While both men and women may experience hair loss, the causes and patterns are often different for each. Several factors can contribute to these differences. Dr. Christine Shaver helps identify the causes and appearance of male versus female hair loss.

Hair Loss Causes
Unlike men, where a hereditary cause is most common, women can have many underlying factors contributing to their hair loss. “Thyroid conditions, auto-immune disease, stress, hormonal imbalance, pregnancy, anemia (iron deficiency), crash dieting, and many other conditions can cause hair loss in women,” explains Dr. Shaver. “Some of this hair loss can be reversed by correcting the underlying cause.”

The Appearance of Male vs Female Hair Loss
The most common type of hair loss in women occurs in a diffuse pattern. Thinning occurs “all over the scalp” rather than in a localized area. Diffuse hair loss is most often hereditary, but it can also be caused by underlying medical conditions or other factors. “This is in contrast to male pattern baldness, which is a hereditary condition that usually exhibits a very recognizable pattern — balding from the front and top of the scalp and slowly having the pattern increase until there is only a circumference of hair around the scalp,” says Dr. Shaver.