Androgenic alopecia, or pattern baldness, doesn’t just happen to men. A considerable number of women throughout the world have the condition, which is mainly caused by genetic factors. This means that you can inherit androgenic alopecia from your mother, father or their parents, and there isn’t much you can do to stop it happening.

What many women with pattern baldness choose to do, however, is to take control of their hair loss through hair replacement systems. Developed as an alternative to human hair wigs, the following hair replacement systems provide bespoke and personally tailored solutions to help you manage your hair loss and take back control of how you look.

• Medi Connections. This is a hair replacement system designed for people who have experienced fine or thinning hair. This can include women in the early stages of androgenic alopecia. The system uses ultra-fine, light hair extensions to cover areas where hair is lost or thinning, and generally improve the volume and thickness of hair.

• The Intralace System. This system again uses light, fine hair extensions to cover and disguise hair loss, but on a larger scale. It can be integrated with your existing hair to create a natural, healthy look.

Female hair loss can have many causes, not all of which you can do anything about (i.e. hereditary conditions). However, some types of hair loss can be caused by something you’re doing or more accurately – what you’re not doing.

The body needs certain vitamins, minerals and nutrients in order to stay healthy and specifically, create red blood cells. If you aren’t eating properly or getting enough of these nutrients as part of your daily diet, you could run the risk of developing anaemia. This condition has a wide range of symptoms, one of the most notable being hair loss.

There are three main types of anaemia that can trigger hair loss. These are:

Iron deficiency anaemia

This is the most common form of anaemia, caused by not getting enough vitamin C and iron in your diet. Symptoms include rapid hair loss, depression, dry hair, weight loss and paleness. Women are more susceptible to the condition than men due to menstruation.

Copper toxicity anaemia

This can be triggered by many things – eating too much meat, smoking, using prescription medications containing copper – and it can cause hair loss, insomnia, headaches and even hypoglycaemia.

Pernicious anaemia

This is a type of anaemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency and generally affecting people over 40 years old. It can cause weight loss, hair colour change, rapid hair loss and dry hair.

One of the worst things about suddenly or unexpectedly losing your hair is that you can often feel quite alone in what you are going through, like no one else could possibly understand.

It is true that it’s hard for people who haven’t experienced hair loss problems to really get how it feels, but sufferers tend to experience similar reactions. By knowing how other people with female hair loss feel about their condition, you needn’t feel alone.

The following are a few of the most common psychological responses to female hair loss. See if any of these sound familiar:

• Anxiety, panic and worry as hair starts to thin or fall out
• Feeling frustrated, helpless and desperate to take back control over your own body
• A drop in self-esteem and self-confidence
• Feeling unattractive and less feminine due to hair loss
• Worrying about the effect hair loss will have on relationships
• Endlessly thinking about hair loss and wishing you had more hair
• Trying anything and everything to get hair to grow back

If you have experienced any of these responses, you are not alone. Talking about your feelings with other hair loss sufferers who share them can really help you to cope, as will going to see a hair loss specialist for reassurance and professional advice.

Losing your hair can be difficult enough to cope with, but struggling to find the right medical help for your condition can make you feel even worse. If your doctor isn’t supportive or helpful enough, you need to find a new one to ensure that your condition is being treated correctly.

Here’s what to look for in a doctor, dermatologist or female hair loss specialist (trichologist)…

Your doctor should:

• Explain things clearly without being patronising
• Give you all the information you need, including contact details for support groups and hair loss charities
• Understand that you may be scared, frustrated and panicky
• Reassure you that other women are going through the same thing as you
• Listen to you, take your concerns seriously and try to answer all of your questions

On the other hand, your doctor should not:

• Make inappropriate or insensitive comments
• Treat your concerns and worries lightly, or refuse to believe you
• Tell you how you feel, rather than listening
• Be callous about the emotional effect of female hair loss
• Show impatience with you
• Cut short your appointments or miss out any vital steps in the diagnosis process

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 5 to 10% of women aged 12 to 45. It is an endocrine (hormonal) disorder that can affect fertility, but it has lots of other side effects and symptoms too.

The following are the main symptoms of PCOS:

• Irregular menstruation or missing periods
• Hyperandrogenism – this means that women with condition generally have increased levels of male hormones such as androstenedione and testosterone
• Abnormal weight gain
• Excess body hair (hirstutism)
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Oily skin or acne

Along with these symptoms, women with PCOS may also experience hair loss. This can vary from thinning hair to bald patches and mass shedding.

This symptom is likely to be caused by a female hair loss condition called telogen effluvium, in which an increased number of hairs enter the resting (telogen) phase and fall out. Hairs go through three stages – anagen (growth), catagen (transitional) and telogen (resting) – and at different times.

In women with PCOS, telogen effluvium is likely to be triggered by the hormonal changes taking place in the body, as well as possible thyroid problems.

If you think you may be suffering from PCOS and telogen effluvium, you should see your doctor or a trichologist (hair loss specialist) as soon as possible for a diagnosis.

Alopecia universalis is an advanced for of alopecia areata, a condition where the hair falls out in patches. It causes hair loss all over the body, including eyebrows, eyelashes and even pubic hair.

The condition is extremely rare, affecting only approximately 1 in 100,000 people. However, those people who do have alopecia universalis can often feel alone in their predicament as they believe no one else knows what they are going through.

It may give alopecia universalis sufferers some comfort to know that there are people all over the world with the condition, some of whom are very well-known.

High-profile figures with alopecia universalis

• John D. Rockefeller – the oil magnate and businessman often thought of as the richest man in history
• Duncan Goodhew – the former Olympic swimmer
• Matt Lucas – comedy actor most famous for the Little Britain TV series
• Art Harris – CNN reporter and journalist
• Dave McPherson – the lead singer and guitarist for InMe, the British rock band
• Charlie Villanueva – the professional basketball player who plays for the Detroit Pistons
• Dean Canto – the Australian racing driver
• Pierluigi Collina – a referee with the Italian Football Referees Association (AIA)