Although most people think that baldness, or hair loss, is a condition that only affects men, about 40% of all hair loss victims are women that suffer in silence due to the lack of social acceptance for the problem.

However, women facing hair loss can face a heavy emotional toll, and be psychologically devastating due to the sudden feeling that they are now unattractive. Hair loss in women can be both permanent and temporary depending on what its cause is.

In some cases hair loss can be a result of hormonal imbalance that can be caused by a thyroid problem, birth control pills, or a pregnancy or other hormone imbalance problems, in many cases each of these conditions can be reversed.

However, some women may face androgenetic alopecia, which is a term for abnormal or excessive hair loss.  Although many people within the scientific community attributed this hair loss to the presence of testosterone, it is now thought to be a result of a high level of DHT binding within the scalp follicles.

Women that face serious hair loss most often do not face baldness or a receding hair line such as men, but instead experience thinning of the hair across the scalp.  As with men, hair loss in women that is permanent is thought to be heredity.

Other causes of hair loss in women include trauma to the actual hair follicles, which can be caused by repeatedly wearing tight hairstyles such as ponytails, cornrows, braiding, and extensions.  If you notice that you are losing hair as a result of these hairstyles you need to wear your hair down or in relaxed styles.

Additionally, repeated chemical treatments such as perms, dying, and bleaching can cause hair loss that is irreversible, so it is important to always weigh how damaging hair treatment may be to your hair follicles.