For years it was assumed that men and women had completely different problems when it came to hair loss. Female hair restoration was not something that was even talked about in most proper conversations. If there was a problem with female baldness then the woman was expected to buy a wig and cover up the problem pretending that everything was OK. This may have worked when women were not active in physical activities but today’s woman wants more out of life than to sit around worrying if her hair piece is going to fall off. The women of today expect to be able to live life to its fullest and they are demanding the same types of womens hair loss treatments that men have been able to enjoy for half a century.
Female Hair Loss
There are literally millions of women who are suffering some form of hair loss due to different causes. It is estimated that about 20 million women in the US suffer from some form of genetically caused hair loss. Like men, the vast majority of them are suffering from pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia (AGA). This condition has seen manifestation in men as the guy with the receding hair line or the balding on the top and crown of the head. For years this did not seem to be a women hair loss problem because it was covered up. Female hair restoration has now become an issue in the open like it always should have been.
Cause Of Female Hair Loss
AGA is a genetic condition that can pass either through the mother or father. It is the number one cause of baldness in the US and the world. The system by which AGA causes hair loss is quite well known after years of scientific study. Basically, your hair shaft material is manufactured in the hair roots known as the hair follicle. This follicle takes nutrients and oxygen from the blood supply and converts it into the hair you see growing out of the scalp or other areas of the body. This normal growth pattern is interrupted by a hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This DHT binds with the receptors on the hair follicles and causes them to lose vitality. It appears as though the DHT shortens the normal growth phase through each cycle until the follicle eventually quits producing hair shaft material completely. In order for female hair restoration to be effective the levels of DHT or the affects of DHT must be dealt with.
Not all hair follicles are susceptible to this problem which is where the term pattern baldness comes from. Generally, male and female pattern baldness will affect the front, top, and crown of the head leaving the back area with good hair growth. Sometimes this is not true if there is also a general problem of thinning hair. Women in particular see both pattern baldness and thinning hair problems.
Female Hair Restoration Treatments.
Although the causes of pattern baldness in men and women are closely related the treatments may not be. In particular, one of the most effective FDA approved drugs for men, Finasteride, is not prescribed for women due to potential side effects including sexual organ growth in the male fetus. Flutamide is another drug that is often used by men but not recommended for women. Both of these actually were originally developed to treat male prostate gland problems and showed the side benefit of helping with hair loss.
The number one treatment for female hair loss at this point is Minoxidil. This FDA approved drug was actually developed as a treatment for high blood pressure. Again, a marked improvement with hair loss was shown during clinical trials. For women, the normal strength of a treatment solution is 2% whereas for men it is 5%. The number one trade product with this drug is Rogaine.
Spironolactone which is taken orally as a mild diuretic is also used as a hair loss treatment. It appears to be act as an ani-androgen. Another hair loss in females treatment that men have used for decades in hair implants for women. With this procedure hair follicles from the areas of the scalp that are still growing are transplanted into the balding area where they begin to produce new hair shaft material. The problem, as noted above, is that women often times experience general hair thinning which makes this procedure less acceptable.
Hair restoration for women is a problem who’s solution time has come. No more should women be forced to rely on wigs to cover up the problem. If you are suffering from female baldness then you can find relief.