What Does Female Pattern Baldness Look Like
In female pattern baldness, the hairs growing phase slows down. It also takes longer for new hair to begin growing. Hair follicles shrink, leading the hair that does grow to be thinner and finer. This can result in hair that easily breaks.
Its normal for women to lose 50 to 100 hairs each day, but those with female pattern baldness can lose many more.
In men, hair loss starts in the front of the head and recedes to the back until they go bald. Women lose hair from all over their head, starting at their part line. Hair at the temples may also recede.
Woman are less likely to go completely bald, but you may have a lot of thinning throughout your hair.
Doctors divide female pattern baldness into three types:
- Type I is a small amount of thinning that starts around your part.
- Type II involves widening of the part, and increased thinning around it.
- Type III is thinning throughout, with a see-through area at the top of your scalp.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome And Hair Loss
September 17, 2021 | Written by
When most people talk about hair loss, the conversation usually centers on alopecia areata, cancer, or male pattern baldness. However, women also struggle with thinning hair and hair loss. In fact, some estimate that over 50% of women will experience noticeable hair loss at some point in their lives.
For women, hair loss can be the result of postpartum, menopause, nutritional deficiencies, autoimmune disorders, and several other health conditions one common condition is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome .
PCOS is a hormonal disorder that generates numerous symptoms including hair loss. It can cause hair to become thin, brittle, or even stop growing altogether. Thankfully, there are effective ways to manage PCOS, while also keeping your scalp and strands healthy and preventing thinning and hair loss.
So Do We Know What Causes Pcos
The exact cause of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome remains unclear. This means that theres no one panacea to treat it.
What we do know, however, is that many people with PCOS have insulin resistance. This may result in higher androgen levelsa key criterion for the diagnosis of PCOS. Secondly, medical research has found that half of those with PCOS are obese, and obesity is known to contribute to increased insulin levelsso the two conditions can have the effect of working synergistically, and exacerbating PCOS. 3 Lastly? Some believe that PCOS is mostly genetic.
At the end of the day, much research still needs to be conducted before well know with certainty what exact chain of events must take place in the body to lead to PCOS.
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What To Eat And Avoid To Prevent Pcos Hair Loss
- Antioxidant-Rich Foods: Consume vitamin and antioxidant-rich foods, such as whole grains, eggs, healthy fats from nuts and avocado, spinach, citrus fruits, and carrots. A well-balanced diet provides the essential nutrients to your body to stay healthy and prevent hair loss. Consult a doctor to check if you need nutritional supplementation
- Protein-Rich Foods: Include sufficient proteins in your diet. Insufficient nutrients and protein levels in the body are linked to hair loss . Consume lean protein like fish, chicken, and lentils.
- Consume Zinc-Rich Foods: Research found that zinc supplementation in patients with PCOS could decrease hair loss . Consume foods, such as oysters, chickpeas, yogurt, beans, nuts, and whole grains . You may also consult the doctor and take zinc supplements.
- Eat Foods Rich In Iron: Include white beans, nuts, lentils, spinach, kidney beans, and peas in your diet . This is because iron deficiency may cause hair loss .
- Take Multivitamins: You may take multivitamin supplements to combat the lack of vitamins and minerals in your body. Consult a doctor for the proper dosage.
- Avoid eating processed foods, such as refined flour , sugar, fried, and fast foods. These inflammatory foods can exacerbate metabolic conditions, such as insulin resistance, common in PCOS .
If you are wondering if hair loss from PCOS can be reversed, here is the answer.
Pcos Hair Regrowth Success Stories
Brandy
Brandy Pope from the YouTube channel, The Glam Belle, began to notice that her hair was falling out more than normal when she washed it. After several years of dealing with gradually thinning hair alongside other symptoms, her doctor eventually diagnosed her with PCOS.
In a testimonial video on YouTube, Brandy explained that she endured several periods where her hair loss would get better and worse even after being prescribed PCOS medication.
However, in a follow-up video, Brandy shared that she did see improvements after using Rogaine for women and taking biotin, vitamin B12, and iron supplements. She also found that getting frequent trims was also helpful for managing her hairs overall appearance.
Clarissa
Clarissa from the YouTube channel, Clarissa Explains It Yall, also opened up about her PCOS hair loss story. Initially, she began to notice her hair thinning around her part and the crown of her head. This was then followed by bald spots forming around her crown.
