Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) is more common than we think. FPHL is a thinning or miniaturization of the hair on the top or crown of the head which affects about 50% of women by the age of 50. Female Pattern Hair Loss is sometimes referred to as Androgenic Alopecia or Androgenetic Alopecia.

Self-diagnosis is often ineffective. Women tend to have less obvious patterns of hair loss than men, and non-pattern types of hair loss are more frequent in women than in men. Diagnosis of hair loss in a woman should be made by a trained and experienced physician.

In women as in men, the most likely cause of scalp hair loss is androgenetic alopecia—an inherited sensitivity to the effects of androgens (male hormones) on scalp hair follicles. However, women with hair loss due to this cause usually do not develop true baldness in the patterns that occur in men—female hair loss occurs in various patterns and is often diffuse vs. bald.

Patterns of female androgenetic alopecia can vary considerably in appearance but generally fall in to 3 classes found as depicted in the Ludwig scale.