This was earlier known as alopecia diffusa because it was characterized by diffuse loss of hair from the scalp. In such a case the hair loss follows a definite pattern. The mechanism is believed to be very similar to male pattern baldness, with the bulk of the damage being done due to hormonal changes in the body.

Causes of Female Pattern Baldness
• Hormonal changes
• Menarche
• Delivery (Child birth)
• Menopause
• Nutritional deficiency

This is still a very common reason for hair loss especially in India. The most common type of nutritional deficiency disorder is iron deficiency (anaemia). It is universally accepted that females should have a haemoglobin count of 12 or above. Women who experience increased menstrual bleeding should get their haemoglobin checked every six months.

Crash dieting: This, of course, is a modern urban cause of hair fall. It is believed that excessive dieting especially mono dieting, which involves completely avoiding a particular type of food group causes a disturbance in the balance of the levels between protein, carbohydrates and fat, leading to hair loss, which sometimes does not reverse even after the patient comes back to a normal diet.

Oral contraceptives: Certain forms of oral contraceptives using synthetic progesterone can lead to female pattern baldness. On the other hand stopping oral contraceptives is also known to be associated with generalized hair loss for sometime.