To manage this hair loss, Clarissa found a mix of products and techniques to be beneficial. She began by taking Inositol supplements, which helped to thicken her hair while also preventing unwanted hair growth in other areas. She also used The Ordinary Brands multi-peptide serum to help with overall hair thickness.
Kie RaShon
Medically Reviewed by Katerina Shkodzik, M.D., OB-GYN
She believes that paying special attention to women’s health is a crucial step to improving the world we live in.
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How To Grow Your Hair Back If You Have Pcos
Is there a way to grow your hair back if you have PCOS?
Is there a way to stop the hair loss that is already occurring?
The answer is maybe, but it depends on how you focus treatment.
Remember:
PCOS is predominately a disease of your hormones and all of the symptoms of PCOS are manifestations of these imbalances.
If hair loss is predominately a symptom of disordered hormone imbalances then the treatment for hair loss MUST focus on hormone balancing.
Does this make sense?
This means that there is potentially a place for the use of hormones, supplements and even medications in the treatment of hair loss in PCOS.
Before you start thinking about using these therapies you need to stop and ask yourself a few questions:
#1. Are you managing your stress?
#2. Are you eating healthy & Is your diet in order?
#3. Are you reducing the amount of refined sugar that you eat?
#4. Are you exercising regularly?
#5. Are you sleeping 8 hours per night?
Before you jump into using supplements and medications these factors MUST be managed.
In fact, in terms of importance, they are probably the most important things that you can do to manage hair loss.
Once you get those in order you are ready to jump into other therapies:
#1. Managing Hormone Imbalances to Improve Hair Growth
Whenever possible it’s important to identify which hormone imbalances are present in your body.
This will require some testing on your part .
Managing Thyroid Dysfunction:
#2. Optimizing Hair Regrowth Nutrients
Systematic Review Of The Literature And Meta
Peer-reviewed studies evaluating FPHL published through December 2017 were reviewed. Multiple databases were searched, including MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, ERIC, EBSCO, Dissertation Abstracts International, and Current Contents. This review focuses on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the disorder. Some studies were eliminated because the data were either not related to the focus of the systematic review, insufficient for epidemiological analysis, or reported in previous publications. All data sources were analyzed while recognizing positive publication bias.
A meta-analysis was also performed to obtain pooled prevalence estimates on FPHL in subjects with PCOS. The terms of the MEDLINE search for this meta-analysis were: AND prevalence AND . The search was completed by examining the references listed in the articles identified.
After study identification, screening, selection, and inclusion, a quality-effects model was applied considering the heterogeneity of the studies in terms of age, race, and ethnicity of the populations being described. Double arcsine transformations were applied to stabilize the variance . Publication bias was assessed by a funnel plot representing the double arcsine transformation of the prevalence against the SE . MetaXL 3.0 software was used for the meta-analysis .
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Understanding The Link Between Hair Growth And Pcos
Excessive hair growth, or hirsutism, is one of the many symptoms that characterise PCOS. It affects between 70-80% of the PCOS community, primarily targeting the face, upper lip, chin, neck, back, abdomen and chesti. But for some women with PCOS, excessive hair growth isnt the issue its hair loss. Though less common, some individuals will experience PCOS-related balding and hair thinning. As you can imagine, many women find these visible aspects of PCOS both physically and emotional distressing. Abnormal hair growth can have a pervasive impact on body image, confidence and mental health. Despite this, we want to reassure you that PCOS-related hair growth can be managed with the necessary lifestyle improvements, dietary changes, supplementation, and even medication.
Whats The Treatment For Pcos Hair Loss
Because one of the main complications associated with PCOS hair loss is a hormonal imbalance, it’s important to treat it, according to Dr. Susan Bard, a medical doctor with Vive Dermatology in New York City. The hormonal imbalance associated with PCOS is connected to and impacted by several factors, so it might take a multipronged approach to treatment in order to manage the condition and any hair loss caused by it.
According to Dr. Ilyas, the hair loss associated with PCOS is generally approached in a similar way to female patterned hair loss. The one caveat is that I generally add oral medications earlier than later for PCOS patients knowing that they are generally younger and can often benefit from early intervention.
