As disconcerting as hair loss is to a man, when it affects a woman it can be downright devastating. Statistically speaking, the most common reason a 39-year-old healthy woman begins to lose her hair is due to androgenetic alopecia (AGA), also known as common pattern hair loss — the same process that causes baldness in men. This is not to say that women lose hair the way men do. Obviously, this is not the case.

A Different Presentation

In men, pattern hair loss happens earlier in life, often with signs and symptoms by age 21 to 24. In women, the disorder tends to occur later, around age 40 to 45. Men often show bitemporal recession where the front hairline begins creeping back. At the same time a thin spot may emerge in the crown, and commonly those two areas meet so the entire top of the scalp is denuded.

In women, the feminine juvenile hairline is retained but a gradual loss of density occurs. The affected woman begins to notice that her scalp is visible when her hair is wet or when it blows. Eventually, and over years, the problem may become severe enough that she seeks tools and prostheses — wigs, for example — to mask the loss.

Biochemically as well as genetically, the triggers that cause hair to thin in women are remarkably congruent with those found in men. It is the same disease process, manifesting differently depending on gender.

The Limits of Existing Options

The spectrum of pharmaceutical treatment choices available for women offers options (e.g., spironolactone) unavailable to males, but there are also treatments for men (e.g., finasteride) that are not indicated for women. In any case, all pharmaceuticals present risk for side effect — some worse than others.

Transplant surgery, where hair-bearing grafts are moved from thick areas of the scalp to thin areas, may not work well in women. This is because the pattern of loss may actually extend into the scalp area directly above and behind the ears — where hair generally remains vibrant in AGA-affected males.

The Case for Botanical Therapy

There are four important reasons non-drug, botanically-based treatments such as HairGenesis® may represent a useful therapy for females:

  1. Utility for both sexes. HairGenesis® works equally well, and sometimes even better, in women.
  2. A long clinical history. With more than fifteen years of clinical history, HairGenesis® has demonstrated safety and efficacy in widespread usage.
  3. Published evidence. HairGenesis® represents the sole non-drug hair-loss treatment supported with published clinical research and published university-based study.
  4. A dual mechanism. The latest generation has been shown to operate by inhibiting pathologic inflammation in susceptible hair follicles and also blocking the deleterious effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in those same follicles.