A Hair Expert Weighed In On Female Balding And It’s Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Issue

A Hair Expert Weighed In On Female Balding And It’s Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Issue

Hair loss is one if the most common issues women have these days. With the stress that you deal with because of the busy lifestyle and work commitments, our manes sometimes start acting out. And while there is no cause for concern with a little hair fall after a particularity exhausting day, we shouldn’t ignore the warning signs that point at other long term issues…one of them being the problem of female balding.

What Is Female Balding?

There is a vast difference between hair that we shed on the daily and female balding. Female balding or androgenetic alopecia in women usually occurs at the age of 45 years and above. It starts with thinning of hair in the crown area and receding frontal hairline and slowly spreading all over.  Very rarely, it can lead to a bald patch on the topmost area (vertex) of the scalp. For context, shedding 50- 100 strands of hair a day is considered normal. Anything above 100 strands for over a month is considered alarming and should be checked with the doctor. Some of the causes of female balding include…

  • Genetics 
  • Hormonal Imbalance 
  • Menopause 
  • Excessive Stress
  • Nutritional Deficiency 
  • Long Term Medications 
  • Chemotherapy 

…and some of the early signs are:

  • Excessive hair loss especially around the crown area 
  • Thinning of hair 
  • Receding hairline 

Huaterfly Female Balding Dr Pooja Chhabra

While the warning signs present a problem in themselves, there is no need to panic. We decided to get some insight on the issue and had a chat with hair expert Dr Pooja Chhabra.  Currently, working as a Trichologist with TK Trichokare, Singapore, Dr Chhabra is a qualified MBBS, followed by a specialisation in Trichology from I.A.T, Australia. She is also the co-founder of skincare brand Nuskay, a herbal, bio-inspired sustainably sourced label with high quality, pure and unadulterated products.  

Balding Patterns

According to Dr Pooja, there are three types of female balding patterns. According to the Ludwig scale,

Hauterfly Female Balding classification

Type-I: In this stage, hair loss is considered to be mild. In most women, the frontal hairline remains relatively unaffected. Hair loss may occur on the top and front of the scalp, however. Such hair loss may be noticeable when the hair is parted down the centre of the scalp, as more and more scalp will become visible over time.

Type-II: Type II hair loss is considered moderate. In this stage, women may notice each of the following: Thinning, shedding, general decrease in volume, and a centre part that continues to widen over time. 

Type III. Type III is the final and most extreme classification of female hair loss. In this stage, hair is so thin that the scalp is clearly visible. This is aggravated by a number of factors, including hair miniaturisation, progressive thinning and extensive loss.

Haterfly Female Balding Treatment

How To Deal With Female Balding

Like we said before, the problem of female balding does sound alarming but there is hope- you can deal with it properly. For mild cases, herbs such as saw palmetto, rosemary, clove oil and pumpkin seed oil can be used to counter the effects of female pattern hair loss. Saw palmetto is considered a mild DHT blocker and has no side effects unlike other medicines available in the market. 

There are also procedures available to tackle the extreme thinning of hair in females. Application of copper peptides along with micro-needling has shown good results as it can enlarge the follicle size, increase blood circulation towards the scalp and increase hair growth. PRP (platelet rich plasma) is another method that may help in increasing hair growth. PRP contains a range of growth factors and proteins that speed tissue repair and healing of the damaged follicles. 

Lastly, in severe cases, hair transplant is the most effective method of restoring female patter hair loss. 

Hauterfly Female Balding Prevention

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Fortunately for younger women, female balding patterns don’t start showing until the age of forty-five. So, there a some things we can do do make sure we treat our hair right from a young age. Dr Pooja directed, “Limit treatments that can lead to hair damage such as rebonding, perming and colouring. Eat diet rich in protien, essential vitamins, iron  and avoid brushing your hair when it’s wet and fragile”. Simple, but effective!

She also warned that using too many heat styling products and excessive blow drying can damage the hair cuticle leading to split ends, breakage and brittle hair. Always use a hair serum before using any type of styling products as it forms a protective shield around the hair strands. Use low heat to cause the least amount of damage.  Our habit of over-styling our hair comes with a price. Dr Pooja revealed, “The most common side effects of over styling are dry and brittle hair. Hair becomes weak and dull and breaks easily. Any type of chemical treatment you do on the hair will have some kind of adverse effects”. 

We also picked her brain on giving us dietary tips to tackle hair loss. “Include dry fruits in your diet such as – Almonds and walnuts. Consume a diet that is rich in proteins and essential vitamins and iron. Include a lot of green leafy vegetables in your diet, and avoid red meat, dairy and processed junk food”, she revealed. We have taken notes!

What are some of the other common hair and skin issues you would like for us to discuss? Let us know!

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/this-bar-is-serving-female-beer-and-we-have-wet-ourselves-with-excitement-we-cant-thank-them-enough/

Sumona Bose

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