Hair loss can have a significant impact on both men and women, despite what many people believe. In actuality, after menopause, hair loss affects more than half of women. Because it can have a negative impact on our self-esteem, hair loss can be a troubling issue. Thankfully, there are steps we can take to deal with it.

Most menopausal hair loss is temporary. Hormonal hair loss can grow back after menopause.

Let’s look at the causes of menopausal hair loss and possible treatments.

What Causes Hair Loss

Understanding the causes of menopausal hair loss is the first step toward treating it. According to research, hair loss during menopause may be caused by a hormonal imbalance. s to the titleds to the titled of one as o Estrogen is found in the hair follicles and is responsible for helping hair grow faster and stronger. When estrogen levels fall, hair growth slows and loss may become a problem. At the same time, levels of male hormones (androgens) rise, which may cause unwanted hair growth in other places like the face.

It’s crucial to remember that additional factors, such as a thyroid disorder, stress, PCOS, anemia, autoimmune diseases, and other environmental or dietary factors, can also result in hair loss. Because of this, working with your doctor to identify the underlying factors causing your hair loss can be helpful.

What is Menopausal Hair Loss?

Menopausal hair loss, as its name suggests, is a type of hair loss that typically appears during perimenopause and menopause.

Your hair might seem thinner than it did a few years ago as you enter menopause in your 40s, 50s, or 60s.

Your part line, which is where your hair naturally divides into two parts, may show signs of thinning.

Numerous factors can contribute to hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss (FPHL), is a common reason for hair loss during menopause.

A combination of factors, including your genes and the actions of androgen hormones like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), contribute to female pattern hair loss.

DHT has the potential to gradually shrink the size of the hair shaft, which is the portion of the hair that emerges from the hair follicles, as well as your hair follicles.

As more time goes by, this may lead to more obvious hair loss as well as thin-looking hair.

Despite being more frequently linked to men, androgens also have a significant impact on a number of biological processes in women.

The androgenetic alopecia that affects men, known as male pattern baldness, typically manifests as a receding hairline or bald spot near the crown.

Androgenetic alopecia differs a little in women. It typically manifests as gradual thinning close to the part line rather than a receding hairline.

Over time, the part line can become very visible, eventually resulting in a large gap separating the two parts of your hair.

Some women with androgenetic alopecia also develop diffuse hair thinning that affects the hair around the scalp.

Androgenetic alopecia can develop at any time after adolescence. The most typical time for this type of hair loss to occur is just before or during menopause.

Approximately two thirds of postmenopausal women experience bald spots or hair thinning, according to Harvard Medical School.

Comparatively, research indicates that only 13% of women will experience female pattern baldness by the age of 29.

Is Menopausal Hair Loss Permanent?

No, menopausal hair loss doesn’t have to be permanent. The underlying causes of hair loss during menopause can include many bodily imbalances, such as high stress levels, and there may also be a genetic component to this.

An increase in your androgen-to-estrogen ratio is one of the major changes that can occur during perimenopause. This just means you are producing relatively more androgens (such as testosterone) and less estrogens than you were before, which can lead to more hair in places you don’t want it and less hair on your head.

If you want to stop hair loss during menopause, you should also consider nutritional aspects. Insufficient dietary intake of certain vitamins and minerals can occasionally result in hair loss. Additionally, if you consume a lot of refined carbohydrates, your body will have to produce more insulin. Your body tends to produce more androgen as a result of this rise in insulin. Enhanced nutrition and gentle endocrine support are two ways to reestablish balance. To get started, you might take a look at the nutritional and lifestyle guidelines in our section on healthy nutrition.

While massage and acupuncture do not appear to be equally effective for everyone, some herbs, such as Ginkgo biloba, are thought to improve blood flow to the scalp and support the health and growth of hair follicles. Read our article on female hair loss for more information on hair loss during menopause.

Is Menopausal Hair Loss Reversible?

The possibility of post-menopausal hair regrowth is one of the most frequently asked questions about menopausal hair loss.

The female pattern hair loss that frequently occurs during menopause is typically permanent, just like hair loss from male pattern baldness.

This is because your hair follicles’ physical structure is altered by DHT.

Once a hair follicle is miniaturized, it’s less capable of producing the thick, pigmented “terminal” hairs that account for the vast majority of hairs on your scalp.

But if you’ve just begun to notice hair loss as you approach menopause, there’s no need to freak out.

Treatments for Menopausal Hair Loss

Despite not being reversible, menopausal hair loss is treatable.

There are many options available to treat this type of hair loss and help you keep your hair in your 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond, from medication to surgery or even some over-the-counter hair care products.

Some of these treatments may even stimulate regrowth in areas of your scalp with noticeable hair thinning if you act quickly and treat your hair loss in its early stages.

Minoxidil

A topical hair loss treatment is minoxidil. As a treatment for female pattern hair loss, it is currently the only medication approved by the FDA.

Under the trade name Rogaine®, you may be familiar with minoxidil.

As part of your hair’s natural growth cycle, minoxidil causes hair to enter the anagen phase, also known as the growth phase. Additionally, it increases blood flow to the scalp, nourishing the hair follicles there.

Research indicates that minoxidil is effective at treating female pattern hair loss, despite the fact that it has not been tested as a treatment for hair loss during menopause.

For instance, one study discovered that in women with hair loss brought on by genetic and hormonal factors, both the 2% and 5% versions of minoxidil produced hair growth.

Hers offers minoxidil 2% for women online in convenient topical solution form. In our guide to minoxidil for female hair loss, you can read more about how to use this medication.

Spironolactone

Spironolactone is an antiandrogen, a type of medication that reduces the amount of androgen hormones such as testosterone and DHT in your body.

Despite not being intended to treat hair loss, spironolactone is occasionally prescribed off-label for this purpose, a subject we covered in our guide to spironolactone for hair loss.

Research suggests that spironolactone helps to prevent hormonal hair loss in women, although both the quantity and quality of existing studies is limited at the moment.

Hair Care Products

While over-the-counter hair care items are unlikely to completely reverse the effects of female pattern hair loss, they might aid in slowing down its development.

Hers’ Complete Hair Kit offers products like hair loss prevention shampoo, conditioner, and biotin vitamin supplements, all of which are intended to reduce shedding and may give your hair the nutrients and environment it needs to grow to its full potential.

Hair Transplant Surgery

While treatments like minoxidil can stop hair loss in its early stages, long-term DHT exposure can cause your hair follicles to stop producing new hair altogether, despite regular, careful treatment.

Healthy, DHT-resistant hairs from the sides and back of your scalp are transplanted to areas of visible hair loss, like the skin along your part line, during hair transplant surgery.

If you have advanced female pattern hair loss, this type of procedure can have a positive impact on your hair’s appearance and help you to retain fullness as you enter menopause.

Even though hair transplant surgery is successful, the cost is high.

This type of procedure may cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars for a small number of hair grafts to $10,000 or more for a large-scale procedure.

Conclusion

In summary, we must bear in mind that menopause hair loss is a quite common and “normal” phenomenon and that we should not be worried about it, unless we start to experience too much shedding and other issues. Anyway, we always advise you to ask for help from the very first moment you start to lose hair: the sooner, the better. We specialize in all hair treatments at Clinicana. There are no requirements; just click on our free consultation service… and tell us how can we help you to save your hair.