Androgenetic alopecia in women comes as a result of the action of androgens and is most commonly – but not necessarily – associated with higher levels of them.
It occurs more rarely in the female population as, unlike in men, in order to inherit the predisposition both parents must be affected.
The evolutionary course of the condition differs from that followed by the male pattern.
Women suffering from androgenetic alopecia rarely experience baldness, the hair loss is not usually concentrated in specific areas (instead it is diffuse), while the frontal line remains unchanged.
The progression of male pattern hair loss in women is described by the three stages of the Ludwig scale.