Here are some links that I found helpful on the subject of Female Pattern Baldness -

http://www.nahrs.org/home/Default.aspx?tabid=64
North American Hair Research Society - The two different times of onset for FPHL may signal different causes. Women with the early onset type of FPHL have a stronger family history of male family members with significant male pattern baldness, a condition that is known to be androgen (male hormone) related.

http://www.womenshairlossproject.com/category/female-pattern-baldness/
Women's Hairloss Project - (excerpt) "I would really like to drum that message into the minds of the women who are waking up today and realizing they are losing their hair. You still have A LOT of hair, more than you know and the world isn’t staring at it, only you are."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001173.htm
Medline Plus Article: Female Pattern Baldness - Baldness occurs when hair falls out but new hair does not grow in its place. The cause of the failure to grow new hair in female pattern baldness is not well understood, but it is associated with genetic predisposition, aging, and levels of endocrine hormones (particularly androgens, the male sex hormones).

Changes in the levels of androgens can affect hair production. For example, after the hormonal changes of menopause, many women find that the hair on the head is thinned, while facial hair is coarser. Although new hair is not produced, follicles remain alive, suggesting the possibility of new hair growth.

Female pattern baldness is usually different from that of male pattern baldness. The hair thins all over the head, but the frontal hairline is maintained. There may be a moderate loss of hair on the crown, but this rarely progresses to total or near baldness as it may in men.


Disclaimer - This information is not meant to be a substitute for the information obtained at an evaluation and by discussion with a physician, but merely to encourage understanding of this condition.