Hair Loss Statistics (2026): Every Number With Its Source
More than 50 percent of men over age 50 have some degree of hair loss, according to MedlinePlus, a resource of the US National Library of Medicine. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) says androgenetic alopecia (AGA), which is pattern hair loss in men and women, can affect up to 50% of men by age 50 and up to 80% by age 80.
Each number on this page names its source and links to the study or publisher, with who was measured, how many people, which scale and which year. The page is part of our hair transplant guide.
These are published studies and surveys, not medical advice. A doctor makes a diagnosis.
Hair Loss Facts and Statistics at a Glance
Each figure comes from a different group of people and a different scale, so read the next section before you compare two of them.
- More than 50 percent of men over age 50 have some degree of hair loss, MedlinePlus says.
- 42% of US men aged 18-49 in a community sample had moderate to extensive hair loss, measured as Norwood type III or greater (Rhodes et al., 1998).
- Female pattern hair loss was diagnosed in 6% of women under 50 and 38% of women aged 70 and over in a sample of 377 women at a UK dermatology clinic (Birch et al., 2001).
- In a six-city community study in China, androgenetic alopecia affected 21.3% of men and 6.0% of women, among 15,257 adults who completed the questionnaire (Wang et al., 2010).
- 14.1% of 5,531 Korean men attending a Seoul health examination center had androgenetic alopecia at Norwood type III or above (Paik et al., 2001).
- 38.52% of 1,124 men in a random study in Bangkok had cosmetically significant male pattern baldness, measured as Norwood III-VII (Pathomvanich et al., 2002).
- 52.2% of 178 postmenopausal women aged 50-65 in a study by Chulalongkorn University researchers had female pattern hair loss (Chaikittisilpa et al., 2022).
- A meta-analysis of 94 studies put the pooled prevalence of alopecia areata at 2.11%, and at 0.75% in population-based studies (Lee et al., 2020).
- A genome-wide meta-analysis of 10,846 early-onset cases and 11,672 controls found 63 genome regions linked to male pattern baldness that explain about 39% of the variance in the trait (Heilmann-Heimbach et al., 2017).
- Men taking finasteride 1 mg a day gained 107 more hairs than men on placebo after 1 year, counted in a 5.1 square centimeter patch of balding vertex scalp (Kaufman et al., 1998).
- A 2024 meta-analysis of 37 studies found no impact of male androgenetic alopecia on depression and a moderate impact on quality of life (Frith and Jankowski, 2024).
- ISHRS member physicians reported that 84.7 percent of hair restoration surgical procedures in 2024 were on men and 15.3 percent on women (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census).
- The ISHRS estimated about 703,183 hair restoration procedures worldwide in 2021, an extrapolation from member surveys (ISHRS 2022 Practice Census).
How to Read Hair Loss Statistics
Two correct numbers can disagree because they measure different things. The scale varies from study to study. Check these points before you quote one.
- The scale. Many men's studies use the Norwood scale, also called Hamilton-Norwood, and several count type III or greater as moderate to extensive or cosmetically significant loss. Several women's studies use the Ludwig scale and count grade I or above.
- Mild or marked loss. A study that counts mild loss gives a higher figure than one that counts only moderate to extensive loss. The male section below sets 98.6% for bitemporal recession, with no threshold stated, beside 42% for Norwood type III or greater.
- Incidence. Lifetime incidence is the share of people who develop a condition at some point in their lifetime.
- Prevalence. Point prevalence is the share who have it now. Pooled prevalence combines many studies into one figure.
- Who was counted. A community sample, a clinic sample, health-check attendees and an online survey each leave out different people, so they give different answers.
- Study type. A meta-analysis pools the results of several studies. A relative risk or odds ratio above 1 means the outcome was more common in the group studied than in the comparison group.
Several well-known figures have no study named beside them. The section on widely repeated numbers, near the end, sets them next to what the studies measured.
How Common Is Hair Loss?
- MedlinePlus estimates that androgenetic alopecia affects 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States. Its page names no study for that figure.
- MedlinePlus says more than 50 percent of men over age 50 have some degree of hair loss, and names no scale.
- The ISHRS says AGA can affect up to 50% of the male population by age 50 and up to 80% by age 80. It gives upper limits only and no scale.
- A 2025 review says male AGA affects about 30% of men around age 30 and 50% at age 50, citing Hamilton (1951) and Rushton (1991) (Cortez et al., 2025).
- Hamilton's 1951 paper has no abstract in PubMed, so we attribute no percentage to Hamilton directly. The 2025 review is the source for those figures.
- A 2022 review estimates that after age 65 about 53% of men and 37% of women are balding (Villani et al., 2022).
- AGA can start as early as a person's teens, MedlinePlus says.
- Pattern hair loss is the most common cause of hair loss worldwide, says the American Academy of Dermatology.
- Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal, according to the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
- Each scalp hair normally goes through a growth phase of 2 to 6 years, then rests for several months before it falls out (MedlinePlus).
