" Hair Loss Isn't Just a 'Guy Thing' "

ust as breast cancer isn't a disease of women only, hair loss is far from being only a male issue. In fact, one in five women can expect to experience significant hair loss in her lifetime. It's most common in women older than 50 and in women of all ages during the first two or three months after childbirth.

Most of the time, female hair loss manifests itself not as a bald patch, but as thinning hair behind the hairline. Often, it appears as a "Christmas tree" pattern toward the back of the scalp -- a pattern that's wider in the front and narrower as it goes toward the back.

Doctors use the same remedies to treat hair loss in both genders: hair transplants (plugs), which have been greatly perfected in recent years, and medications such as minoxidil(Rogaine), which are applied directly to the scalp. If you plan to use the latter, be sure to obtain a stronger solution. Women need a 5-percent solution to slow hair loss; the 2-percent one that men usually use generally won't do the job.

Eating a healthy diet also can help save your hair. Especially important are foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and low in saturated fat. Just as important are essential fatty acids, found in foods like fish, soy, walnuts and canola oil. Iron and B12 deficiencies are further known to aggravate hair loss.

Women with thinning hair are advised not to pull on the hair at the roots and scalp. The use of very tight rollers, tight ponytails or tight braids and cornrows can not only make hair loss worse, it can cause a form of alopecia, a stress-related hair loss that can be irreversible.