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Your symptoms will depend on what kind of hair loss you have.

If your hair is thinning, it happens slowly over time. You may not notice the hairs falling out. If your hair is shedding, then clumps of hair fall out. You may lose hair all over your scalp, which is called general hair loss. Or you may lose hair only in one area. This is called focal hair loss.

With inherited hair loss, men usually get bald spots on the front hairline and forehead or on the top of the head. Over time, only the hair around the ears, the sides, and the back of the head remains. Women with this condition have some thinning all over the scalp, but mostly on the top of the head.

Other causes of hair loss may also show distinct patterns. For example, conditions such as trichotillomania (compulsively pulling at the hair) or alopecia areata (in which the immune system attacks hair follicles) cause obvious patches of hair loss. Stress and some medicines can cause clumps of hair to fall out.