Male Pattern Baldness Statistics by Age
Male pattern baldness is graded on the Norwood scale, which comes from a 1975 paper that classified 1,000 white adult men and reported incidence by age (Norwood, 1975). Its abstract gives no age percentages.
| Study | Place and sample | Age | Scale | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhodes et al., 1998 | United States; healthy men in a community sample | 18-49 | Norwood type III or greater | 42% overall; 16% at ages 18-29; 53% at ages 40-49 |
| Severi et al., 2003 | Australia; 1,390 men drawn at random from electoral rolls | 40-69 | Categories: no AGA, frontal, vertex, full | Vertex or full AGA in 31% at ages 40-55 and 53% at ages 65-69; frontal only in 31-33% of every age group |
| Krupa Shankar et al., 2009 | Bangalore, India; 1,005 men chosen at random from the public | 30-50 | Hamilton-Norwood | 58% overall; 47.5% at ages 30-35, 58.7% at 36-40 and 73.2% at 41-45 |
| Bas et al., 2015 | Tokat province, Turkey; 1,034 men among 2,322 volunteers examined by dermatologists, 2012-2013 | 20 and older | Hamilton-Norwood | 47.6% of men |
| Gan and Sinclair, 2005 | Maryborough, Australia; postal survey of 5,000 adults, 1,456 replied, 396 examined | 20 and older | Bitemporal recession, no threshold stated; mid-frontal loss | 98.6% of men had bitemporal recession; mid-frontal loss in 73.5% of men aged 80 and over |
Prevalence usually rises with age in these studies. Studies of men in China, Korea, Thailand and Singapore are in the Asia section below.
- In the US sample, 12% of men had predominantly frontal baldness (type A variants) (Rhodes et al., 1998).
- In the Bangalore sample, 12.9% of men had Hamilton-Norwood grades IV to VI (Krupa Shankar et al., 2009).
The two figures use different definitions. The Maryborough abstract reports bitemporal recession and sets no threshold for it. The US study counted only moderate to extensive loss, and the two covered different age ranges.
Adding the frontal-only share to the vertex and full share in the Australian study gives roughly 62-64% of men with any AGA at ages 40-55 and 84-86% at ages 65-69. That sum is our arithmetic. The authors don't print it.
For when to have surgery, see our page on the best age for a hair transplant.
Female Hair Loss Statistics
- A Cochrane review calls female pattern hair loss the most common type of hair loss affecting women (van Zuuren et al., 2016).
- Female pattern hair loss was diagnosed in 6% of women under 50, rising to 38% of women aged 70 and over, among 377 women attending a general dermatology clinic in the UK (Birch et al., 2001). The women attended for reasons unrelated to hair growth, so this is a clinic sample, not a population survey.
- In the same sample, mean hair density fell from 293 hairs per square centimeter at age 35 to 211 at age 70 (Birch et al., 2001).
- In the Maryborough survey in Australia, 64.4% of women had bitemporal hair loss, and mid-frontal hair loss affected 57% of women aged 80 and over (Gan and Sinclair, 2005).
- The ISHRS states that 12% of women have hair loss by age 30, 25% by age 49, and 30% to 40% of women aged 60 to 69. Its page lists references but doesn't tie these figures to one.
- Norwood examined 1,006 Caucasian women aged 20 and over and found female AGA quite common from the late 20s, with a peak after age 50 (Norwood, 2001). The abstract gives no percentages.
- Female pattern hair loss was found in 52.2% (95% confidence interval 44.6-59.8) of 178 postmenopausal women aged 50-65, graded on the Ludwig scale, in a study by Chulalongkorn University researchers (Chaikittisilpa et al., 2022). Among the women with hair loss, 73.2% were Ludwig grade I, 22.6% grade II and 4.3% grade III.
- Among 519 Thai patients with female pattern hair loss in a retrospective hospital sample, diagnosed from January 2000 to November 2021, the Ludwig subtype was the most common (51.1%), followed by the Olsen (32.9%) and Hamilton-Norwood (16%) subtypes (Sakpuwadol et al., 2023).
- In Tokat province, Turkey, androgenetic alopecia was found in 19.17% of women, from a sample of 1,288 women examined by dermatologists (Bas et al., 2015).
The studies use different samples and scales, so we don't average them.
Hair Loss Statistics Worldwide: Thailand and Asia by Country
We found no study that pools androgenetic alopecia across the world, so this page gives no single worldwide percentage. The table lists one study per row. The studies differ in year, age range, scale and sampling and can't be ranked.
| Country | Study | Sample | Scale | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Wang et al., 2010 | 15,257 adults in six cities completed the questionnaire (17,886 interviewed); age 18 and over | Norwood (men), Ludwig (women) | 21.3% | 6.0% |
| Korea | Paik et al., 2001 | 10,132 people attending a Seoul health examination center, December 1997 to July 1999 (5,531 men, 4,601 women) | Norwood III or above (men), Ludwig I or above (women) | 14.1% | 5.6% |
| Thailand (Bangkok) | Pathomvanich et al., 2002 | 1,124 men chosen at random; Thai and Chinese residents of Bangkok whose ancestry the authors could not separate | Norwood III-VII | 38.52% | Not studied |
| Thailand (authors at Chulalongkorn University) | Chaikittisilpa et al., 2022 | 178 postmenopausal women aged 50-65; the abstract doesn't say where they were recruited | Ludwig | Not studied | 52.2% |
| Singapore | Tang et al., 2000 | 254 men (67% response rate) in a Bishan housing estate | Norwood criteria | 63% | Not studied |
| India | Krupa Shankar et al., 2009 | 1,005 men aged 30-50 in Bangalore | Hamilton-Norwood | 58% | Not studied |
The Chinese and Korean studies report results by age.
| Age | China, men | China, women | Korea, men | Korea, women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20s | 2.8% | 1.3% | 2.3% | 0.2% |
| 30s | 13.3% | 2.3% | 4.0% | 2.3% |
| 40s | 21.4% | 5.4% | 10.8% | 3.8% |
| 50s | 31.9% | 7.5% | 24.5% | 7.4% |
| 60s | 36.2% | 10.3% | 34.3% | 11.7% |
| 70 and over | 41.4% | 11.8% | 46.9% | 24.7% |
China's first age band is 18-29. Korea's figures are by decade of life, starting with the third decade, the 20s.
