Female hair loss scale

Female hair loss

The feminine ideal has changed throughout the different eras, yet there has always been one common denominator: hair. One indisputable element of feminine beauty is in fact thick hair, which the human brain associates with fertility, much like bust and hip width. If we look at today's advertisements, almost without exception they catch our eye with shiny, long-haired women, while in reality female hair loss is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon. A telling sign can be the amount of hair left in our hands while combing or washing it, and then, when we notice that the hair has thinned and no longer holds its shape the way it used to, we inevitably become worried. If we experience something similar over a longer period, it's worth considering what options exist for protecting against hair loss. To begin with, there is a solution!

Hair loss is a serious emotional issue for both sexes, since deep down everyone is narcissistic in a certain sense. Female hair loss can have many causes, and although it is most often caused by inherited genes, it doesn't hurt to take a closer look at our own lifestyle. Medications, smoking, a post-pregnancy state, or any other life stage that affects the hormonal balance, all play a role in the development of the above-mentioned phenomenon. It is important to note that, just as no two people are the same, there are no two identical scalps in the world either. This post, however, can serve as a suitable guide for those who would like to assess, from the comfort of their own home, which category their degree of hair loss falls into. Male-pattern hair loss is somewhat more complex in terms of scaling; you can learn more about this by clicking on the words set in gold, or the video below can also help.

(Hungarian subtitles are also available via automatic translation)

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Female Hair Loss - The Ludwig Scale

Female hair loss is fundamentally different from male hair loss, since they react less to hormonal changes. Their bodies also contain both estrogen and androgen hormones, with estrogen normally being the dominant one. However, androgenic hair loss can also affect women, since the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase is equally capable of converting testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone), the hormone that inhibits the growth phase of hair follicles. It is possible that in women struggling with this type of hair loss, hormone levels (including even their androgen levels) show completely normal values, yet the enzyme mentioned above suppresses the estrogen level responsible for hair growth.

Another important difference between hair loss in the two sexes is that, while in men overproduction of testosterone can cause hair loss, in women it is caused by a decrease in estrogen levels, or by tissue sensitivity to sex hormones. This is why this phenomenon is most likely to occur around the time of menopause. Interestingly, in this case bald patches similar to those in men do not develop; instead, general hair thinning and the narrowing of individual hair strands are typical.

The three stages of the Ludwig classification

The Ludwig classification consists of three stages describing female-pattern genetic hair loss:

• Type I (mild) - Early thinning of the hair can be noticed, which can still be easily disguised with proper combing. At this stage not enough hair has been lost for a hair transplant to be an option.
• Type II (Moderate) - In women struggling with type II hair loss, the midline part widens and the density of hair on the scalp visibly decreases. A hair transplant can be performed if the patient has donor areas with stable hair growth at the back and sides of the scalp.
• Type III (extensive) - The top of the scalp becomes almost completely transparent, which is usually accompanied by thinning of the entire scalp. Patients at this stage often have too few donor hairs for hair transplantation to lead to adequate results.

In all three Ludwig stages, hair loss occurs on the front and top of the scalp, with relative preservation of the frontal hairline. Women experiencing hair loss should obtain as accurate a diagnosis as possible, ideally from an experienced dermatologist. This is especially important, since the diffuse hair loss typical of women can sometimes be caused by a number of treatable conditions. Regardless of the degree or cause of hair loss, only women who have a sufficient amount of hair on the back and sides of the scalp can be candidates for a hair transplant.