You may know the term ‘male pattern baldness’ but what is that pattern, and what are the differences from female hair loss?
Male hair loss is often more noticeable because it leads to a bald spot on the crown of the head and can start very early in adult life.
Some men start to lose their hair in their early 20s, even without any underlying medical cause, which can lead to feelings of stress and embarrassment.
In contrast, female hair loss is more evenly distributed across the scalp and often only results in thinner hair, rather than patches with no hair at all.
What is male pattern hair loss?
Male pattern hair loss is the typical pattern of ‘baldness’ that we think of when men lose their hair – it usually starts to disappear from the temples first, the hairline recedes, and a bald spot appears.
Eventually, the individual is left with hair only at the sides and back of the head, with a large circular bald area on top.
In some cases, this bald spot is completely empty of hair, while in others baldness may be patchy with some smaller areas continuing to grow.
The process can be slowed by reducing levels of the hormone DHT in the body, but not everybody responds to this and in extreme cases, significant baldness can occur within just a few years.
What is female pattern hair loss?
In women, the pattern is more evenly distributed across the scalp and this leads to hair that may still be relatively thick along the hairline but is much thinner on top.
Some patches of total baldness may still appear, but they are typically less uniform than the male pattern and this can lead individuals to feel even more self-conscious about their hair loss.
Women are often in a better position to disguise their hair loss, however, as their hairstyles are traditionally longer, making it easier to hide small areas of baldness or thinning hair with the remaining hair on the head.
Hair transplants for male and female baldness
Both male and female hair loss can be tackled using hair transplants, which relocate healthy follicles from elsewhere on the head to fill in balding areas.
In some cases, men may prefer a FUT hair transplant, which can tackle larger areas of baldness more quickly by extracting follicles in strips.
Alternatively, FUE hair transplants involve moving individual follicles rather than strips, and this can be beneficial for individuals of all genders who have a less common pattern of hair loss that needs to be compensated for.
At UK Hair Transplant Clinics, all of our qualified and highly trained team of hair transplant experts will help you find the solution that’s right for you, no matter your gender. You can contact us via our live chat on our website, by email to info@ukhairtransplantclinics.co.uk or by filling in our ‘Ask UK Hair’ form on our website.