Sources: Wang et al. (2010) for China and Paik et al. (2001) for Korea.
- The Chinese authors concluded that AGA prevalence in Chinese men and women was lower than in Caucasians and similar to that in Koreans (Wang et al., 2010).
- The Korean authors reported that Korean men tend to have more frontal hairline preservation and a more "female pattern" of thinning than Caucasians. A "female pattern" was observed in 11.1% of cases (Paik et al., 2001).
- Before the Bangkok study, prevalence of male pattern baldness in Asians was believed to be only one-fourth to one-third of the Caucasian rate. The authors said their study shows it isn't as low as previously thought (Pathomvanich et al., 2002).
- In Singapore, prevalence rose from 32% among men aged 17-26 to 100% among men in their 80s. It was higher in Indian men (87%) than in Chinese men (61%) (Tang et al., 2000).
- Also in Singapore, 81% of the men with AGA didn't seek help because they didn't view it as a problem, and of those seeking treatment, 74% used non-medical methods of unproven effectiveness (Tang et al., 2000).
Hair Loss Statistics in Thailand
- The Bangkok study of 1,124 men found 38.52% with cosmetically significant male pattern baldness (Norwood III-VII), a figure that rose steadily with age (Pathomvanich et al., 2002).
- Hair loss in postmenopausal women and in hospital patients is covered in the female hair loss section above.
No Thai study of men newer than 2002 and no Thai population survey of women were found. No Thai study of the psychological impact of hair loss, or of how many Thais seek hair restoration, was found either.
Genetics and Family History Statistics
Gene-region figures describe variation across a population. They don't give the risk for one person.
- A 2017 genome-wide meta-analysis, which its authors called the largest of male pattern baldness to that date, compared 10,846 early-onset cases with 11,672 controls from eight cohorts. It identified 63 associated genome regions, 23 of them new, which explain about 39% of the variance in male pattern baldness (Heilmann-Heimbach et al., 2017).
- A UK Biobank study of over 52,000 men aged 40-69 found more than 250 independent genetic regions linked to severe hair loss (Hagenaars et al., 2017).
- A family history of baldness was present in 48.5% of Korean men and 45.2% of Korean women with AGA (Paik et al., 2001).
- A positive family history was present in 29.7% of Chinese men and 19.2% of Chinese women with AGA (Wang et al., 2010). The two studies asked different populations, so the figures aren't averaged.
Hair Loss Treatment Statistics: What the Trials Measured
These are results from trials and reviews. They describe groups of people, not what a treatment will do for one person, and a doctor can explain the benefits and side effects of each.
This section covers hair loss medications and devices tested in clinical trials. It doesn't cover supplements or hair care products.
For how finasteride and minoxidil fit around surgery, see our page on using minoxidil and finasteride around a transplant.
| Treatment | Who and how long | Result | Adverse effects reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finasteride 1 mg a day | Two 1-year trials, 1,553 men aged 18-41; 1,215 continued for a second year (Kaufman et al., 1998) | 107 more hairs than placebo at 1 year and 138 more at 2 years, in a 5.1 square centimeter circle of balding vertex scalp that held 876 hairs at baseline | See the review in the next row |
| Finasteride 1 mg, review of 12 trials | 3,927 men (Mella et al., 2010) | 9.42% more hair than placebo at 12 months or less and 24.3% more at 24 months or longer, as a percentage of the starting hair count | More erectile dysfunction than placebo (relative risk 2.22; number needed to harm 82.1; moderate-quality evidence). Dropouts for sexual adverse effects were similar to placebo (relative risk 0.88) |
| Minoxidil 5% solution, applied to the scalp | 393 men aged 18-49, 48 weeks, double-blind (Olsen et al., 2002) | 45% more hair regrowth than 2% minoxidil at week 48 | More itching and local irritation with 5% than with 2% |
| Oral minoxidil 5 mg a day | 90 men aged 18-55 enrolled, 68 completed, 24 weeks (Penha et al., 2024) | Did not show superiority over 5% topical minoxidil twice a day | Hypertrichosis (excess hair growth) in 22 of 45 (49%) of the oral group; headache in 6 of 45 (14%) |
| Low-dose oral minoxidil | Pooled analysis of 14 studies, 442 patients, doses of 0.25-5 mg (Jimenez-Cauhe et al., 2020) | The authors say efficacy could not be analyzed | Hypertrichosis in 24%; pedal edema (foot swelling) in 2% |
| Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections | 18 trials, 713 people with AGA (Cruciani et al., 2023) | 25.6 more hairs per square centimeter than saline injections over a medium-term follow-up (95% confidence interval 2.62-48.57); the authors rate most of the evidence low quality | No serious adverse events related to PRP injection or control treatments |
| Finasteride 1 mg in women | 137 postmenopausal women aged 41-60 with AGA, 1 year (Price et al., 2000) | No significant difference in hair count change between finasteride and placebo | Finasteride was generally well tolerated |
| Minoxidil in women, Cochrane review | 47 trials, 5,290 participants; only 5 trials were at low risk of bias (van Zuuren et al., 2016) | In six studies, 157 of 593 women on minoxidil (2%; one study used 1%) reported moderate to marked regrowth, against 77 of 555 on placebo (risk ratio 1.93, 95% confidence interval 1.51-2.47; moderate-quality evidence). Finasteride was no more effective than placebo (low-quality evidence) | 40/407 adverse events in the twice daily minoxidil 2% group against 28/320 in the placebo group (risk ratio 1.24, 95% confidence interval 0.82-1.87; low-quality evidence) |
- A five-year follow-up of the finasteride trials reported durable improvement in scalp hair on finasteride and progressive hair loss on placebo (Finasteride Male Pattern Hair Loss Study Group, 2002). The PubMed record for the 1998 trials (Kaufman et al., 1998) lists the first author at Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, NJ, and the abstracts name no funder.
