Despite making up roughly half of the world’s population, women are not the first group of people that spring to mind when you hear the words “hair loss”.
Of course, we know all about men’s hair loss, it’s considered “normal” and “expected” as if it’s an inevitability all men must face; but the reactions to women’s hair loss can be starkly different, with many people, including women themselves, seeing female hair loss as something out of the ordinary, wrong, or associated with hair loss from cancer or chemotherapy.
For hundreds of years, women have used hair as a status symbol of wealth, health and beauty, beginning back in ancient Egypt. Women’s hair and the elaborate styles created showed your status in society, and in some ways those traditions have carried on into the modern day. Women around the world spend millions of pounds annually on hair care and hair products, and whether we ladies admit it or not, we do pass judgment on women and their hair. This means that women with thinning hair, or female pattern hair loss, can be a jarring and often humiliating experience for those suffering with it; often suffering in silence.
The truth is, that women’s hair loss is far more common than you might expect. Studies show a higher frequency of hair loss in Caucasian women of all ages across the globe, with up to 25% of women experiencing some form of hair loss by ages 40-49. Although slightly less prevalent, Asian women experience hair loss at a rate of up to 10% in the same age group. Afro-Caribbean women have been found to suffer from hair loss at the highest rate of 32% in other studies. In short, female hair loss is very much an issue facing women throughout the world, though you may not know it’s going on; even in your own home.
Women have become so experienced at covering thinning hair that you may not even see it in your own home. Does your daughter wear hair extensions? Does your sister wear a weave? Have you noticed your mum going to the hair dresser more often and opting for more volumous styles than she had in the past? This could all point to concealing hair loss.
Annie, our female hair loss expert, suffered with her own thinning hair for years, spending thousands of pounds on extensions to thicken her hair and feel more feminine. She then found Optima and Pete (link) who changed her life. With Optima’s revolutionary combination of laser hair growth therapy and Trichology formulated Minoxidil for women, Annie’s thinning hair improved in time, giving her the fuller (all-natural) volume and confidence she’d been looking for.
Women disguising their hair loss doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it just means it’s more stigmatised. It’s important that we address women’s hair loss and we make it known that there are options available to women other than synthetic wigs and expensive extensions. Of all our clients at Optima, over 40% are women. We see you, and we’re here to help.
