Q: I am a 48 year old woman. Since I have used a new hair dye, I seem to be going bald. Is this possible?

A: Dying hair is a very common practice and hair loss in women who are 48 years old is also very common. The fact that the two have occurred together does not necessarily imply that there is a cause and effect relationship.

Women who are already losing hair often go to a great deal of effort to disguise this fact with dying, bleaching, and perming. These procedures, particularly if too aggressive, or done too frequently, can cause weakening and increased fragility of the hair shaft and increased hair breakage may result. This is more common if the hair is already fine in texture. This breakage is frequently interpreted as “hair loss” and it certainly does result in a significant loss of hair bulk, although the follicle itself is not damaged.

When there is a relationship between hair dye and hair loss in women, it is usually an inflammatory/allergic or irritant reaction. If severe, there may be an actual burn. In these cases, there would be a history of redness and swelling. An inflammatory reaction could cause hair loss but it would be unusual to damage follicles enough to produce scarring – although this occasionally does occur. A scalp biopsy is often helpful to sort out these cases.

Q: Dr. Bernstein, a lot of older women are taking testosterone to restore libido, but are they going to suffer hair loss as a consequence?

A: They can. In women there is a delicate balance between the androgens, i.e. testosterone and estrogens. Estrogen is protective to some degree against hair loss in women, which is why most women don’t experience such severe hair loss as do men.

When a woman takes testosterone supplements it upsets that balance and can cause hair loss. However, hair loss in post-menopausal women is usually due to age related changes. Typically, the hair decreases in size in a genetically determined progression that seems not to be directly related to changes in the levels of hormones.

For more information, please see the Causes of Hair Loss in Women page on the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration website.

Q: I know that I am going to be bald because my father is bald and I am losing my hair just like him. What actually causes this kind of hair loss? A: Although there are many different causes, the overwhelming number of people that have hair loss have what is referred to as “patterned [...]

Q: Why do some people have a full head of hair into their seventies or eighties and others start to go bald in their late teens or early twenties? A: The cause is genetic and this poly-genetic trait can be inherited from the mother’s side, the father’s side, or both. There is an old wives’ [...]