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Remember the granny 'do? The hair was short, curled tight to the scalp in a puffball all around the head. In years past, women of a certain age made regular trips to a beauty shop to curl and puff and hide the fact that their hair was just not covering their head as well as it used to. But today, the granny 'do is passé, and women facing this very common health issue can take action to stop hair loss, or even prevent it from happening.

"Women are being proactive on so many areas. We talk openly about our sexuality, our needs. We are not ashamed to take proactive measures to improve our health and our bodies. We are out in the open about facelifts, liposuction, and other procedures that help us maintain our youthful appearance," says Candace Hoffmann, author of the new book, "Breaking the Silence on Women's Hair Loss: A Proactive Guide to Finding Help."

Yet many women are still reluctant to seek help for hair loss, perhaps because it's still thought of as a man's problem — even though it isn't. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates that 30 percent of women experience some hair loss; after age 50, that number rises to about 50 percent. Men and women alike suffer emotional distress at the loss of their hair, but society accepts bald men, while women struggle with shame, secrecy and fear, which may drive them to tackle the problem alone.

Hoffmann says that women are buying Rogaine, using volumizing shampoos, and taking hair vitamins and other products, when what they really should do is talk to their doctor to get to the root of their hair loss. "A vast majority of women are self-diagnosing and self-treating. This is dangerous," she says. "The best and most effective treatment is getting
to the exact cause of her hair loss. Because there are so many types of hair loss and so many conditions that have hair loss as a symptom or a side effect, ruling out causes other than genetics is the first step."

Women's hair loss can be caused by hormone fluctuations, pregnancies, thyroid problems, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, medications, vitamins, herbs, stress, styling habits, disease and genetics. Targeting the cause is more effective than buying a cure, especially since self-medicating can actually exacerbate the problem. "Some of the very things that women consume, such as vitamins, can actually cause hair loss," says Hoffman.

Meanwhile, the things that are good for your body — a balanced diet, adequate water, exercise and rest — are good for your hair, too. Another preventive measure women with a family history of hair loss can take is to visit a dermatologist before any thinning appears to discuss options.

"I think women want the silence on hair loss broken. I think they would like their physicians to talk about it. Handing a woman a bottle of Rogaine and sending her on her way is not acceptable, especially given that there are so many things that might cause hair loss in women beyond genetics," says Hoffmann. "Many physicians are just not yet up to speed on how serious this issue is for women, and we need to tell them."