* Polycystic ovary syndrome
    * Autoimmune disorders
    * Thyroid disorders
    * Anemia or other vitamin deficiencies
    * Crash dieting
    * A traumatic event or extreme stress
    * Childbirth
    * Medications

Age can contribute to hair loss, too. While female pattern balding occurs in women of all ages, menopausal women in particular experience increased levels of androgens that thereby affect hair growth, sometimes thinning the hair on their heads and making their facial hair coarser (gotta love that).

How Can It Be Treated?
If you’re losing your hair at an abnormal rate, the most important thing is to ensure that you get a correct diagnosis from a doctor, so seeking a second opinion is crucial. If your hair loss turns out to be related to one of the underlying causes above, treating the root condition should stop the balding. (A doctor who specializes in female pattern balding will take blood tests and perhaps skin biopsies to begin this process.) That said, even when an underlying condition is treated, any baldness that has already developed is permanent, since the hair follicle is dead.

As for medications, only one is currently approved by the FDA: minoxidil, which is used on the scalp and has been shown to help hair regrow in around a quarter of the female population. However, minoxidil is expensive, and hair loss starts again as soon as women stop using it.

If your doctor does determine that hair loss is a direct result of actual female pattern baldness, rather than a side effect of another medical problem, the good news is that you have no underlying health issue to face, and that means the only necessary steps for you to take involve whatever makes you comfortable with your appearance. Since hair loss is permanent, many women use wigs, weaves, and even hair plugs (yep, the same ones men get) to combat the loss. And when you’re feeling down about your condition, just think of all the fun you’ll have experimenting with different colors, lengths, and styles.

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