- In the 12-trial review, 5.6 men needed treatment in the short term, and 3.4 in the long term, for one man to perceive himself as improved (Mella et al., 2010).
- In a 24-week trial of 917 men aged 20-50, dutasteride 0.5 mg increased hair count more than finasteride 1 mg and placebo. The authors list the 24-week length as a limit (Gubelin Harcha et al., 2014).
- A 2017 meta-analysis of randomized trials found finasteride 1 mg, minoxidil 2% and 5% in men, minoxidil 2% in women and low-level laser light each better than placebo, with high heterogeneity (wide differences between studies) in most studies (Adil and Godwin, 2017).
- A 2023 meta-analysis of nine randomized trials with 238 patients found PRP raised hair density at 3 and 6 months against placebo. Hair count and diameter rose from baseline but didn't differ from placebo (Zhang et al., 2023). Our page on PRP with a hair transplant covers the topic alongside surgery.
- A 2025 meta-analysis of 38 studies, covering 3,098 patients with alopecia (2,930 of them with AGA), found low-level laser or LED therapy raised hair density against placebo in the patients with AGA, with high heterogeneity between studies (Perez et al., 2025).
Alopecia Areata and Other Types of Hair Loss Statistics
Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune hair loss disorder. It and the other conditions below are measured in different ways, so each row names its measure.
| Measure | Result | Population and source |
|---|---|---|
| Pooled prevalence | 2.11% overall; 0.75% in population-based studies; 3.47% in clinic-based studies | 94 studies, 302,157,365 people pooled (Lee et al., 2020) |
| Lifetime incidence risk | 2.1%; cumulative incidence 0.3% by age 20, 0.6% by 30, 0.8% by 40, 1.1% by 50 and 1.4% by 60 | 530 newly diagnosed residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1990-2009; mean age at diagnosis 33.6 years (Mirzoyev et al., 2014) |
| Point prevalence | 0.21% (about 700,000 people); moderate to severe disease 0.09% (about 300,000 people) | Representative US online survey; photographs of 104 of 511 self-reported cases were judged by three clinicians (Benigno et al., 2020) |
- The authors of the 2020 meta-analysis conclude that AA affects 2% of the global population. Their population-based figure is 0.75% (Lee et al., 2020).
- Alopecia totalis, ophiasis and universalis had pooled prevalences of 0.08%, 0.02% and 0.03% (Lee et al., 2020).
- A 2015 systematic review put the lifetime incidence of AA at about 2% worldwide. It calls AA the most prevalent autoimmune disorder and the second most prevalent hair loss disorder after androgenetic alopecia (Villasante Fricke and Miteva, 2015).
- Most people with alopecia areata get it in their teens, twenties or thirties, according to NIAMS, the US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
- A 2025 modeling study estimated the global prevalence of telogen effluvium at 5.41% (95% credible interval 2.73% to 11.22%) after the pandemic, from 90 studies in 26 countries (Jeon et al., 2025).
- The ISHRS describes telogen effluvium as the shedding of more than 100 or so hairs daily, and says about 95% of patients fully recover within 2-3 months of the cessation of the stressor. No study is named beside the 95% figure.
- At Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, 43 patients had hair loss within 4 months of COVID-19 infection, with a median onset of 30 days. Telogen effluvium was the most common acute diagnosis. It is a small clinic sample, not a prevalence (Triwongwaranat et al., 2023).
