 Hello, this is Dr. Ritika Shanmugam, Consultant Dermatologist, Manipal Hospitals, North Side, Maleshwaram. Today, I'm going to be talking about the most commonest cause of hair loss, which is called as male-pattern hair loss, female-pattern hair loss or androgenic allopatia. What is this? This is nothing but a genetically predetermined condition, which is caused because of the excess of hormones, which is the androgen hormones. This affects about 50% of men and women. It is gradual and onset and this condition affects male and females after puberty. In males, hair loss is most prominent in the vertex of the frontal temporal region, whereas in women, there is sparing of the frontal area and it's most commonly seen in the top or in the crown area with widening of the central margin. So what happens in a male-pattern or a female-pattern hair loss, there is nothing but a miniaturization of the hair follicle, which is mediated by the hormone called dihydrotestosterone. The dihydrotestosterone hormone causes this thinning of the hair to happen. It is very important to do other investigations to rule out the other causes of hair loss. The gold standard treatment for androgenic allopatia is topical minoxidil. acts by blocking the dihydrotestosterone which causes the thinning of the hair to happen. The most commonly used percentage of topical minoxidil is 5% in men and 2% in women. The oral medication for androgenic allopatia is oral finasteride, which blocks the five alpha reductase enzyme. Hope I was able to clear some of your doubts regarding hair loss and please do comment in the comment section regarding any queries regarding hair loss. We will have further sessions regarding discussion of other topics related to skin and hair.