecia (hereditary hair loss). Keep in mind however, that hereditary hair loss can be inherited from your mother’s or father’s side of the family and it can be from either sex. In other words, if there are men in your family with a history of hair loss (not just women), you could be geneticaly predisposed as well.
It is more rare for women to experience hereditary hair loss than men because of the lower testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – the hormone responsible for the loss of hairs genetically predisposed to it is created from Testosterone when it combines with 5-alpha reductase enzymes. Therefore I would suspect that women with lower testosterone levels would be less exposed to hereditary hair loss. Of course, if there is a low level of testosterone due to the fact that a lot of it has converted to DHT, if you are genetically predisposed to hair loss, DHT could be causing the loss of hair.
Other Causes Such As Telogen Effluvium
But there are other things that can cause hair loss unrelated to genetics such as telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium can typically be characterized by diffuse hair thinning all over the scalp. Some of the typical causes of telogen effluvium are: hormonal changes (ex: from birth control pills), certain medications such as beta-blockers, anticogulants, retinoids (including excess Vitamin A), propylthiouracil, and immunization agents, and Allergic dermatitis of the scalp, The good news is, with proper treatment, telogen effluvium is often a reversible process.
What To Do!
My advice would be to seek out a dermatologist or hair restoration specialist to determine the cause of your hair loss condition. If it is telogen effluvium or anything non-hereditary, this hair loss could be reversible. Hereditary hair loss is more difficult to treat and there are only a few options for women which include Rogaine with Minoxodil for women (2%) and hair transplantation for those who are good candidates.
I hope this helps.
Bill
Associate Publisher
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