Postmenopausal hair loss

WE USUALLY think of androgenetic alopecia as a condition affecting men but it is also a common condition in postmenopausal women.

Women are usually first aware of it when they wet their hair and note the exaggerated parting. Unlike males they retain their frontal hair line and seldom go completely bald. The hair follicles are actually maintained but the hair growth cycle shortens and the hairs become thinner and paler eventually forming tiny vellus hairs. Treatments include finasteride, which blocks the formation of the testosterone molecule miniaturising the hairs, and minoxidil, which prolongs the anagen growth phase and enlarges the miniaturised hairs. Androgenetic alopecia can occur in premenopausal females with a strong family history of the condition. 

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