Female pattern baldness is a type of hair loss that affects women and people assigned female at birth. It causes you to lose hair on the skin covering your head (scalp). Your hair doesn’t grow back without treatment. Female pattern baldness usually starts after menopause. It presents quite differently from the more easily recognisable male pattern baldness, which usually begins with a receding frontal hairline that progresses to a bald patch on top of the head. It is very uncommon for women to bald following the male pattern unless there is excessive production of androgens in the body.

What are the factors contribute to female pattern baldness?

Age: The chances of getting female pattern baldness increase with age, aound 40% of women by age 50 show signs of hair loss and less than 45% of women reach the age of 80 with a full head of hair. After menopause, about two-thirds of all women and people AFAB have thinning hair or total hair loss.

Hormones: The hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a type of androgen. Androgens are a group of sex hormones that help people enter puberty and mature physically. After menopause, your hormone levels drop, which may affect your DHT levels.

Genetics: You’re more likely to have female pattern baldness if your first-degree relatives have hair loss.