Is Menopausal Hair Loss Reversible With Hormone Replacement Therapy
Losing your hair can be one of the most distressing menopausal symptoms. Fortunately, hormone replacement therapy can help treat this to prevent you losing any more hair, as explained above. But the even better news is that hormone replacement therapy can actually reverse menopausal hair loss.
Because estrogen and progesterone help keep more of your hair in the anagen phase, this means that more of your hair will be growing. It also means that less of your hair will be in the telogen phase, so that overall your hair will grow faster, and over time even start to thicken once more.
Dramatic Or Sudden Weight Loss
A crash diet or even weight loss surgery can trigger hair loss. Many fad diets are so restrictive that your body doesnt get the nutrients it needs which leads to a vitamin deficiency. Not getting enough zinc, iron or protein in your diet can cause hair loss especially if you are a vegetarian or if you have heavier than normal periods you may experience low iron. Your body needs these nutrients to sustain itself and will send these nutrients to body areas that need them the most with your hair not considered necessary for survival. A change in diet or taking supplements can help with hair loss but you should consult your doctor with the best approach regarding supplements.
Find The Right Hrt Plan For You At Revitalize You Md
For hair loss problems that are caused by changes to the hormones, getting hormone replacement therapy can help improve its symptoms and encourage new hair growth. If youre interested in HRT, the first thing you need to do is to find a trusted provider who will help create the right treatment plan for you.
Here at Revitalize You MD, we provide safe and effective hormone replacement therapies for the changes that you experience in your body. Whether it is testosterone replacement therapy or estrogen hormone therapy, our trained staff will ensure that each plan is customized to your needs. Contact us now and schedule your appointment.
Don’t Miss: Is Finasteride Used For Hair Loss
Cardiovascular Disease And Hrt
Women over 60 have a small increased risk of developing heart disease or stroke on combined oral HRT. Although the increase in risk is small, it needs to be considered when starting HRT, as the risk occurs early in treatment and persists with time.
Oestrogen used on its own increases the risk of stroke further if taken in tablet form, but not if using a skin patch. Similarly, tibolone increases the risk of stroke in women from their mid-60s.
Women who commence HRT around the typical time of menopause have lower risks of cardiovascular disease than women aged 60 or more.
Recommended Reading: What Causes Flaky Scalp And Hair Loss
Are You Looking For A Way To Grow Your Hair Quickly
Sticking to the right vitamin regimen can actually work wonders for your hair growth, while helping to address menopausal symptoms and increasing overall well-being.
A whole host of vitamins and minerals support the well-being of your luscious locks. When it comes to vitamins for hair health and growth, keep vitamins D, B, A, C, and E at the ready. Dont forget about the importance of zinc and fulvic acid, either, when it comes to maintaining cell health and balancing hormones.
B vitamins are essential when it comes to vitamins for hair growth and health. The B vitamin biotin, in particular, is essential when it comes to preventing hair loss and promoting keratin production. These vitamins can also aid in the production of red blood cells, which are important nutrient transmitters to hair follicles and head tissues. They are water-soluble, making for easy ingestion.
Support your vitamin regimen with a diet rich in B vitamins. You can find biotin most prevalently in meat, but it is also in certain fruits, vegetables, and even grains.
While it is possible to source a lot of these vitamins from common foods, your physician may also suggest bolstering your diet with supplements. BodyLogicMDs Cosmedix vitamins are a good source of B vitamins and promote healthy hair, skin, and collagen formation with appropriate amounts of biotin, saw palmetto, and other phytonutrients.
Recommended Reading: When Hair Is Thinning Will It Grow Back
Menopause Hair Loss Vitamins And Supplements
Our nutrition is important in supporting healthy hair growth, and post-menopausal women may need to adjust their diet as you can be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Many women also find that they gain weight around the menopause. Vitamins for hair loss and supplements can therefore be helpful in making sure you have the nutrients you need alongside a healthy balanced diet.
