Androgenetic Alopecia

The most common type of hair loss for both men and women is androgenetic alopecia, more often called male or female pattern hair loss. In the United States alone, an estimated 50 million men and 30 million women are affected.

This type of hair loss seems to be directly linked to heredity, aging, and the presence and level of specific hormones. A genetic predisposition toward androgenetic alopecia can be inherited from either a mother or a father. To some extent, genes also seem to determine the speed, pattern, and amount of loss.

Androgenetic alopecia is not yet fully understood, but it is clear that the normal cycle of hair growth, loss, and replacement is interrupted as a person ages and hormones fluctuate. It seems that over time (in most cases, very gradually) the scalp hair follicles shrink in size, subsequently generating hair that is finer and finer and shorter and shorter. Some follicles eventually generate no hair at all, though most remain alive so they may still be capable of hair growth.

Related thinning and balding can begin in the teens, twenties, or thirties, but it often begins later in life. An estimated 25 percent of men are affected by age 30, and more than twice that percentage are affected by age 60. Women are affected in fewer numbers and they are most commonly affected after menopause.

The pattern of thinning and loss also differs substantially between women and men. Men often lose hair first at their temples and at the crown of their head and this loss may progress to complete baldness. Generally, the earlier the onset, the more extensive the loss. Women usually experience more diffuse and more mild or moderate thinning; they rarely experience baldness.

There is no known cure for male and female pattern hair loss, and such loss is considered permanent. But medical treatments are available to help slow or stop, and in some cases temporarily reverse, the progression of hair loss. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of minoxidil for both men and women; this drug is available in over-the-counter topical lotions that can be applied to the scalp to stimulate hair follicles. The FDA has also approved use of the prescription pill finasteride for men.

Information on this page, provided as a service by Peggy Knight Solutions, draws upon information from the following sources: the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

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