How Thinning Hair Occurs In Women Vs Men
A healthy scalp has around 80 percent of its hair follicles in the growing stage while the other 20 percent is in the resting stage. Hair thinning and loss occur when that vital growing state either slows down considerably or stops.
What causes hair to thin out for women? Just like our bodies change with age, most women notice some hair thinning as they get older. This is quite natural. Its said that by the age of 50, half of women will complain of hair loss. If a womans thinning hair is related to female-patterned hair loss, then the thinning is believed to be 90 percent genetic and 10 percent hormonal. Youll probably be surprised to learn that female-pattern baldness affects about 30 million American women. You cant change your genetics, but thankfully, you can work on the hormonal aspect .
Thinning hair in women typically occurs slowly all over the entire scalp without a recession of the hair line . If a woman has female-pattern hair loss, it can lead to extreme hair thinning but rarely leads to baldness.
What about thinning hair in men? For men, hair thinning can start as early as puberty and progress for many years to come after that. The thinning usually begins above the temples and travels around the perimeter and top of the head. Ultimately, this can result in a ring of hair often referred to as a horseshoe remaining along the bottom of the scalp. For a lot of men, hair thinning continues until there is no hair left resulting in a completely bald scalp.
Restore Your Hair: Restore Your Confidence
Many men wonder whether they need to pursue treatment to reverse the effects or if they can grow the hair back on their own. Although hair re-growth may be possible, you should also know when to seek professional help.
If the reason for thinning hair is genetics, it will not grow back on its own. To grow back a healthy, full head of hair, you’ll need to take action, and that involves reviewing different hair loss options.
We recommend seeking out proven, FDA-approved treatments to remedy the situation, instead of looking at shortcuts. Propecia, which is a prescription medication that restores hair follicles to their former glory, is a popular option.
At the Helendale Hair Center, we offer a line of topical solutions that can regrow hair with continuous use for a less invasive approach to hair revival. We also offer treatment options such as light therapy, prescription medication, injections, and follicle transplants.
Other options include light therapy that stimulates hair thickening, platelet-rich plasma treatments that promote hair regrowth, and in advanced cases hair transplants that will restore your hair. 75 percent of men in the United States suffer from hair loss to some extent. You can reverse the effects by scheduling a consultation at The Hair Center at Helendale.
Necessary Vitamins And Mineral Deficiency
Hair follicles are strengthened and developed by vitamin D. As such, when your system does not have enough of it, you may suffer hair loss. Worth mentioning is the effect of iron, folic acid, and other mineral substances in your diet. Those are natural organic substances that supports the growth of hair follicle
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Does The Procedure Hurt
There may be some sensitivity. However, most physicians utilize effective anesthetic solutions, such as cold ambient air or a topical analgesic to minimize any potential discomfort. We also use Pronox to make the procedure completely comfortable if the patient so desires. Talk to Dr. Rapaport about the right option for you.
Yes Women Experience Thinning Hair Too Heres Why And Possible Treatments
At first, I blamed the hairstylists. For several years, my hair had been flat, the cowlick too pronounced, the texture different. I kept switching salons in search of the perfect cut, the miracle product or, ideally, both. Then, as I ticked off my complaints to a new stylist, he ran his fingers through my hair and shrugged. It happens, he said. We get older. The hair thins.
What?
Just a few months later, Ricki Lake, 51, revealed her own struggle with hair loss an irony for the actress who found fame as the star of Hairspray. My fixation kicked into high gear, and I started searching online for answers. I learned that its normal to shed 50 to 100 hairs a day, and that new ones should grow in their place. But a variety of factors, including genetics, illness and poor nutrition, can disrupt that growth cycle, not just in men, but also in women of all ages. The American Hair Loss Association reports that 40 percent of all hair loss sufferers are women.
Genetics is the leading cause of hair loss for both sexes, said Marc Avram, a New York dermatologist who specializes in the condition. The American Academy of Dermatology reports that 30 million women in the United States suffer from hereditary hair loss, compared with 50 million men, though Avram suspects the numbers are much higher.
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Too Many Manly Hormones
Hyperandrogenism is when a womans body makes too many male hormones, called androgens. These extra male hormones can cause hair loss. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most common cause of extra male hormones. PCOS is linked with hair loss, obesity, acne, irregular menstrual cycles, and infertility.
Hormones play a big part in our hairs growth cycle. We need estrogens to help our hair stay in the growth phase for the right amount of time. Male hormones, aka androgens, arent as hair friendly and make hairs growth cycle shorter.
When these hormones are out of whack, hair can suffer.
Cosmetic Options For Hair Loss
When medical treatments fall short, women can also consider cosmetic options to make up for lost hair, such as wearing a wig. At the other end of the spectrum is hair transplantation, a surgical procedure that moves active follicles from the back of the scalp to areas where the hair is thinning. Once transplanted, the hair grows normally.
Hair transplantation is typically performed as an outpatient surgical procedure. In appropriate patients, it can be extremely successful, but it wont work for everyone, says Dr. Scott. One drawback is the expense: it can cost thousands of dollars and is not covered by insurance. The procedure also requires recovery time. And it may not be appropriate for women who have diffuse thinning across the whole scalp. Its more effective in treating smaller, more defined areas of balding.
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Eat A Complete Protein
You cant control healthy locks by genetics or age, but you can help your hair through eating healthy. The old adage says you are what you eat and this is definitely true when it comes to your hair. Dr. Bergfeld says first, be sure youre eating enough overall. As you age, you start to eat smaller portions because your taste level goes down, and you become nutritionally deficient. She says, Usually, when a person says, Im on a healthy diet, theyre on a restricted diet. Include a variety of foods in your diet.