Kiierr Biotin Gummies For Hair Growth
These best-selling biotin gummies have coconut oil and elderberry, which promote strong, healthy hair growth. Biotin, also known as vitamin H, improves keratin infrastructure, essential in your hair follicle health and strength. These gummies are so good that you wonât think that youâre taking it as a part of your hair strengthening regime.
Biotin is not only meant for hair growth but can also help strengthen your skin and nails as well. A natural way of ingesting biotin is by eating organ meats such as kidneys or livers, but this isnât as appealing as merely eating gummies. The FDA recommends that you get 30 to 100mg biotin per day while pregnant may need more.
Donât Miss: Which Is The Best Shampoo For Thin Hair
Don’t Miss: Which Extensions Are Best For Thin Hair
Is Hair Loss From Testosterone Replacement Therapy Reversible
Whether or not an individuals hair loss is reversible depends on the exact reasonings behind the occurrence of such hair loss, with genetic factors or certain diseases making reversing the baldness far more difficult than simply stopping the testosterone replacement therapy treatment.
This is due to the fact that, though testosterone replacement therapy may induce some level of hair loss in certain individuals, if the hair loss is occurring to a factor unrelated or only partially related to the TRT, it is unlikely that stopping the treatment will also stop the hair loss.
However, in instances where the conversion of dihydrotestosterone directly from exogenous volumes of testosterone is the primary cause of the hair loss, it is possible to prevent further hair loss by altering the dosage, dose form or even presence of said exogenous testosterone supplementation.
How Estrogen Affects Hair During Menopause
It is inevitable that the anxieties increase in women who have entered the menopause period. There are many questions about menopause, which has a very important place in womens life. Apart from hot flashes, weight gain decreased sexual desire and loss of thinning and elasticity of the skin, one of the things women are most concerned about is hair loss. In the female body that produces both estrogen and testosterone before menopause, hair loss is faced because the level of estrogen hormone together with menopause is less effective against testosterone hormone. With the continuation of the menopause process, hair loss can also increase.
The hair loss mechanism of women in this period is similar to that of men. Therefore, treatments for male pattern hair loss can be applied in its treatment. Menopause increases hair loss, but not every woman who enters the menopause will necessarily lose her hair. Because, in addition to hormones, genes also have an effect on hair loss during womens menopause. Approximately two-thirds of women who enter menopause have hair loss. Others only have thinning hair.
In the majority of polycystic ovarian patients, the male-type hair loss that develops as a result of the effect of increased androgen hormones and the hormone balance that deteriorates in women is a significant complaint, and with the treatment of the disease, hair loss stops and the hair grows again.
You May Like: What Is The Best Thickening Shampoo For Thinning Hair
What Medications Can Cause Hair Loss
Medications prescribed to manage symptoms of menopause do not typically cause hair loss, and may in fact help to prevent hair loss. However, medications that treat other conditions that are common in women over the age of 40 can contribute to hair loss.
Types of drugs that can cause hair loss include:
- Medications used to treat hyperthyroidism
- Antidepressants
- Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases
The Complete Guide To Bhrt For Women
Many women experience a hormonal imbalance. Often, these imbalances can be caused by perimenopause and menopause but women of any age can experience hormonal deficiencies for a variety of reasons, including pregnancy, chronic medical conditions, and certain medications.
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, or BHRT, can help address these hormonal deficiencies in women.
Throughout this guide, we will provide a comprehensive overview of BHRT, hormonal imbalance symptoms, available treatment options, frequently asked questions, and more.
Read Also: How To Reduce Stress For Hair Loss
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy
The idea behind hormone replacement therapy is simple. Since the levels of oestrogen and progesterone hormones are dropping, replace them. This will help relieve the symptoms that come with it.
Many people then ask, can you have periods while on hormone replacement therapy? According to Mayo Clinic, yes, you can have light or heavy bleeding as a result of this. However, it doesnt always happen due to HRT. If its concerning, you should see your doctor.
Low levels of oestrogen can increase the risk of stroke and cause high cholesterol, so your doctor might recommend this treatment to you for that too. However, not everyone is suitable for it.