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Pcos Medical Treatments For Hair Loss
Hormone regulation is an important part of treatment. This can be done with a variety of medications. Heres a look at some common treatment options for PCOS-related hair loss.
Keep in mind that you may need to try a few medications before you find one that works for you. And most people have the best results with a combination of medication. That is why product development has been a part of developing efforts to provide this kind of medication.
Speak to your doctor to understand your PCOS treatment plan. Always face or seek a doctor if there is something you feel unusual.
New Lifestyle Recommendations For Pcos
Because there is still no cure-all treatment for PCOS, its important to factor in all of the presenting symptoms when coming up with a treatment plan. Work closely with your healthcare provider or, better yet, reach out to a specialist.
If possible, equip yourself with a multidisciplinary team of providersfor example, a gynecologist, endocrinologist, dermatologist, and dietician . Having multiple specialists on board will allow you to tackle PCOS, its symptoms, and its root causes from all angles.
As we mentioned earlier, PCOS left untreated can lead to serious health complications down the road, including infertility. Dr. Jane adds, Women with excess estrogen are at increased risk of breast and uterine cancer, and women with excess testosterone are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Both can be deadly, which is why, if you have PCOS, its really important to treat it aggressively and watch for any abnormal uterine bleeding.
This is not to say that a PCOS diagnosis is necessarily life-threatening. Rather, its important that you work closely with your healthcare provider to monitor your symptoms and come up with a treatment plan.
Balancing diet and exercise
For inflammation, a low-carbohydrate diet will help increase production of short-chain fatty acids which reduces incidence of chronic inflammation. 4
Some of our favorite swaps include:
Here are some other excellent resources for PCOS:
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What Causes Hair Loss With Pcos
Thinning hair due to the effects of male hormones is called androgenic alopecia. It is a major source of psychological distress to women. This male-pattern hair loss is often seen in women with polycystic ovary syndrome , congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and other disorders of male hormone excess.
How To Prevent Pcos Hair Loss
You can prevent PCOS hair loss by diagnosing PCOS in its initial stage. Go for a medical checkup as soon as you recognize the symptoms of PCOS. As soon as you are diagnosed with PCOS, begin to change your lifestyle and daily routine before it increases your hair loss.
Focus on your hormonal balance and hair care simultaneously. Have a nutritious diet and adapt physical exercise as your habit. Prevent PCOS hair loss naturally with herbal hair care products and Ayurvedic home remedies.
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Unwanted Hair Growth And Hair Loss
- flutamide
- finasteride
These medicines work by blocking the effects of “male hormones”, such as testosterone, and some also suppress production of these hormones by the ovaries.
A cream called eflornithine can also be used to slow down the growth of unwanted facial hair.
This cream does not remove hair or cure unwanted facial hair, so you may wish to use it alongside a hair removal product.
Improvement may be seen 4 to 8 weeks after treatment with this medicine.
But eflornithine cream is not always available on the NHS because some local NHS authorities have decided it’s not effective enough to justify NHS prescription.
If you have unwanted hair growth, you may also want to remove the excess hair by using methods such as plucking, shaving, threading, creams or laser removal.
Laser removal of facial hair may be available on the NHS in some parts of the UK.
Alternative Treatments For Fphl
Low-level laser light therapy
Red or near-infrared laser light has been reported to promote tissue repair and regeneration and, more recently, low-intensity light laser therapy has been demonstrated to stimulate hair growth, probably by increasing the mitotic rate of the hair follicle stem cells or follicular keratinocytes . Additionally, LLL may modulate inflammation by increasing TGF-1 and IL-10 while reducing proinflammatory cytokines and prostaglandin E2 . Usually wavelengths between 600 and 1550 nm , emitted by helium-neon and fractional erbium glass lasers, are used. Several studies have shown that LLL may improve FPHL but the effect is generally modest and, in a male study, although hair count increased, no differences with global photographs were observed . Adverse effects are few but may include headache, erythema, pruritus, burning, pain, and mild paresthesia .
Platelet-rich plasma
Platelet-rich plasma is produced by centrifuging a patients own blood, concentrating the platelets, and injecting the concentrate into the patients scalp in affected areas. In addition to platelets, PRP contains numerous growth factors, chemokines, and cytokines . Results are promising however, evidence is very limited and studies that have been performed have used different protocols without sufficient follow-up .
Hair transplantation
Topical ketoconazole
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