Psychological Impact of Hair Loss: What Studies Found
Published research on mental health and hair loss doesn't agree: older surveys report distress, and a 2024 meta-analysis found no effect on depression. The table keeps the design next to each finding.
| Study | Design | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, 1992 | 145 US men: 63 with modest balding, 40 with more extensive balding, 42 non-balding controls | Balding men reported considerable preoccupation, moderate stress or distress and copious coping efforts, but generally kept the integrity of their personality functioning |
| Cash et al., 1993 | 96 women and 60 men newly referred with AGA, plus 56 female control patients | AGA was stressful for both sexes and substantially more distressing for women |
| Budd et al., 2000 | 1,717 men aged 18-40 in France, Germany, Italy and the UK | Men with greater hair loss were more bothered, more concerned about looking older and less satisfied with their hair; the impact was less pronounced in the UK |
| Lee et al., 2002 | Korean questionnaire: 130 women, 90 non-balding men, 30 balding men | Over 90% of respondents saw balding men as older and less attractive |
| Alfonso et al., 2005 | Telephone survey of 1,536 men aged 18-45 in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK | 729 (47%) reported hair loss; over 70% of them called hair an important feature of image and 62% agreed hair loss could affect self-esteem |
| Cash, 2009 | Online survey of 604 treatment-seeking men aged 25-49 in six countries, including Japan and Korea | 96% were at least somewhat concerned about their hair loss; only 16% had not tried any treatment |
| Knoedler et al., 2023 | US online survey of 1,000 people, equal numbers of men and women, June 2022 | If their hair loss progressed, 40% said they would not feel attractive anymore and 33% not as confident; these are attitudes about a hypothetical, not a clinical measure |
| Aukerman and Jafferany, 2023 | Systematic review of 13 studies from 1992 to 2021 | All concluded that AGA is a significant psychosocial stressor |
| Frith and Jankowski, 2024 | Meta-analysis; 607 articles screened, 37 included | No impact on depression and a moderate impact on quality of life; 78% of the studies had probable conflicts of interest and 68% had biased samples |
| Okhovat et al., 2023 | Meta-analysis of 8 studies: 6,010 people with alopecia areata and 20,961 controls | Pooled odds ratios of 2.50 for anxiety and 2.71 for depression |
| Lauron et al., 2023 | Meta-analysis of 37 articles on alopecia areata | Depressive disorders in 9% and unspecified anxiety disorders in 13% of patients; depressive symptoms in 37% and anxiety symptoms in 34% |
The authors of the 2024 meta-analysis write that there was limited evidence of a severe impact on mental health and quality of life for men experiencing hair loss, with most studies showing at best a moderate impact (Frith and Jankowski, 2024).
Apart from the Korean perception survey in the table, no study of distress or mental health in an Asian population was found. The six-country survey in the table includes Japan and Korea but doesn't report results by country.
Hair Transplant Statistics: Who Has Surgery
These figures come from a survey of ISHRS member physicians, the ISHRS 2025 Practice Census, which covers 2024. It received 247 responses from 946 invited members, a 26 percent response rate, and the data weren't independently verified.
- Asked for the average age of their first-time surgery patients in 2024, 177 ISHRS members answered: 57.6% said 26-35 and 37.3% said 20-25 (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census). The ISHRS press release gives the combined 20-35 share as 95% (ISHRS press release, 2025). These are shares of members, not of patients. Our page on the best age for a hair transplant covers timing.
- On average, 84.7 percent of hair restoration surgical procedures in 2024 were on men and 15.3 percent on women (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census). The ISHRS press release says the number of female hair restoration surgical patients treated in 2024 rose 16.5% from 2021 (ISHRS press release, 2025).
- Over half of both male and female surgical patients were aged 30 to 49: 58.7% of men and 54.0% of women (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census).
- Follicular unit extraction (FUE) was used for 85.4% of men's and 68.2% of women's procedures, and strip harvesting for 12.5% and 30.0% (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census). Our comparison of FUE vs FUT covers the two methods.
- The average first session used 2,347 grafts and a later session 1,637. Patients needed 1.5 procedures on average, and the median was 1 (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census). Our graft calculator page covers how many grafts a person needs.
- On average, 70.9% of members' patients sought treatment for genetic hair loss (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census).
- 90% of members named "become/feel more attractive" as a reason their patients gave, and 63% named "appear younger to compete in the workplace" (ISHRS press release, 2025). These are shares of members, not of patients.
- 59% of members said black-market hair transplant clinics operate in their cities, up from 51% in 2021, and said an average of 10% of their repair cases came from a previous black-market transplant, up from 6% (ISHRS press release, 2025). Our pages on hair transplant risks and on a failed hair transplant cover what can go wrong and how repair works.
- Among the 176 members who answered, 72.3% said they always or often prescribe finasteride 1 mg, 64.7% oral minoxidil, 55.3% minoxidil 2% or 5% solution and 52.0% minoxidil 5% foam. This is how often members prescribe, not how many patients use these medications (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census).
Hair Restoration Procedures Worldwide
The ISHRS estimated about 703,183 hair restoration procedures worldwide in 2021 (ISHRS 2022 Practice Census). It extrapolated that figure from member survey results and regional estimates supplied by ISHRS leaders, and says the true number is unknown.
| Data year | Estimated procedures worldwide | Change on the previous edition |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 279,381 | Not applicable |
| 2012 | 310,624 | +11% |
| 2014 | 397,048 | +28% |
| 2016 | 635,189 | +60% |
| 2019 | 735,312 | +16% |
| 2021 | 703,183 | -4% |
The method may differ between editions. In the same census, the ISHRS estimated about 628,604 surgical and 1,592,588 non-surgical patients worldwide in 2021.
| Region | Estimated procedures, 2021 | Share of the worldwide total |
|---|---|---|
| Asia/Australia | 256,835 | 36.5% |
| United States/Canada | 149,254 | 21.2% |
| Middle East/Africa | 124,475 | 17.7% |
| Europe | 112,742 | 16.0% |
| Mexico/Central and South America | 59,877 | 8.5% |
The share column is our arithmetic from the printed figures. Asia/Australia rose 31% from 2019 while the worldwide total fell 4% (ISHRS 2022 Practice Census).
