It happens, it’s different from the hair loss men experience and can be just as devastating – so why do so many women keep it a secret?
Over on the channel I talk about all kinds of hair loss, including the types women are more likely to face. I find it profound that with all of the health and beauty topics we freely discuss in the open now – everything from acne to menopause to unrealistic body images – honest discussions about women’s hair loss remains an elusive frontier.
And that’s a real shame.
Underreported and overlooked. It’s a vicious cycle. Because so many women are silent about their hair loss, many women who experience it don’t think it’s normal. Image by Freepik.
While hair loss can have a profound effect on anyone who experiences it, the pressure people put on hair as a sign of femininity can make hair loss more poignant for women. Because of our false societal impression that women don’t experience hair loss – categorically not true – many women find their hair loss challenging their sense of self. Some women have described their hair loss as feeling as if they’ve lost a limb.
Hair loss can hit women harder than men because of our misplaced societal perception that women don’t lose hair. Hair is still considered a sign of femininity – what does it mean to lose that and face stigma? Image by Freepik.
Women’s Hair Loss: You’re Not Alone
And then there’s the stigma. Almost half of all women will experience some form of hair loss before the age of forty. I really feel that this doesn’t get hit home hard enough. When you consider that statistic, it seems ridiculous that there’s so much secrecy. Though some forms of hair loss, such as telogen effluvium, can be transitory and resolve on their own, others, such as androgenic alopecia and scarring alopecia, can lead to permanent hair loss if left untreated. Women are often reluctant to discuss their hair loss because it’s a taboo subject, which makes it next to impossible for them to know what they’re experiencing and what to do about it.
Secrecy always makes appropriate treatment harder.
The causes of women’s hair loss can be unique, which adds complexity. Though both men and women experience androgenic alopecia and alopecia areata, women also are more susceptible to hair loss triggered by hormonal changes that come naturally with age and that can accompany polycystic ovary syndrome.
Women Are Better at Hiding Their Hair Loss… And More Incentivized
So, if 40% of women experience hair loss, why aren’t we all more aware? In a world where it’s standard for celebrities and TV personalities to wear hair pieces and wigs just to hide a bad hair day, you’d be excused for thinking that women’s hair loss is atypical, rare even. We see male celebrities and actors all the time experiencing hair loss – so if women also experience it, where are they?
Culturally, it’s less acceptable for women to go sans hair. However, wigs and hair pieces can make it next to impossible to tell. Image by javi_indy for Freepik.
An interesting quirk of our cultural norms and expectations for women (which are often unrealistic and a topic for an entire blog on its own), is that the persistent myth that claims women don’t lose hair has driven some impressive advances in hair pieces and wigs. They’re more socially acceptable for women to wear than for men – there’s less stigma –and it’s next to impossible to tell if someone is wearing one.
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The patterns of hair loss women experience also make it easier to anchor hair wefts and toppers. Two types of hair loss that women commonly experience, androgenic alopecia and menopause/age related thinning, tend to manifest as overall diffusion, not discreet patterns like men experience. That can actually make it harder to identify when hair loss starts. Often, women first notice that their hair seems thinner and doesn’t ‘behave the way it used to’ but don’t clue in that what they’re experiencing is hair loss until much later. Diffuse hair loss can look ‘full’ for a very long time as the hair loss pattern ‘blends in’. While hair loss medical therapy can work well, the trick is starting when hair loss first starts. That’s difficult if you don’t know what to look for.
Age, Menopause, and Hormones
As human’s get older, all of our hair becomes thinner. But it has less to do with how we shed hair and more to do with how good we are at growing it.
Knowledge is a powerful thing. Many women experience hair thinning as part of the natural aging process and the shift in hormones that come with menopause, however, effective treatments are available. Image by Freepik.
As we age, our hair’s growth phase (anagen) becomes less effective, one might even call it sluggish. With the shortening of the anagen growth phase, we see finer, thinner strands. Menopause can drastically push this effect into high gear as estrogen, the hormone that depletes during menopause, affects the anagen growth phase. Though not necessarily permanent – often hair can return once hormones have settled – the loss of estrogen can leave hairs miniaturized and looking thinner. Both HRT therapy (if appropriate) and minoxidil can be helpful treatments.
Menopause and androgenic alopecia are not the only reasons women experience hair loss – frontal fibrosing alopecia, alopecia areata, and scarring alopecia also affect women – but they’re two of the most common and poorly discussed, which only adds to the stigma.
Medical therapy can be incredibly effective for getting hair loss under control. Many women use minoxidil, spironolactone, HRT therapy and even finasteride with great results. Image from Freepik.
Treatments
Medical therapy can do wonders to treat women’s hair loss. Finasteride and spironolactone can be effective at addressing the root cause of androgenic alopecia, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be effective for addressing menopause related hair loss. Minoxidil is also a great option for controlling miniaturization.
Beyond medical therapy, PRP, microneedling (done by an accredited provider) and red-light therapy can also be helpful. However, hair transplants, while sometimes appropriate, often aren’t the best option for women, even if their hair loss is stable. That’s due to the diffuse hair loss pattern women experience which can be difficult to improve without depleting the donor site and making things look worse. Having said that, hairline lowering surgeries and eyebrow transplants can be effective and impactful for some women.
Wearing Hair
A lot of women are held back by what society, families, friends, and coworkers will think if they wear a wig. All that fear does is steal time away from the person you want to be. It’s not unlike how many men put off hair transplants because of a perceived stigma, or conversely reject embracing a bald look. They act not on their own desires but over what they worry people will think.
I’m all about feeling confident in whatever skin you’re in – if that’s having a full head of hair? Then you should feel empowered to explore medical therapies and/or wigs. If it’s accepting natural hair loss that makes you feel your most confident? Then bald is absolutely beautiful.
The upside to facing hair loss is that once you’re having an authentic conversation about what’s going on, you can start exploring your options and – most importantly – what you want from your hair.
If You’re Someone Who Thinks They Might Be Experiencing Hair Loss?
You have options, but the decision is yours. Don’t make your choices based on what you think society’s opinion of you as a woman should be. Living in fear of people discovering you have hair loss is not living your life.
Making your choices based on how you feel when you look in the mirror? That’s beautiful.
Resources
Women’s Hair Loss Project – Recently I spoke on my channel with the founder of the WHLP, Y. You can find that conversation here. It’s a community that aims to connect women who are experiencing hair loss. Talking can really help with coping.
As always, if you are interested in exploring medical therapy for hair loss, visit us at Feelconfident.com to see if it’s right for you.
