Prevalence of Hair Shedding Among Women

October 2016 in “ Dermatologic Therapy ”

Maja Kovacevic, Andy Goren, Jerry Shapiro, Rodney Sinclair, Neal M. Lonky, Mirna Situm, Vedrana Bulat, Željana Bolanča, John McCoy

hair shedding female pattern hair loss FPHL Sinclair Hair Shedding Scale hair loss

TLDR About 40% of women without hair loss and 60% with hair loss experience a lot of hair shedding, especially those under 50 with long hair.

In a study conducted at a public hospital involving 300 female patients, it was found that approximately 40% of the 263 participants without female pattern hair loss (FPHL) reported excessive hair shedding on hair washing days, as defined by the Sinclair Hair Shedding Scale. In contrast, about 60% of the 37 subjects with FPHL experienced excessive shedding on hair washing days. The study also revealed that excessive shedding was inversely proportional to age, with more shedding in patients under 50 years old, and there was a strong correlation between shedding and hair length, with the most shedding reported by subjects with long hair. There was no significant correlation between shedding and the use of hair dyes, and only a weak correlation with the frequency of hair washing. This study is considered the first to quantify the prevalence of hair shedding among women and aims to encourage physicians to address this issue and provide psychological support when needed.

View this study on onlinelibrary.wiley.com →

Discuss this study in the Community →

Research cited in this study

4 / 4 results

research Hair Shedding in Women: How Much Is Too Much?

32 citations, April 2015 in “British Journal of Dermatology”

The hair shedding scale accurately identifies abnormal hair shedding in women with long hair, with grades 5 and 6 indicating excessive shedding.

research Health Status, Coping Strategies, and Alexithymia in Subjects with Androgenetic Alopecia

40 citations, February 2013 in “American Journal of Clinical Dermatology”

People with hair loss feel more depressed and anxious, especially women, and need help managing emotions and beliefs about their condition.

research Hair Loss in Women

129 citations, October 2007 in “The New England Journal of Medicine”

Over one-third of women experience hair loss, with female-pattern hair loss being most common, and treatments include minoxidil and possibly hair transplantation.

research Diffuse Hair Loss: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

83 citations, May 1999 in “International Journal of Dermatology”

Hair loss that spreads out can often fix itself or be treated by finding and handling the cause.

Related Community Posts Join

6 / 1000+ results

community Diffuse hair loss and scalp biopsies

in Research 692 upvotes 4 months ago

Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.

community Female, 27 years old, shedding/ balding despite being on what is considered to be a effective treatment plan for AGA. Considering Dut (oral) . Please help.

in Finasteride/Dutasteride 27 upvotes 2 months ago

A 27-year-old woman with androgenic alopecia is losing hair despite using oral minoxidil and spironolactone, and is considering dutasteride. She is exploring causes like stress and medication side effects, planning tests, and considering treatment changes.

community Spironolactine Update: 2 months (34, Female)

in Female 20 upvotes 7 years ago

A female user's experience using Spironolactone to treat Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) and Androgenic Alopecia, as well as discussing the effectiveness of the drug at different dosages.

community For the ladies: Spironolactone for FPHL

in Female 15 upvotes 7 years ago

A 34 year old female with androgenic alopecia who has tried treatments such as Spironolactone, Desogen, Minoxidil and Finasteride in order to address her hair loss. It also details the experiences of other women taking Spironolactone for Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL).

community One+ year 1mg Fin, Ketoconazole, and 3.75 Oral Min. I have DUPA. Switched from Topical to Oral Min.

in Progress Pictures 142 upvotes 2 years ago

A user's experience with hair loss treatments such as finasteride, ketoconazole, and oral minoxidil that have not yielded any results; other users suggest shaving the head or getting a wig, while others offer additional advice such as seeing a dermatologist, checking thyroid levels, switching to dutasteride and adding needling, and trying stemoxydine.

community Finasteride 5mg for female pattern hair loss

in Female 7 upvotes 4 years ago

The user's experience of using Finasteride 5mg and Aldactone 50mg to treat Female Pattern Hair Loss, as well as their use of PRP injections for further hair growth.

Related Research

7 / 7 results

research Bitemporal Scalp Hair Loss: Differential Diagnosis of Nonscarring and Scarring Conditions

2 citations, February 2021 in “The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology”

Understanding the cause of bitemporal hair loss is key to deciding the right treatment.

research A Clinico-Epidemiological Study of Scalp Hair Loss in Children (0–18 Years) in Kota Region, South-East Rajasthan

6 citations, January 2019 in “Indian Journal of Dermatology”

About 12% of children in Kota, Rajasthan, experience hair loss, mainly due to fungal infections, with early treatment advised to prevent worsening.

Hair Loss in Children: Common and Uncommon Causes; Clinical and Epidemiological Study in Jordan

research Diagnosis and Management of the Hair Loss Patient

7 citations, September 1987 in “PubMed”

Most hair loss cases are caused by four main conditions, and understanding them is key to treatment.