WHAT IS FEMALE PATTERN HAIR LOSS (FPHL)?
Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL), also known as female androgenetic alopecia, is the most common type of hereditary hair thinning in women. By the age of 50, around 35% of women are affected. While hair density can become quite thin, women do not develop complete baldness as in men.
Hair thinning can begin as early as the teenage years, but more commonly appears in the twenties or thirties and is usually well established by the age of 40. If it is going to occur, it will have started by the age of 50. It does not start at age 60 or 70. However, once FPHL develops, thinning can continue into the 50s, 60s, and beyond.
SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING FEMALE PATTERN HAIR LOSS
- Often, a woman will become aware that she has less hair on the top center part of the head.
- She may notice that her scalp becomes more visible and it might take more effort to style the hair for her to conceal the thinning.
- A noticeable decrease in ponytail thickness
- Hair becoming greasy or limp more quickly, prompting more frequent washing
- Widening of the central part with increased spacing between hairs—often one of the earliest signs
- Thinning most pronounced on the top and sides of the scalp, though it may be diffuse
Variation in hair diameter and length, with some hairs fine and short and others thicker and longer—reflecting the gradual miniaturisation of hair follicles