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Solutions for Hair Loss in Women
by Robin Munro
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Overview
According to the American Hair Loss Association, 40 percent of American hair-loss sufferers are women. Alopecia, excessive or abnormal hair loss, often results from a genetic trait found in both men and women. Hair loss is also a side effect of stress, disease or other internal conditions. While no cure for baldness exists, treatment can prevent permanent damage to hair follicles and slow the progression of hair loss.
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Causes
While 90 percent of hair loss in men is due to male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness is less commonly the culprit. Excess hair loss in women is often a temporary consequence of hormonal imbalance due to pregnancy, menopause or birth control measures. While it might just be due too much heat styling or tight braiding, thinning is also a symptom of disease. Sudden or patchy hair loss calls for a talk with a doctor.
Once identified and treated, normal hair growth will usually resume. Short-term hair loss due to stress or pregnancy will self-remedy. But be sure to rule out all possible causes and choose a course of action appropriate to your type of hair loss. Dead hair follicles mean it's time to shop for a wig, so don't delay or misdiagnose.
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FDA-Approved Treatments
Minoxidil, or Rogaine, is an over-the-counter liquid treatment applied directly to the scalp to stimulate hair growth. Although less effective in female pattern baldness, Minoxidil in a 2 percent concentration is often effective in treating diffuse thinning in women. According to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, 19 percent of women reported moderate hair regrowth after using 2-percent minoxidil for eight months. New hair may be thinner and shorter than your previous hair. The FDA also warns women not to use Minoxidil if hair loss is sudden, patchy or associated with childbirth.
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Off-Label Treatments
While most medications approved by the FDA to treat alopecia are topical, several internal drugs designated for other conditions are also effective hair-loss solutions. These drugs are used "off label" and several are not available in the United States. The following are the most accessible, and most common, off-label treatments.
Aldactone is a "potassium-sparing diuretic" or "water pill" used to treat high blood pressure and swelling. It also slows androgen, or male hormone, production in the ovaries and adrenal glands. Aldactone inhibits hormonal shifts in women that release excess androgens sometimes cause hair loss.
Tagamet, a histamine-blocker used to treat gastrointestinal ulcers, is another drug with a high anti-atrogenic effect.
According to the American Hair Loss Association, hormone replacement therapy is the most common systemic treatment for hair loss due to menopause. HRT uses estrogen and progesterone pills and creams.
Some birth control pills decrease ovarian androgen production, thus remedying hair loss due to excess male hormones. However, high androgen birth control pills can actually trigger hair loss. Consult your doctor to choose the best contraceptive for your age, lifestyle and health conditions, including hereditary susceptibility to hair loss.
Available by prescription, Nizoral is a topical treatment for fungal infections that also has an anti-androgenic effect. A 1 percent treatment is also available over-the-counter, but it is less potent than prescribed Nizoral and therefore may be less effective as a hair-loss remedy.
