Female Patterned Baldness What Causes It And Possible Cures

How to diagnose female patterned baldness

As with every single post, we do about hair loss or any sort of scalp ailment we would suggest setting an appointment with a licensed trichologist or dermatologist.

When you do make the appointment it helps to know a little bit about what criteria the doctors will use to determine if you are in fact being affected by female patterned baldness.

Via medlineplus.gov

Female pattern baldness is usually diagnosed based on:

Ruling out other causes of hair loss.
The appearance and pattern of hair loss.
Your medical history.

The doctor will also examine your hormone levels and any other ailments you might be experiencing such as acne or changes in your menstrual periods. They can even go as far as taking a skin biopsy as well as blood tests.

All of these tests will give your doctor comprehensive details to see what your hair loss is caused from. The tests are so comprehensive that you should always reconsider trying to treat excessive hair loss yourself.

Treatments and Medication

Everyone is very different so your treatment and medication will be different depending on your situation. Your doctor will determine the best course of treatment for your hair loss and if your hair can be recovered they may put you on specific medication to help things speed along.

Medicines

The only medicine approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat female pattern baldness is minoxidil:

It is applied to the scalp. For women, the 2% solution or 5% foam is recommended. Minoxidil may help hair grow in about 1 in 4 or 5 of women. In most women, it may slow or stop hair loss. You must continue to use this medicine for a long time.

If minoxidil does not work, your provider may recommend other medicines, such as spironolactone, cimetidine, birth control pills, ketoconazole, among others. Your provider can tell you more about these if needed.

Another solution to baldness is a hair transplant where tiny plugs of hair are removed from areas of the head that have thick hair and placed in the areas that are thinning.

These types of treatments are very expensive and you might find that you will need more than one transplant for the entire process to be complete. The results, however, are permanent!

Weaves and wigs

If you have found that your hair loss is permanent there are still ways women have found to wear hair and avoid the sometimes embarrassing effects of baldness.

There are a ton of stylists who are very skilled at creating wigs* and weaves that not only fit you comfortably but can give you the same versatility you would have if you had hair growing from your scalp.

Our advice is to find a great stylist that specializes in hair loss and who can care for you and your situation in ways that can add value to your life. A great stylist will not use harsh chemicals on your hair or put any sort of additional pressure on sensitive areas of your scalp.

Using wigs are also a great option for women who have lost their hair because you can take full advantage of the creativity that the wig* market has to offer.

My mother prefers wigs* to every other solution she has tried because it is easy, convenient and not to mention fun as she discovers different styles that suit her.