Hair loss from menopausal hormone deficiencies can take many forms. Most women notice thinning throughout their scalps, which may be visible when you part your hair or you might notice a thinner pony tail. You may also notice thinning along your hair line, but this is less common for women.
These symptoms can also include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, and vaginal dryness. Many people want to know if hormonal hair loss can be reversed. The answer is yes! Fortunately, unlike genetic hair loss, most hair loss caused by hormonal imbalances is reversible.
Or, you might see the hair you have start to thin. One cause may be changing levels of hormones during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased. During and after menopause, hair might become finer (thinner) because hair follicles shrink.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
As mentioned before, menopause decreases estrogen production, which affects the hair growth cycle. HRT involves taking medication or supplements containing hormones such as estrogen and progesterone to replace those that the body no longer produces in sufficient amounts.
Estrogen and progesterone can help keep your hair in the growing (anagen) phase. Therefore, these hormones can help your hair stay on your head longer and may even help your hair grow faster. This may be why many women notice their hair thinning starts to improve with estrogen replacement therapy.
While men usually see a receding hairline, women tend to lose hair from the top of their scalp. The gap on the part of your hair may widen, or you may notice bald spots when you put your hair up.
As with male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness comes from hormone imbalances, specifically dihydrotestosterone imbalances, or DHT. This hormone is similar in structure to testosterone, but it is significantly more potent [3].
Certain HRT products can help to treat female pattern hair loss. The hair- friendly ones are Premique and Indivina (both of these products contain the anti- androgen medroxyprogesterone acetate) and Angeliq (containing drospirenone).
Lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet, exercise, and stress reduction will also help you get your hormone levels back on track. Once equilibrium is restored to your hormones, hair loss associated with your hormone issue should slow or cease, and in many cases, hair that was loss may be replaced by new growth.
Taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can slow down or even stop hair loss in some women. It is hard to predict who will benefit. Body identical estrogen and progesterone are preferable.
Hair Loss
As women age, they may experience some hair loss. This can happen during perimenopause or menopause. But if it happens before menopause it might be one of the signs of estrogen dominance.
Female pattern hair loss refers to thinning of hair across your scalp, which can get worse over decades as you age. Most of the time hormone levels are normal, but occasionally it can be caused by high levels of androgens (male hormones).
Androgens, such as testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and their prohormones dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and androstenedione (A) are the key factors in the growth of terminal hair.
Hair loss from menopause or childbirth often goes away after 6 months to 2 years. For hair loss due to illness (such as fever), radiation therapy, medicine use, or other causes, no treatment is needed. Hair usually grows back when the illness ends or the therapy is finished.
Hormone issues
Both men and women can develop hormonal imbalances that can cause hair to thin or fall out. Often, treating the imbalance helps your hair regrow. Although most people think of estrogen or testosterone when they think of a hormone imbalance, issues with your thyroid can also lead to hair thinning.
Why Does HRT Cause Hair Fall? This occurs because hormones play a vital role in regulating the growth cycle of hair follicles. When these hormones become imbalanced due to HRT, it can lead to thinning and balding of the scalp.
Genes associated with follicle growth were not significantly altered by vitamin D3. However, it increases expression of genes involved in the estrogen-biosynthesis. Further, estrogen concentrations in porcine granulosa cell-cultured media increased in response to vitamin D3.
Studies also show that estrogen does not only protect against hair loss but stimulates new growth as well. The estrogen/hair growth connection is especially evident during pregnancy when women experience thicker, healthier hair due to higher estrogen levels in their bodies.
A visible scalp through your hair can be a sign that it's thinning (but not always). The factors that contribute to thinning hair (and thus a visible scalp) include stress, diet, vitamin deficiency and ageing.
Female pattern baldness is a very common type of hair loss that affects women and people assigned female at birth. Female pattern baldness usually starts after menopause. It's reversible with treatment, which includes medications, red light therapy or styling techniques.
Severe and prolonged hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can cause loss of hair. The loss is diffuse and involves the entire scalp rather than discrete areas. The hair appears uniformly sparse. Regrowth is usual with successful treatment of the thyroid disorder, though it will take several months and may be incomplete.
Similarly, HIGH ESTROGEN levels are also linked to hair loss. Though the direct link in unclear, one thing is for sure – in order to have healthy hair, your estrogen levels need to be in balance.
Telogen effluvium (TE) is another leading cause of female hair loss but it is a self-limiting process and almost never causes obvious baldness, whereas FAGA progresses in time, leading to a significant decrease in hair thickness. It is often difficult to distinguish FAGA from TE, especially in the early stages.