GENETIC THINNING
– male & female pattern loss

This type of hair thinning is termed Androgenetic Alopecia
and can affect both males and females.

It is this type of thinning we associate with age. The causative factors are genetics, age, and testosterone. It is important not to assume that all hair loss falls into this category and simply put it down to our age. Some diffuse alopecia’s can show a similar reduction in density and show loss of hair to the temples and hairline. It is also not uncommon for a diffuse alopecia to run concurrent with genetic thinning.

Genetic thinning is pre-determined at puberty as an increase of testosterone circulating can cause the pre-determined hair follicles to produce finer and shorter hairs with each successive hair growth cycle.

When testosterone reaches the effected hair follicle the enzyme present there converts the testosterone to a more potent dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which causes the follicle to miniaturise creating finer and shorter hairs.

Female pattern hair loss can present slightly differently, and it is usual to see a widening of the parting area. It can begin after the hormone changes from puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. There are some contributing medical conditions that can impact on female pattern hair loss and a thorough assessment is necessary to rule this out.

Females may have an increased sensitivity to the normal level of testosterone circulation and not necessarily an increase in testosterone. A consideration post-menopausal is that the oestrogen reduction allows the testosterone to come more to the forefront.

It is important to note that although genetic thinning cannot be cured, it can be managed well. There are good established, well trialled treatment options, but, it is important to avoid the myriad of products with little to no efficiency available online, without any clinical back up. There are also very good camouflage products available as cosmetic options.