What it is
The gradual inherited thinning that widens the part in women and recedes at the temples and the crown in men. It is diagnosed by the pattern and by trichoscopy, and treated medically over a long period — topical or low-dose oral minoxidil is the backbone, and the rest of the plan is decided by the examination, the blood work, and whether a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. Scalp injections and low-level laser caps sit alongside that medical treatment rather than in place of it.
What this page covers
- Female pattern hair loss and widening of the part
- Male pattern hair loss and a receding frontal hairline
- Topical minoxidil and low-dose oral minoxidil
- Screening for coexisting telogen effluvium, iron deficiency and PCOS
- Low-level laser caps, helmets and combs as an adjunct
- Scalp PRP, mesotherapy and polynucleotide injections within the plan
- Hair transplant candidacy, donor area assessment and the question of timing
Honestly
Started early, treatment holds on to what is there more than it brings back what has gone, and that is said before anything is prescribed. It is a long treatment: stopping usually means the shedding returns, an increase in shedding at the start is expected and is not a reason to stop, and oral minoxidil requires blood pressure and pulse to be checked and is not used in pregnancy, in breastfeeding or in unstable heart disease.