Hair loss during menopause: Causes
Suddenly severe hair loss? For women in and after menopause, thin hair is more the rule than the exception. Depending on the study, slightly more than half of women over the age of 50 are affected by hair loss, and from the age of 60 it is even up to 80 percent.
One cause of hair loss is often that the sex hormones become imbalanced during menopause. This is why this type of hair loss is also called hormonally induced hair loss or hormonal alopecia.
During menopause, this type of hair loss is quite common. The ovaries produce less and less estrogen during this stage of life. This results in an excess of male sex hormones (androgens), such as testosterone. The hair cycle becomes confused and the growth phase of the hair is shortened. The result: more hair falls out.
Men are familiar with this problem, and it is normal for women’s hair to become thinner as they age. Menopause is not always the trigger. Hair follicles also age independently of hormonal changes before and after menopause. Losing up to 100 hairs per day is no cause for concern. However, if there are significantly more or if bald patches even form, this is a sign of hair loss.
Once the body has gone through the hormonal change, in some cases the hair grows again after menopause. How long hair loss lasts during menopause varies from woman to woman. It can last a few weeks, several months or even years.
Hair loss during menopause: What to do?
Hair loss in menopause often stops again when the hormone change is complete. Many women find it difficult to wait this long, especially in the case of pronounced hair loss: when the hair starts to fall out, it often puts a psychological strain on those affected. Women in particular feel uncomfortable with thinning hair and may feel ashamed. In the worst case, depression develops.
Hair loss in menopausal women can be treated, however. First, consult your attending physician. The professionals can best advise you on menopausal symptoms such as hair loss, find out the causes and suggest optimal therapies.
What the doctor does
Your doctor has different ways of treating hair loss during menopause. What really helps varies from person to person.
- Hormone replacement therapy: for some women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT or hormone therapy) generally helps with menopausal symptoms and also relieves hair loss.
- Minoxidil: Treatment with the active ingredient minoxidil is also possible for persistent hair loss. Experts suspect that its effect is partly due to the fact that it improves blood flow to the scalp. However, as an undesirable side effect, it can also lead to increased hair growth in other parts of the body.
What you can do yourself
There are some home remedies, herbal alternatives or complementary and alternative medicine options to alleviate hair loss during menopause. However, most of these methods are not scientifically proven. Therefore, use them only in consultation with your doctor and/or only as a supplement to a classic therapy.
Adapt your diet
The nutrients we take in through food have an influence on a number of processes in the body – including hair growth and health. To reduce hair loss during menopause, a diet rich in vitamins C, B and A as well as the minerals zinc, iron, copper, magnesium or calcium makes sense.
A healthy body weight may also help against hair loss during menopause. Overweight women with a body mass index of more than 25 statistically suffer from postmenopausal hair loss more often than women of normal weight.
Apply rosemary oil
Herbal home remedies
For hair loss during menopause, there are some herbal remedies that affected women can try, for example:
- Antioxidants, such as flavonoids in apples, cinnamon, cocoa or grapes, can sometimes promote hair growth.
- Caffeine is said to boost cell proliferation and hair growth.
- Onion juice can stimulate hair follicles to help reduce hair loss during menopause.