If a persons blood pressure is not normal, they cannot undergo HRT as it can increase the risk of breast cancer. Moreover, it is not suitable for those who have a history of cancer or blood clots. Women who are pregnant can also not have HRT. If a person has liver disease, they, too, cannot have this therapy.
The Link Between Hrt And Hair Growth
Estrogen is linked with hair growth. Thats why many pregnant women experience thicker, faster-growing hair their high estrogen levels are sending their hair follicles into overdrive.
So, can hormonal hair loss be reversed with HRT? In some cases, yes. By taking more estrogen hormones, some menopausal women may be able to stop and even reverse hormonal hair loss.
HRT hair regrowth is also possible for trans women with androgenetic alopecia . This is because androgenetic alopecia is caused by a male hormone called DHT, which is a derivative of testosterone. By undergoing male-to-female HRT, trans women begin to produce less DHT and in some cases regrow their hair.
Also Check: Does Rogaine Cause Hair Loss
More Than Another Bad Hair Day
Many women find their hair loses volume and length around menopause hair can also become brittle, fragile and break more easily. Some women also notice hair thinning and shedding – particularly around the hairline and crown known as female pattern hair loss .
Common signs of menopausal hair thinning:
Ponytail is thinnerHair not growing as long as it used toParting is wider and scalp is more visible around the crownRecession and/or thinning at templesReduced thickness and length of each strand
These changes can be really stressful since our hair is a very important aspect of our identity. Other unwelcome changes to our appearance may also be happening around the same time, leading to further distress
The hair growth cycle consists of three distinct stages:
Anagen PhaseHair grows around a centimetre a month , and faster in the summer than in winter. This growth phase lasts an average of 3-5 years so a full-length hair averages 71-76cm. The anagen phase is generally longer in people of Asian descent, and can last as much as 7 years.
Catagen PhaseAt the end of the anagen phase, hair enters the catagen phase. This short transitional phase lasts approximately 10 days.
Telogen PhaseFinally, hair enters a resting phase when strands are released and fall out. The follicle then remains inactive for 3 months, before the whole process is repeated.
Useful Links
Women Suffer From Hair Loss Too
young woman worried about hair loss
But its not just men who suffer from hair loss women can experience it too. For women, an underactive thyroid can be one of the factors contributing to hair loss, but in most cases, for both men and women, androgenic alopecia occurs because of a genetically determined shortening of anagen, a hairs growing phase, and a lengthening of the time between the shedding of a hair and the start of a new anagen phase.
About one-third of women experience hair loss at some time in their lives already struggling with hot flashes, as many as two-thirds suffer hair thinning and bald spots. Hair loss often has a greater impact on menopausal women than it does on men, because society is more accepting of men with thinning hair. A womans emotional wellbeing and quality of life can be severely affected due to alopecia.
Hair loss in women can be due to a hormonal imbalance called hypothyroidism, when the thyroids production of body-regulating hormones decreases, and which can be addressed with the application of suitable bioidentical hormones to replace the thyroid hormone that your body is no longer producing or is producing in diminished quantities.
- Feeling cold when other people do no
- Constipation
- More than usual menstrual bleeding
- High LDL or bad cholesterol, which can raise your risk for heart disease
Recommended Reading: How Much Hair Loss In A Day
Hormones And Hair Loss
Women in child bearing years can experience hair loss after having a baby because of the changes in hormones that occur during and after pregnancy. Add to that the extra stress and sleep deprivation from having a new baby and you have a double whammy for possible hair loss. During pregnancy your hair will frequently thicken because of the pregnancy hormones. Once the baby is born the hair loss is typically just getting back to its pre-pregnancy state and will return to normal.
A low level of thyroid hormones, called hypothyroidism, is a leading cause of hair loss. Low levels of thyroid reduce the bodys ability to regenerate cells. Hashimotos and Graves disease are two autoimmune diseases that can cause hair loss. Hashimotos is the result of low thyroid and Graves disease is responsible for over active thyroid, or hyperthyroidism.
