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For men coping with baldness, the solution can be as simple as shaving their head. But for women the effects can be devastating. Losing their hair often means a loss of femininity and sense of self-esteem. With rates of anxiety and depression high among sufferers, some even resort to tattooing their heads to hide thinning patches on their scalps.

But a world-first trial at a Melbourne hospital is offering hope to the estimated 700,000 Australian women affected by severe hair loss.

Doctors at St Vincent’s aim to prove that a drug used to reduce excessive facial and body hair can stop hair loss on the scalp of women, as well as stimulate partial hair growth in up to a third of sufferers.

They hope that this evidence will encourage doctors — many of whom tell women there is no treatment for hair loss — to prescribe the tablets more widely.

Eventually the plan is to develop the drug in an implant form, which would allow women to receive treatment for up to three years at a time without the need for a daily tablet. A patch like those used by smokers trying to kick the habit would also be trialled.

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