The region is where the surgery took place in the survey's regional grouping, and "Asia/Australia" isn't Thailand. The Middle East/Africa and Mexico/Central and South America rows rest on fewer than 30 survey respondents.
The 2025 census publishes no worldwide total and no Thailand-only figure, so 2021 remains the latest ISHRS worldwide estimate. For what to expect from surgery, see our page on the hair transplant success rate.
Hair Loss Market Statistics
Published market sizes differ widely, and the two research firms define the market differently. Both full reports are for sale. Mordor's landing page says it counts retail and pharmacy hair loss treatment products at manufacturer-level revenue and excludes surgical hair transplant procedures; Emergen's landing page lists its segments but doesn't describe how it sized the market.
| Publisher | What it measures | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Mordor Intelligence | Hair loss treatment products market | USD 2.93 billion in 2025 and USD 3.14 billion in 2026; USD 4.45 billion projected for 2031 (7.19% annual growth, 2026-2031) |
| Emergen Research | Global alopecia market | USD 9.80 billion in 2025; forecast revenue growth of 8.6% a year |
- Mordor says shampoos and conditioners held 87.65% of its 2025 hair loss treatment products market, and female consumers accounted for 70.45% of 2025 revenue (Mordor Intelligence).
- Emergen says androgenetic alopecia held the largest share of its alopecia market at 55.0% in 2025, and male consumers held 60.0% (Emergen Research).
What Patients Report Paying per Graft in Bangkok
Patients report paying ฿36-123 per graft across five Bangkok clinics (31 reports and quotes, 2023 to 2026), which is $1.09-$3.71 per graft. These are patient-reported prices that AsiaPatient collected from patient posts and clinic quotes. They aren't a price list.
For 2,500 grafts, that range works out to ฿90,000-฿307,500 ($2,720-$9,280). The 2,500 figure is an illustration; ISHRS members reported an average of 2,347 grafts for a first session in 2024 (ISHRS 2025 Practice Census).
Dollars at ฿33.14 = $1 (European Central Bank reference rates, 22 September 2026).
For the wider cost question, see our graft calculator page and our page on whether a hair transplant is worth it.
Widely Repeated Hair Loss Numbers and What the Studies Measured
Each row gives a number that is widely repeated, where it appears, what that page cites and what published studies measured.
| The number | Where it appears | What the page cites | What published studies measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two thirds of American men have noticeable hair loss by age 35 and about 85% have significantly thinning hair by age 50 | The American Hair Loss Association (AHLA) Men's Hair Loss page. NCOA repeats it and credits AHLA; Medihair words it as more than 65% at 35 | No study, author or year beside the sentence | 42% of US men aged 18-49 at Norwood III or greater, 16% at 18-29 and 53% at 40-49 (Rhodes et al., 1998). In Australia, vertex or full AGA in 31% at 40-55 and 53% at 65-69; adding frontal-only gives about 62-64% and 84-86% (our sum) (Severi et al., 2003) |
| Around 25% of men with male pattern baldness begin losing hair before age 21 | AHLA Men's Hair Loss; Medihair copies it | No study cited | The nearest figure is 16% of men aged 18-29 at Norwood III or greater (Rhodes et al., 1998). It is a different measure: a share of all men aged 18-29, not of men who have male pattern baldness |
| Androgenetic alopecia is responsible for over 95% of hair loss in men | AHLA Men's Hair Loss | No study cited | We found no study that reports this figure |
| Women are 40% of American hair loss sufferers | AHLA Women's Hair Loss; NCOA repeats it and credits AHLA | No study cited | MedlinePlus estimates 50 million men and 30 million women with AGA in the US, which is 37.5% women (our arithmetic). It counts AGA only |
| 50 million men and 30 million women in the US have AGA | MedlinePlus Genetics | The page's reference list holds no general-population prevalence study | The studies on this page report by age group, scale and sample, not a national count |
| Alopecia areata affects about 160 million people worldwide | ISHRS patient page, with a lifetime incidence of 2% | No study beside the 160 million figure | Lifetime incidence is the risk over a life, not the number affected now. Population-based pooled prevalence is 0.75% (Lee et al., 2020); point prevalence in the US is 0.21% (Benigno et al., 2020) |
| The hair loss market was USD 52.37 billion in 2022 | Medihair | The passage names no report or publisher | USD 2.93 billion for hair loss treatment products in 2025 and USD 9.80 billion for the alopecia market in 2025 (Mordor and Emergen, above). The three differ about 18-fold from largest to smallest (52.37 divided by 2.93, our arithmetic), and the years differ too |
| About 85% of men and 33% of women will face hair loss at some time | Medihair | Medihair says its statistics are based on its own user data and further statistics; the page describes no random population sample | None of the studies above reports a lifetime figure for all men and women |
AHLA's own page also says a hair transplant moves existing donor hair and doesn't stop the progression of androgenetic alopecia. Our page on whether a hair transplant is permanent covers that.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of men go bald?
