The Long Game

Can a pill help reverse hair loss? Do those red lights really work? And what's all this talk about plasma? We've untangled the web of options to guide you toward a fuller, lusher mane.

- BY LIANA SCHAFFNER

If you're plastering a handful of strands to the shower wall after every anxiety-inducing shampoo, welcome to the hair-loss club for women. The potential causes of the shedding, breaking, and thinning you're experiencing are multifold. Menopause, weight loss (from Ozempic or not), nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, tight hairstyles, extreme stress, genetics, and aging—or some combination thereof—are all known culprits. But we've got you. Because while there isn’t a magic bullet or a cheap hack (seriously, don't click on those too-good-to-be-true ads), we have combed through the complicated, emotionally charged subject of female hair loss to bring you the most effective solutions to date. It turns out that the right procedures and treatments can make a difference—and spare you a whole lot of wasted time and worry.

First, Figure Out What You're Dealing With

The most common type of hair loss is one you can blame on Mom or Dad. Androgenetic alopecia, or hereditary hair loss, happens because your hair follicles are genetically programmed to start shrinking as you age, and for people with this condition, the shrinking happens earlier rather than later. Telltale signs of this kind of female-pattern baldness are your part line widening and your ponytail getting smaller due to allover sparseness.