Vrouwelijke haaruitval - Oorzaken, Symptomen en Behandeling

What causes female pattern hair loss?

It’s hereditary. You inherit the genes from your mother, father, or both. Because FPHL is more common after menopause, hormones may also play a role.

To give women optimal results, dermatologists may use more than one hair-loss treatment. For FPHL, treatment options include the following.

Minoxidil (meh-nox-eh-dil): Long used to treat male pattern hair loss, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved this non-prescription treatment for women. Today, it is the most-recommended treatment for FPHL. Products containing either 2% or 5% minoxidil have been approved to treat FPHL.

What should I know about using minoxidil? For the first two to eight weeks, you may notice a temporary increase in hair loss. This stops when your hair begins to regrow.

A common side effect of minoxidil is an irritated scalp, which may cause dryness, scaling, itching, and/or redness on your scalp. If this happens, it’s best to stop using minoxidil and see your dermatologist.

Another possible side effect is to see hair growing in places other than your scalp, such as on your cheeks and forehead. If this happens, you can limit it by:

1. Trying to apply minoxidil only to your scalp and avoiding other areas
2. Washing your face after you apply minoxidil to your scalp

When will I see results? Hair grows slowly, so it takes time to see results. You’ll need to use minoxidil continuously for about six to 12 months before you know how well it will work for you.

If this medication works for you, you’ll need to use it every day to continue getting results.

If you stop applying minoxidil, you lose its benefits. Because minoxidil helps you maintain your hair's thickness, some hairs may look and feel thinner. You'll also gradually notice that you're shedding more hair.

Minoxidil, pregnancy, and breastfeeding: Women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant should avoid minoxidil. Studies of pregnant animals have shown minoxidil can be harmful to a developing fetus.

Abstract

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is nonscarring progressive thinning of hair with gradual decrease in the number of hair, especially in the frontal, central, and parietal scalp, due to a process known as follicular miniaturization. The etiopathogenesis of FPHL is complex with multiple factors such as genetics, inflammation, hormones, and environment playing role in it. It usually manifests as slowly progressive hair thinning, mainly over the vertex and upper parietal scalp, the frontal hairline is often spared and the miniaturization is also not as severe as in men. A thorough history, clinical examination, hair loss evaluation tests, dermoscopy, and scalp biopsy can help in establishing the diagnosis. Various biochemical tests may be needed in patients with hyperandrogenism. The treatment includes medical and surgical modalities. Topical minoxidil is still considered the first line of treatment. Along with medical therapy, cosmetic camouflage may also be needed in some cases.

Key points

• See a dermatologist to make sure that you have FPHL, and to rule out another condition, which may be causing your hair loss
• Treatment works best when started at the first sign of hair loss
• Minoxidil is the most-recommended treatment for FPHL

Whether the newer treatments for hair loss, such as the lasers for at-home use, are safe for long-term use and can continue to stimulate new hair growth remain to be seen.

Images
Image 1: Used with permission of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. J Am Acad Dermatol 2004,51(2):191.

All other images from Getty Images.

References
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Le Floc’h C, Cheniti A, et al. "Effect of a nutritional supplement on hair loss in women.” J Cosmet Dermatol. 2015 Mar,14(1):76-82.

Lucky AW, Piacquadio DJ, et al. “A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 5% and 2% topical minoxidil solutions in the treatment of female pattern hair loss.” J Am Acad Dermatol. 2004 Apr,50(4):541-53.

Rogers NE, Avram MR. “Medical treatments for male and female pattern hair loss.” J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 Oct,59:547-66.