Balding is an inevitable part of aging. Even animals as they grow older will gray and bald as the cells responsible for hair production spend more time in the resting phase, telogen, than they do in the growth phase, anagen. However, factors aside from genetics may also advance the maturational cycle of hair growth and cause early balding in women. Depending on the initial trigger, you may experience hair loss for one of several different reasons.
Heredity
If you have a family history of early balding, it is very likely that you may experience it yourself. On the other hand, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) says that even women without any known genetic connection to hair loss may first experience balding by age 50 and even earlier for those who entered puberty at a young age.
Androgenetic alopecia is the name given to this form of permanent, pattern balding. Unlike for men, where hair falls out completely in certain regions, women will encounter irregular thinning throughout the scalp. This thinning occurs in response to a genetic sensitivity to the male hormone, androgen. The ISHRS encourages medical confirmation rather than self-diagnosis, as female pattern balding may be confused with other forms of temporary hair loss.
Stress
Whether from severe illness, emotional trauma, surgery, anemia or extreme weight loss, stress can push hair prematurely into the telogen phase, as bodily resources redirect to more important organs during periods of crises. It may take up to two to three months after the initial stressor for hair loss to show and an additional three months for normal recovery. Unlike androgenetic alopecia, which is permanent, stress-induced telogen effluvium generally undoes itself once the stressor is removed.
Hormonal Imbalances
During pregnancy, especially the last three months, all of the hair on your head refrains from entering the telogen phase in response to hormonal changes in the body. However, after you give birth, all at once your hair may enter into telogen, the resting state, and suddenly shed in excess in the month or two that follows. For similar reasons, other factors like birth control pills and menopause can also lead into hair loss and balding for a short period, according to The American Hair Loss Council.
Other Factors
A series of other possible, yet less likely factors of female hair loss and balding include certain medications for blood pressure, gout and vitamin A deficiencies; nutritional deficiencies of iron, protein and the B-complex vitamins; traction alopecia, where hair loss occurs in response to constant pulling, braiding and combing; scarring alopecia due to skin disease and inflammation or infection of the scalp; or chemical damage from chemotherapy or excessive bleaching and dying.