Hair loss can also be triggered by hormone changes that occur during menopause. During menopause womens estrogen and progesterone levels drop causing hair to grow more slowly and become thinner. In addition to keeping your bones strong, estrogen and progesterone keep your hair healthy. A decrease in these hormones causes an increase in androgen production which causes hair follicles to shrink and contribute to hair loss.
You Might Also Enjoyâ¦
Can Lack Of Estrogen Cause Hair Loss
Estrogen levels fall dramatically at menopause. As a result, women commonly experience some degree of hair loss. Usually, women dont experience a receding hairline and eventually go completely bald on the top of the head, as is common with men. Instead, for women, hair loss usually begins around the center of the scalp, and spreads across the top of the head. As estrogen levels drop, women rarely go completely bald, but the hair on the top of the head becomes significantly thinner and the scalp may be visible between the hairs.
In addition, when estrogen levels fall at menopause, this triggers an increase in the levels of androgens . Certain androgens act on hair follicles to make them produce hairs that are finer and less pigmented more like the hairs on the back of your hand. As androgens act on the hair follicles, those that are in the growth phase will produce these smaller hairs, which makes your hair look thinner overall.
Also Check: How To Stop Sudden Hair Loss
F Clinical Hair Growth Effects Of Estrogens
There are only a few reports on the use of systemic estrogens for hair loss management. Estrogens have been used for topical treatment of hair diseases for more than half a century and constitute a firm staple of management strategies for female pattern androgenetic alopecia in central Europe . Orentreich observed in 1969 a decrease in daily effluvium during therapy with systemic estrogens , which were reported to increase the proliferation rate, slow down differentiation, and, thus, postpone telogen effluvium . On this basis, even intralesional stilbene administration was once recommended for the treatment of alopecia areata . Some studies have reported an increased anagen and decreased telogen rate after treatment with estrogens, compared with placebo . However, professionally executed, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, prospective clinical trials on the efficacy of topical E2 in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia and non-androgen-dependent telogen effluvium are still painfully missing.
The Relationship Between Thyroid Problems Estrogen And Hair Loss
Interestingly, estrogen dominance can lead to the symptoms of thyroid problems, one of which is hair loss!
What happens is that the liver creates too much thyroid binding globulin when estrogen levels are high.
TBG binds the thyroid hormones in the blood, meaning that they cant be absorbed as needed by the cells in the body that use them to support the bodys metabolism.
The difficulty is that standard blood tests for thyroid conditions dont show up the problem.
The AMOUNT of thyroid hormone in the blood is just as it should be but the hormone is being bound by the TBG.
The result is that the symptoms of thyroid problems start to appear.
TBG can, however, be detected with a blood test, so its important to bear this in mind and ask to be tested if you feel this may be the problem youre experiencing.
Recommended Reading: What Supplements To Take For Hair Loss
Also Check: Which Doctor Should I Consult For Hair Loss
Pharmacodynamics Of Combined Estrogen And Progestogen Therapies
The interplay of estrogens and progestogens in combined hormonal therapies is complex.
Both estrogen and progestins have antigonadotropic activity by providing negative feedback on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and thereby decreasing endogenous production of androgens and estrogens .
The androgenic activity of some progestogens may be counteracted by the concomitant activation of ERs. Ethinyl estradiol/estrogen can increase the levels of SHBG which binds testosterone and therefore limits the amount of free, unbound hormone that is available to exert androgenic effects . Estrogen also inhibits 5-reductase, decreasing the conversion of testosterone to the more potent DHT . Some authorities assert that regardless of the androgenic properties of the particular progestin, the net effect of all combination oral contraceptives is antiandrogenic when they contain ethinyl estradiol . Some COCs have been FDA-approved for the treatment of acne based on their antiandrogenic effects, and they include: ethinyl estradiol/norgestimate, ethinyl estradiol/norethindrone acetate/ferrous fumarate, ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol/drospirenone/levomefolate .