Because hair follicles are made of mostly protein, dont skip this vital nutrient. A lack of protein has been linked to hair loss. Dr Bergfeld suggests women eat a little bit of low-fat, red meat a couple times a week. This captures your protein and other vital nutrients. Whats more, she says with age, your thyroid slows down. Patients get a little tired and think its old age, but they have mild iron storage anemia. Eating low-fat red meat alleviates this iron shortage
Other nutrient-rich foods for lush locks include:
Prescription Medications And Treatments
Here are some medications for hair thinning and loss that your doctor may be able to prescribe:
- Finasteride : This is an oral medication that helps reduce levels of the hormone dihydrotestosterone that can cause hair loss.
- Corticosteroids: These are oral or injected medications that can reduce inflammation that may lead to hair loss.
- Laser therapy: Your doctor or a dermatologist may be able to treat hair follicles with laser technology that sends light particles called photons into your follicles to help them grow. Talk to your doctor first to see if this will help you.
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Hair Regrowth For Men
For men who are leading a healthy life and still experiencing thinning on the top of their head, hair growth products and treatments can provide a suitable option. To achieve the best results, choose a Minoxidil topical treatment, which stimulates hair follicles to help grow new strands. Alternatively, a hair transplant may be considered for those who have had no luck regrowing their hair.
Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy
PRP therapy involves having your blood drawn and put into a centrifuge to retrieve plasma. This plasma is then injected directly into your dome for 3 months, and then every 3 to 4 months for 2 years.
A 2017 study found injections of non-activated PRP increased hair count and total hair density in participants.
PRP therapy sounds fancy , and thats because it is. The cost of PRP therapy ranges from $500 to $1,000 per session.
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The Need For Cam In Hair Loss
Hair loss is a disorder with significant adverse psychological effects, including low self-esteem, low confidence, and negative influence on social interactions 52% of women and 28% of men report being very to extremely upset by their alopecia . As a result, patients who do not see significant improvements in hair growth with conventional therapy often turn to CAM.
AGA, also known as male or female pattern hair loss, is the most common form of hair loss, affecting up to 50% of the adult male and 40% of the adult female population . Current FDA-approved treatment options for hair loss are limited to topical MXD , oral finasteride , and low-level light therapy . Unfortunately, all therapies are limited by their incomplete efficacy and risk of recurrence after cessation . Side effects related to MXD include facial hypertrichosis in 35% of women and contact dermatitis in 6.5% of patients . Systemic finasteride also boasts a large adverse effect profile including sexual dysfunction and post-finasteride syndrome with associated depression and/or psychosis . More invasive procedures for hair restoration include hair transplantation surgery or injections of platelet-rich plasma, which are costly, time-consuming, and require multiple treatment sessions.
Tips To Naturally Regrow Your Hair
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Natural remedies for hair growth
Your hair is said to be your crowning glory, and its normal to want to improve your hair if its not to your satisfaction. If youre trying to regrow hair that youve lost or would simply like to improve the hair that you have, try some of these natural remedies. Their proven benefits can help to stimulate growth and enhance the hair that you have.
treating hair loss. It also soothes the scalp and conditions hair. It can reduce dandruff and unblock hair follicles that may be blocked by excess oil. You can apply pure aloe vera gel to your scalp and hair a few times per week. You can also use shampoo and conditioner that contain aloe vera.
Coconut oil contains fatty acids that penetrate inside the hair shaft and reduce protein loss from hair. Coconut oil can be used either before or after you wash your hair depending on your hair type. If your hair tends to be oily, you can do a leave-in treatment overnight or for a few hours before you wash it. Massage coconut oil into your scalp and all of your hair. If your hair is dry, you can also use it as a leave-in treatment. There needs to be more research on coconut oil as a promoter of hair growth, but its been shown to improve the health and luster of hair and has been used for centuries.
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Does It Run In The Family
Look into your family’s history with hair loss. Male Pattern Baldness is typically a genetic condition, so your first step in determining if you are balding is finding out if you are genetically prone to baldness.
In the event you have a family history of male pattern baldness, then there is a good chance your hair loss is not the result of stress or another factor. It may come down to genetics, and there is not much you can do about that.
At this point, you should speak with a dermatologist to go over your hair restoration options. There is a lot of information you can find online, but the internet is also filled with half-truths and myths. The only way to get good information you can trust is to go directly to a medical professional who can review your hair loss.
Use A Topical Treatment
The only topical treatment that has been approved by the FDA for hair loss in women is minoxidil, better known by the brand name Women’s Rogaine . Topical minoxidil is the gold standard standard of treatment, Dr. Zeichner says. It helps lengthen the active growing stage of hairs and promotes healthy delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicle.
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What Is Androgenetic Alopecia
Almost every woman eventually develops some degree of female pattern hair loss. It can start any time after the onset of puberty, but women tend to first notice it around menopause, when hair loss typically increases. The risk rises with age, and it’s higher for women with a history of hair loss on either side of the family.
As the name suggests, androgenetic alopecia involves the action of the hormones called androgens, which are essential for normal male sexual development and have other important functions in both sexes, including sex drive and regulation of hair growth. The condition may be inherited and involve several different genes. It can also result from an underlying endocrine condition, such as overproduction of androgen or an androgen-secreting tumor on the ovary, pituitary, or adrenal gland. In either case, the alopecia is likely related to increased androgen activity. But unlike androgenetic alopecia in men, in women the precise role of androgens is harder to determine. On the chance that an androgen-secreting tumor is involved, it’s important to measure androgen levels in women with clear female pattern hair loss.
Are There Complications/side Effects Of Treatment
Minoxidil may irritate your scalp and cause dryness, scaling, itching and/or redness. See your dermatologist if this happens.
With Minoxidil you might also see hair growing in other places other than your scalp . Wash your face after you apply Minoxidil and make sure you avoid other areas when you apply it.
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