In contrast to the abundant commercial hair treatment options for women, the medical world has little to offer.

If you go to your general practitioner and complain about some increased hair loss or thinning problem short of sudden total hair loss, or large patches of bald spots on your head, you are most likely to get no sympathy or help — no solution to improve the situation.

That is probably why most women manage the problem on their own: They don’t find much support from their health practitioners when it comes to their hair.

In fact, I am pretty sure that this is why the hair industry is booming. Doctors know very little about hair; our training is very shoddy in the area, and unless there is a connection to some major health problem, not much is ever addressed when it comes to hair.

Of course, there are people known as “trichologists,” who are not doctors but who specialize in analyzing and sometimes even solving hair problems.

But in general, women desperately need better and more direction from their healthcare providers for help with their hair.