As unfair as pattern hair loss seems to be, at least when it affects a man, society generally accepts bald men as a normal part thereof.  However, balding women constitute another matter altogether.  Stares and whispers often accompany such a woman as she goes about her daily tasks.  "What is wrong with this poor lady?".  "Is she sick?". For such women, just glancing in a mirror, previously a chance to preen, to enjoy a moment of pride, turns to gut-wrenching shame and, sometimes self-loathing.  

As disruptive as pattern hair loss is to a man, when it happens to a woman it is far more disruptive.  Here's why. Research shows that scalp hair in a woman constitutes one of the primary visual signals of health and fertility.  Therefore, when a woman's hair thins so may her potential to find a long term mate.  Fortunately, hair loss in females is actually quite rare prior to age 35 - 40.  Nonetheless, statistically speaking, the most common reason why a 39 year old healthy woman begins to lose her hair is due to the same genetic and biochemical processes that cause common pattern baldness in men.  This is not to say that women lose hair just the way men do.  Obviously this is not the case.