Hair loss in women

Approximately 1.6 million British women suffer from hair loss. What are the main causes and what can you do if you have thinning hair?

To quote Elizabeth Steele, founder of Hairline International, a self-help society for people with hair loss, this affliction is 'miserable enough for a man; a downright catastrophe for a woman'. A survey has shown that about 1.6 million British women have hair-loss problems. So what are the causes and what can be done about thinning hair?

Scalp conditions
Scalp conditions such as ringworm and severe psoriasis or dermatitis can lead to hair loss. Treatment is aimed at the underlying skin condition.

Medical conditions
The most common medical conditions associated with hair loss are thyroid disorders and anaemia, or iron deficiency. Crash dieting and faddy diets have been blamed for an increase in iron-deficiency problems, particularly in young women. Vegetarian diets can also lead to iron deficiency. Thyroid disorders and iron deficiency can easily be diagnosed with some simple blood tests. Rarely, hair loss is a symptom of a more serious medical problem, but there are usually other, more obvious symptoms.

Alopecia Areata
This is a patchy baldness that occurs in about three per cent of people. It is thought to be due to an auto-immune problem, whereby the body 'accidentally' produces antibodies that attack the hair follicles. Most patches regrow after a few weeks, but occasionally they spread and can be permanent. There is no reliably effective treatment for this problem at present.