The medical perspective

Rest assured, a degree of hair loss is normal. We shed around 100 hairs a day and, at certain times of year (autumn and occasionally spring), many women go through a ‘seasonal moult’ when, just like our pets, we shed a little more.

There are also dozens of medical issues that can cause hair loss and thinning, from autoimmune conditions and hormonal imbalances to scalp infections and genetic hair loss. A doctor or trichologist can help you work out the cause.

Androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss, is the most common (a quarter of women have it) and you’ll notice it as thinning, especially around the crown and the temples. It happens when a sensitivity to male hormones (androgens) causes follicles to shrink over time. ‘The hair becomes thinner until eventually the follicle closes over altogether,’ says Dr Martin Wade, a dermatologist at The London Skin and Hair Clinic.

If it starts in your teens, it’s believed to be genetic. If it starts in midlife, from 35 to 55, it can be due to a combination of factors, including hormonal changes and lifestyle, which a doctor can help you to unpick.

But all is not lost. ‘In genetic cases, some of the smaller follicles can recover with antiandrogenetic drugs, such as finasteride,’ says Dr Wade. For mid-lifers, topical minoxidil, such as Regaine For Women Scalp Foam, from £26.95, regaine.co.uk, can help the hair grow thicker and faster.

When the hair falls out in patches, it’s often down to alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that affects 2% of women. ‘It’s still largely a mystery as to why it strikes, although stress is a known trigger,’ says Dr Wade. ‘We can treat it with steroids and, in most cases, the hair grows back.’