Shedding is not a sign of male pattern or female pattern hair loss aka androgenetic alopecia. Some degree of shedding is completely normal, in fact it is a normal stage of the hair cycle. Excessive shedding, can be due to a number of factors from inflammation, to infection, to autoimmune conditions, or simply a lot of stress. If you are experiencing excessive shedding please discuss with your doctor.
Male and Female pattern hair loss are hormonally mediated processes and are genetic in origin, meaning they tend to run in the family. These types of hair losses, as their names imply, tend to occur in regular patterns. For men these patterns can be a recessed hairline, thinning in the crown, and overall no change in hairs on the back and sides of the head. For women the pattern tends to be more centrally consolidated along the middle part line and extending outwards, as well as thinning over the temples. Pattern hair losses tend to be of a lack of growth rather than excessive shedding.
It is important to keep in mind that you can have both pattern loss and shedding, in which case the shedding can uncover the pattern loss quite rapidly at times. Our docs are experts in hair loss and happy to chat with you about your specific hair loss patterns.