In our previous installment, we laid the groundwork for hair loss that affects women.  In this chapter we will focus upon the various forms of hair loss women experience, and further on we will discuss treatment options.  Finally, we will culminate with an overview to explore the cutting edge of hair loss research.

Perhaps surprisingly, the most typical variant of hair loss affecting women has close concordance to common pattern hair loss in men.  The primary genetic and hormonal triggers are operative in both genders.  However, the progression of loss differs in women in some critically important ways.  

Women usually don't experience a receding hair line.  Nor do they manifest a bald spot in the crown.  Instead, women gradually lose density behind their hair line so that the scalp becomes increasingly visible over time.  Another key difference is that in women, hair loss may occur outside the anatomical bounds normally present in men.  That is, in affected males, a zone of hair over the ears and in the posterior occipit remains vibrant and thriving, irrespective of the fact that profound hair loss may occur inside the "pattern", i.e. across the front and top of the scalp.  

Not the case in women, where hair loss can spread to include almost the entire scalp.  This predicates important differences in considering treatment options.  For one thing, many women find that surgical transplantation is a non-viable option because the donor and recipient areas contain approximately the same density of hair.  

Another gender-based difference is that women may suffer from forms of hair loss not usually seen in men.  Hair loss in women can be triggered, in part, by disruptions in thyroid function, hormonal modulations linked to menopause and other endocrine-based changes.  Because women tend to grow their hair longer, they may experience a greater tendency to experience hair breakage, due to weakening of the hair strands themselves.  Women who use bleach, coloring products or perm solutions also are susceptible to accelerated hair loss.  Likewise, profound hair loss can occur through the use of braids, weaves, and hair pieces.  This becomes a vicious circle wherein a woman becomes reliant upon the very factors that are causing even worse hair loss.   

The good news is that very often, treatment options that work well for men may also work well for women.  In our next chapter we will explore the similarities and also the differences pertaining to hair loss treatment options currently available.