Up to 40 percent of all hair loss sufferers are women. With hundreds of conditions to contend with, losing your hair can be a daunting and terrifying experience. Famous actors and celebrities like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Vin Diesel make hair loss look fashionable. Whilst women, on the other hand, tend not to opt to totally shave their head, even when they’re suffering with a hair loss condition like Female Pattern Hair Loss. Often leaving them with widening partings, limp hair and suffering self-confidence.

What Is Female Pattern Hair Loss?

Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) or, as it’s more widely known, Androgenetic Alopecia is the most common form of women’s hair loss globally, with over 8 million people in the UK suffering with it in some form. It can start as early as puberty, but occurs most commonly after the menopause. FPHL is a genetic condition and is inherited from one or sometimes both parents, and can be triggered by hormones at any time after puberty. The hair starts to thin around the front, top and crown areas of the scalp and can vary in intensity, leaving some people with areas of thinner hair.

How Female Pattern Hair Loss Is Triggered

The first signs of FPHL are often the widening in the parting or the noticeable feeling that your hair isn’t as thick or as full as usual. Female Pattern Hair Loss increases with age, with fewer than 50 percent of women having a full head of hair their entire life. There are various triggers for FPHL, the most common being genetics. The gene is usually passed down from parents and family members, but can lay dormant for years before becoming active. Medication, stress, illness and other forms of Alopecia can also be triggers of the condition.

How To Deal With Female Pattern Hair Loss

There are plenty of options to try which will enable you to live a happy life, with healthy hair. We can treat hair loss from the early stages, as well as the more severe cases. Our range of safe and easy-to-wear hair systems allow you to live life comfortably with the hair you’ve always dreamt of. Medi-Connections are perfect for minimal cases, with the Intralace System being the choice for more severe cases.

We understand that living with a hair loss condition is no easy task and something no one should have to contend with. But there are some simple ways you can make the whole process a little easier. The first step is remembering your family and friends are there for you – don’t suffer in silence. Many people try and hide their condition from the people they love. because often they think it’s a burden, but the more you talk about it, the easier it will be to handle. There are thousands of groups and sites you can visit where you can talk to like-minded people, who are going through similar situations to yourself.

If it’s not yourself but someone you know who is going through a tough hair time, make sure you’re there if they need you. Pop in to see if they’re okay, message them with words of support, or come along with them to one of our studios. We’re sure they will appreciate it.

How Lucinda Ellery Can Help You

Our aim is to make sure our clients leave our studios feeling a million dollars. Our friendly teams and welcoming studios are on hand to give the very best treatment for your condition, all in complete confidentiality. Your experience will start with a FREE consultation that allows you to talk about your condition, and allows us to assess the situation and work out the best treatment for you. We often opt for the Intralace System or Medi-Connections for Female Pattern Hair Loss cases.

If you’re still unsure about anything we have mentioned or have more questions about Female Pattern Hair Loss, don’t hesitate to drop us a message over on our Facebook page. And don’t forget, you’re never alone!

The Lucinda Ellery Team x

Hair loss can be triggered at any age and there are a vast amount of conditions out there, meaning sometimes it’s hard to understand what’s going on or what is wrong. There are some simple steps you can follow to understand whether you are losing your hair and why.

Shedding – normal or not?

The average person sheds between 100 – 150 strands of hair a day, a lot more than people think, so simply seeing hair in the plughole doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong. However if you feel like you’re losing more than this or your hair is getting thinner, and are seeing larger amounts in the shower or when brushing/styling your hair then this can be an early sign that something isn’t right.

Women’s hair can often go through temporary periods of change, caused by hormonal swings, stress, or illness, and will often return to normal in a few weeks; so there’s no need to worry straight away, but you should keep a close eye on it and if it persists then you should investigate further.

Pay attention to your parting…

Your parting can often be one of the first areas of your hair to change, if your parting is widening and you’re finding it hard to cover up, then this is likely to be an early sign that shouldn’t be ignored.

…and your parents

Hair loss can be genetic, so it is also worth tracing back through your family history to see if this could be one of the causes. Did an aunt or a grandmother have very thin hair earlier than might be expected? Or did someone on the family wear wigs?

If there’s no record of hair loss in the family but you’re losing thickness or finding areas where your hair is disappearing then it’s best to seek medical advice to find out if there is a clinical cause, such as thyroid or hormonal problems, before taking any further action.

Thinning, receding, or patchy loss?

Take careful note of the type of loss you are noticing, so you can clearly describe it to your GP or any other professional you speak to. Maybe even take photographs so you and they can assess how matters are progressing. You may know how your hair looked or where the hair line was a few months ago but they are only seeing it as it is now.

• Is your hair getting thinner overall but is otherwise normal?
• Is your hair line receding? And is it at the front or the sides?
• Are there patches where the hair is falling out and/or not regrowing or growing back much thinner than usual?
• Is there any inflammation of the scalp?

Where to turn next?

If there is a clear medical reason for your hair loss then there may well be a treatment available which will return your hair to normal along with your health. However there is much that is not understood about the causes of hair loss and what can trigger it, so if your GP can’t offer any help then you may have to request a referral to a Trichologist for further enquiry. Sometimes unfortunately a diagnosis doesn’t offer prospects of a cure – for instance Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (characterised by severe receding of the front hairline) is currently considered irreversible – and you have to turn your attention to ways of disguising your hair loss in order to look your best.

This is where we come in. As well as advising you on your level and type of hair loss or who to speak to medically, we have vast experience of using a variety of different techniques to make your hair look normal and healthy– from simple styling ideas for mild loss, through scalp make-up, ultra-fine hair extensions to add body, right through to full 24/7 hair systems to augment or even completely replace your hair. We’ll give you as many options as we can to suit your needs and lifestyle.

In the next post we’ll discuss the different types of hair loss, how they progress and how best to handle them. In the meantime if you’d like to speak to us or come in for a free consultation we’d be happy to hear from you. Call our London number – 0208 741 8224 – or one of our other studios across the UK or drop us an enquiry through one of our contact forms on our main UK site.  If you’re in the US then please visit our US website – studios in Los Angeles and New York.