It depends on age, scale and country. MedlinePlus says more than 50 percent of men over 50 have some degree of hair loss, and a US community study found 42% of men aged 18-49 at Norwood type III or greater. Studies in Korea and Singapore found 14.1% and 63% on different scales; the two-thirds-by-35 line has no study beside it.
At what age does male pattern hair loss start?
MedlinePlus says androgenetic alopecia can start as early as a person's teens. In a US community sample, moderate to extensive loss affected 16% of men aged 18-29 and 53% of men aged 40-49. In the ISHRS 2025 member survey, 177 members gave the average age of their first-time surgery patients: 57.6% said 26-35 and 37.3% said 20-25. These are shares of members, not of patients.
What percentage of women have hair loss?
No single figure covers all women. A UK dermatology clinic sample diagnosed female pattern hair loss in 6% of women under 50 and 38% of those aged 70 and over, and the ISHRS states 12% by age 30 and 25% by age 49. A community study in China and a health-check sample in Korea found 6.0% and 5.6% across all ages.
Is hair loss less common in Asia than in the West?
The studies can't be ranked because they differ in year, age range, scale and sampling. The Chinese authors concluded that prevalence in China was lower than in Caucasians and similar to Koreans. A random study of 1,124 men in Bangkok found 38.52% at Norwood III-VII, and its authors said prevalence in Asians isn't as low as previously thought.
How many hairs do you lose a day?
Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal, according to the NHS. The ISHRS describes telogen effluvium as shedding of more than 100 or so hairs daily. A doctor can tell you whether your own shedding is within the normal range.
How common is alopecia areata?
It depends on the measure. A meta-analysis of 94 studies pooled a prevalence of 2.11%, or 0.75% in population-based studies. In Olmsted County, Minnesota, the lifetime incidence risk was 2.1%, and a US online survey put current prevalence at 0.21%, about 700,000 people.
How well do finasteride and minoxidil work in trials?
In two 1-year trials, men on finasteride 1 mg gained 107 more hairs than placebo in a 5.1 square centimeter area, and in a 393-man trial 5% minoxidil gave 45% more regrowth than 2% at week 48. Erectile dysfunction was more common on finasteride than placebo in a 12-trial review. These are group results; our page on minoxidil and finasteride around a transplant has more.
How many hair transplants are done each year?
The ISHRS estimated about 703,183 procedures worldwide for 2021, an extrapolation from member surveys for which it says the true number is unknown. Its estimates were 279,381 for 2010 and 735,312 for 2019. The 2025 census doesn't publish a worldwide total.
Does hair loss affect mental health?
A 2024 meta-analysis of 37 studies found no impact of male androgenetic alopecia on depression and a moderate impact on quality of life, and 78% of the studies had probable conflicts of interest. Older surveys report distress. A 2023 meta-analysis found depressive disorders in 9% and unspecified anxiety disorders in 13% of people with alopecia areata.
Next Step
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Sources
Sources were last read on 9 and 10 October 2026. Where a figure is our own arithmetic, the text says so. Our editorial policy explains how we use sources.
Writers may use any statistic on this page with a link to this page and to the original source. Cite as: AsiaPatient, Hair Loss Statistics (2026), asiapatient.com/hair-transplant-guide/hair-loss-statistics.
Health Bodies, Societies and Other Pages
- American Academy of Dermatology Association. Hair loss: Who gets and causes. AAD
- American Hair Loss Association. Men's Hair Loss. AHLA page
- American Hair Loss Association. Women's Hair Loss. AHLA page
- Emergen Research. "Alopecia Market Size, Share & Trends | Industry Report 2035". Emergen Research
- International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). Androgenetic Alopecia: A Guide to Pattern Hair Loss. ISHRS patient page
- ISHRS. 2022 Practice Census Results, prepared by Relevant Research, Inc., April 2022. PDF report
- ISHRS. 2025 Practice Census Results, prepared by Relevant Research Consulting, May 2025. PDF report
- ISHRS. Alopecia Areata. ISHRS patient page
- ISHRS. Press release, "New Survey Finds Younger Adults, More Women Seeking Treatment for Hair Loss", 13 May 2025. ISHRS press release
- ISHRS. Telogen Effluvium. ISHRS patient page
- Medihair. "Hair Loss Statistics (2025)", updated 27 February 2025. Medihair page
- MedlinePlus Genetics (US National Library of Medicine). Androgenetic alopecia. Page last updated 27 July 2023. MedlinePlus Genetics
- Mordor Intelligence. "Hair Loss Treatment Products Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)". Mordor Intelligence
- National Council on Aging (NCOA). "Hair Loss: Causes, Types, and Other Facts", 17 December 2025. NCOA page
- NHS. Hair loss. NHS
- NIAMS (US National Institutes of Health). Alopecia Areata. NIAMS
- AsiaPatient patient-reported price data, 2023 to 2026: 31 reports and quotes from patient posts and clinic quotes at five Bangkok clinics.
