What Should You Know About The Multiple-Therapy Approach To Treating Female Pattern Baldness?

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If you're a woman who has recently noticed more hair in the brush or the shower drain, you may be wondering what you can do to decelerate the hair loss you're observing. But while male pattern baldness (and treatment methods) are well-known and studied, female pattern baldness—though nearly as common—is discussed far less. Many women may not be aware of the range of treatment options available. Learn more about the multi-therapy approach to treating female pattern baldness. 

What causes female pattern baldness?

Female pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia, is caused by the same hormones that cause male pattern baldness. As you age, the balance of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone in your body can shift. This can affect the elasticity of your skin and the growth of your hair. You may notice that you're losing more hair from your scalp, especially around the part area, and that the hair replacing this lost hair is much finer and shorter than you're used to. 

Because female pattern baldness begins with the hormones and isn't the result of a particular hairstyle or shampoo choice, most of the treatment options focus on restoring hormonal balance and encouraging the growth of thicker, healthy hairs. 

Why is a multiple-therapy approach appropriate? 

When it comes to female pattern hair loss, there's no one size fits all solution. Some treatment options that have been highly effective for certain women don't work at all for others, or have such severe side effects that they're just not worth it. By combining several compatible treatment options, patients can improve their odds of at least one of these options being successful. 

Some of the multiple therapies that can be employed to treat female pattern baldness include: 

  • Topical treatments like minoxidil drops, conditioner, or foam mousse. This drug, once developed as a blood pressure medication, can skew the hair growth cycle so that the hair stays in its "growing" stage for longer. Because you don't lose hair as frequently, the hair that remains will appear thicker. Minoxidil is available in 2 percent and 5 percent formulations, and it's usually best to start with the lower dose until you can assess your body's reaction.
  • Non-chemical methods like scalp massage and laser light therapy. By boosting circulation to the scalp, these treatment options can be a nice complement to minoxidil or other topical treatments. 
  • Surgical hair restoration. This option takes healthy hair follicles from elsewhere on your body (or uses donor follicles) and transplants them to the parts of your scalp that are thinning the most noticeably. Because a hair follicle that hasn't produced a new hair in a few years is likely "dead," making minoxidil or other treatments ineffective, surgical hair restoration can sometimes be the best way to turn back the clock.

Your doctor or dermatologist can help you assess the available treatments and determine which are the best fit for you. Look into getting a multi therapeutic hair transplant today.

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7 May 2020

A Healthy Diet is Important for Healthy Skin and Hair

I was blessed with healthy, thick hair and perfect skin as a young girl. I went to college out-of-state, and I soon started to get acne and my hair started thinning. Everyone told me that it was likely due to stress, but to be honest, I loved college and found most of my first-year classes pretty easy. During my first summer home I put two-and-two together: my eating habits changed drastically at college. My mother always fed us very healthy meals, and my eating habits at college were so bad that I even ate cookies for breakfast sometimes! I found out my hair loss was due to lack of healthy vitamins in my diet and my skin problems were also caused by my poor diet. I created this blog to help other learn how their health, skin, and are all connected, and I hope you can learn a lot here!