MICHAEL REED, MD: I hear a lot about it all day
long, because all women who have noticeable hair loss suffer from their
hair loss. A man can choose to suffer or not to suffer, but all women
suffer from hair loss. The problem is that initially they're not
sure what to do, so they run off to their stylist, they talk about it with
their female friends and relatives, and as you go down the list of places
they go, finally, fourth or fifth down the list they get to a dermatologist.
But we see a lot of them, and we're seeing more and more of them, because
now they're more aware that something can be done about it. In the
past I think they were just afraid to ask because they thought there was
no answer for their problem.
DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Talk to me a little more about
the psychological impact on women. It's different than in men.
NEIL SADICK, MD: It's definitely devastating.
It's been shown in studies that women who have hair loss have problems
with interpersonal relationships, they have loss of self-esteem, and it
really can have a tremendous psychosocial type of impact. They tend
to be more introverted, and again, there are so many excellent treatments
that are now available, and it's really not necessary for them to have
to deal with this sort of emotional trauma.
DAVID R. MARKS, MD: How widespread is this problem
in women?