Journal Articles and Reviews
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- Aukerman EL, Jafferany M. The psychological consequences of androgenetic alopecia: A systematic review. J Cosmet Dermatol 2023;22(1):89-95. PubMed 35403805
- Bas Y, Seckin HY, Kalkan G, et al. Prevalence and types of androgenetic alopecia in north Anatolian population: A community-based study. J Pak Med Assoc 2015;65(8):806-9. PubMed 26228320
- Benigno M, Anastassopoulos KP, Mostaghimi A, et al. A Large Cross-Sectional Survey Study of the Prevalence of Alopecia Areata in the United States. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol 2020;13:259-266. PubMed 32280257
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- Cash TF, Price VH, Savin RC. Psychological effects of androgenetic alopecia on women: comparisons with balding men and with female control subjects. J Am Acad Dermatol 1993;29(4):568-75. PubMed 8408792
- Cash TF. Attitudes, behaviors, and expectations of men seeking medical treatment for male pattern hair loss: results of a multinational survey. Curr Med Res Opin 2009;25(7):1811-20. PubMed 19514838
- Cash TF. The psychological effects of androgenetic alopecia in men. J Am Acad Dermatol 1992;26(6):926-31. PubMed 1607410
- Chaikittisilpa S, Rattanasirisin N, Panchaprateep R, et al. Prevalence of female pattern hair loss in postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study. Menopause 2022;29(4):415-420. PubMed 35357365
- Cortez GL, Hassun K, Linhares LRP, et al. Male androgenetic alopecia. An Bras Dermatol 2025;100(2):308-321. PMC11962920
- Cruciani M, Masiello F, Pati I, et al. Platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of alopecia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Blood Transfus 2023;21(1):24-36. PubMed 34967722
- Finasteride Male Pattern Hair Loss Study Group. Long-term (5-year) multinational experience with finasteride 1 mg in the treatment of men with androgenetic alopecia. Eur J Dermatol 2002;12(1):38-49. PubMed 11809594
- Frith H, Jankowski GS. Psychosocial impact of androgenetic alopecia on men: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychol Health Med 2024;29(4):822-842. PubMed 37605428
- Gan DC, Sinclair RD. Prevalence of male and female pattern hair loss in Maryborough. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 2005;10(3):184-9. PubMed 16382660
- Gubelin Harcha W, Barboza Martínez J, Tsai TF, et al. A randomized, active- and placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of different doses of dutasteride versus placebo and finasteride in the treatment of male subjects with androgenetic alopecia. J Am Acad Dermatol 2014;70(3):489-498.e3. PubMed 24411083
- Hagenaars SP, Hill WD, Harris SE, et al. Genetic prediction of male pattern baldness. PLoS Genet 2017;13(2):e1006594. PubMed 28196072
- Heilmann-Heimbach S, Herold C, Hochfeld LM, et al. Meta-analysis identifies novel risk loci and yields systematic insights into the biology of male-pattern baldness. Nat Commun 2017;8:14694. PubMed 28272467
- Jeon JJ, Kim YH, Kang H, et al. Global epidemiology of telogen effluvium after the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and modeling study. JAAD Int 2025;18:24-26. PMC11582742
- Jimenez-Cauhe J, Saceda-Corralo D, Rodrigues-Barata R, et al. Safety of low-dose oral minoxidil treatment for hair loss. A systematic review and pooled-analysis of individual patient data. Dermatol Ther 2020;33(6):e14106. PubMed 32757405
- Kaufman KD, Olsen EA, Whiting D, et al. Finasteride in the treatment of men with androgenetic alopecia. Finasteride Male Pattern Hair Loss Study Group. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;39(4 Pt 1):578-89. PubMed 9777765
- Knoedler L, Ruppel F, Kauke-Navarro M, et al. Hair Transplantation in the United States: A Population-based Survey of Female and Male Pattern Baldness. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2023;11(11):e5386. PubMed 37964923
- Krupa Shankar D, Chakravarthi M, Shilpakar R. Male androgenetic alopecia: population-based study in 1,005 subjects. Int J Trichology 2009;1(2):131-3. PubMed 20927235
- Lauron S, Plasse C, Vaysset M, et al. Prevalence and Odds of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms in Children and Adults With Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatol 2023;159(3):281-288. PubMed 36696123
- Lee HH, Gwillim E, Patel KR, et al. Epidemiology of alopecia areata, ophiasis, totalis, and universalis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol 2020;82(3):675-682. PubMed 31437543
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- Mella JM, Perret MC, Manzotti M, et al. Efficacy and safety of finasteride therapy for androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review. Arch Dermatol 2010;146(10):1141-50. PubMed 20956649
- Mirzoyev SA, Schrum AG, Davis MDP, Torgerson RR. Lifetime incidence risk of alopecia areata estimated at 2.1% by Rochester Epidemiology Project, 1990-2009. J Invest Dermatol 2014;134(4):1141-1142. PMC3961558
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- Paik JH, Yoon JB, Sim WY, et al. The prevalence and types of androgenetic alopecia in Korean men and women. Br J Dermatol 2001;145(1):95-9. PubMed 11453914
- Pathomvanich D, Pongratananukul S, Thienthaworn P, et al. A random study of Asian male androgenetic alopecia in Bangkok, Thailand. Dermatol Surg 2002;28(9):804-7. PubMed 12269873
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- Perez SM, Vattigunta M, Kelly C, et al. Low-Level Laser and LED Therapy in Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Dermatol Surg 2025;51(2):179-183. PubMed 39404126
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