Discuss Your Hair Loss With Your Doctor
A certain degree of hair loss during menopause is normal, and gradual thinning is generally not cause for concern. However, if you unexpectedly begin losing large tufts of hair or discover sizable bald patches on your scalp, make an appointment with your doctor. They will run tests to help determine if there is another underlying issue.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, you may be able to reverse hair loss caused by conditions including:
- Scalp infections
- Thyroid disorders
- Autoimmune diseases
Additionally, some prescription drugs claim hair loss as a potential side effect. Ask your doctor if any of your medications could be triggering your condition there may be alternative medications that can prevent or reverse this troubling trend.
How To Get Perimenopause And Menopause Diagnosed And Treated:
To begin treating your symptoms you first need to go to your doctor. Make sure you keep track of your symptoms over the days and weeks before visiting your doctor as sometimes Perimenopause is diagnosed based off of the symptoms experienced rather than from testing.
Your doctor may also order a blood test be done to see your follicle-stimulating hormone and estrogen levels as low levels in these can be indication that you’re in Perimenopause or Menopause.
The Ultimate Guide To Resolve Hair Loss Issues During Menopause
Although a lot of people do not automatically think of hair loss as a menopausal symptom, it is widely recognized that a 40% of women experience hair thinning or hair loss to some degree around the time of menopause .
While women accept that menopause is a natural and unavoidable stage of womanhood, coming to grips with its effects, especially with female hair loss due to menopause, can be very difficult. Often, hair loss is one of the first and more depressing symptoms of menopause that a woman notices and it can have a profound effect on her sense of femininity, sexuality and self-confidence.
As women near menopause, hair growth slows, and their hair may lose its healthy, youthful, shine, and their hair texture changes.
Beginning at perimenopause in their 40s, women may see the effects of menopause on hair, including thinning hair, dull, graying and hair loss. Experts previously thought hair loss due to menopause was caused by low estrogen levels. But new research shows that hair loss in older women is likely due to lower levels of both estrogen and progesterone, causing hair follicles to thin and hair to fall out.
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How To Stop Menopausal Hair Loss
Forehanded care is the thing that will help you to save time and money. For some reason, most women neglect the fact that is better to prevent symptoms of menopause and hair loss than deal with them after.
So, for your convenience, here is a list of recommendations for you to follow regularly to prevent this sign.
- Buy professional scrubs. Why professional against menopausal hair loss? Because they are of natural and herbal composition. If you know how to do them on your own, so look for raw materials and mix your unique formula. Keep in mind, scrubs help to stimulate the blood flow to the follicles, and within some time you notice new hair. But, do not scrub too much because you will receive an inverse effect
- Do not wash it too often. Once you do it every day, your hair can get used to such care. If the next day you decide to skip this ritual, wait for some greasiness. If possible, finish this procedure with vinegar rinsing. One spoon on one liter is more than enough. It will help to make it shining and fresh for long
- No hairdryer. Remember menopause and hair loss do not like it. First off, it may provoke hot flashes and dryness of hair. The same concerns hair straightener. However, in case you urgently need to use it, do not forget to spray hair heat protection
- Take a look at your meals. More fruits and vitamins to prevent menopausal hair loss
If nothing helps, you have to visit a trichologist who knows how to deal with ladies who have menopause and hair loss.
Can The Menopause Cause Hair Loss
‘Many of the changes that happen to the skin and hair in menopause relate to the sharp reduction in female hormones and the relative increase in male hormones .
‘Oestrogen retains the hair in the growing phase. The deficiency of oestrogen in menopause means women often experience more hair shedding, slower growth, finer hair, generalised hair thinning and volume loss.
‘Women who have a family history of common balding may also have genetically hypersensitive hair follicles which pick up male hormone signals more readily. The relative rise in androgens can therefore kickstart or worsen the balding process, with loss of density specifically on the crown and parting that is typical for FPHL.’
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Embrace Your Hair Loss During Perimenopause
I called my friend Emily when I had finished all of my research, excited about all of the things we could do for our thinning hair. I went down my list, ticking everything off, explaining, elucidating, answering questions before she could even ask them. When I was finished, I let out a deep breath, and said, Well, I guess thats it.
There was a long pause.
Hello? I said. Em? Are you there?
Yes, Im here, but the question is, are you all there?
What are you talking about?
That sounds totally exhausting and really expensive. Forget it! You know what Im doing? Im getting a summer hat! I saw a really cute one when I was at the mall, but it was like $50, and I thought, thats crazy, Im not spending fifty bucks on a stupid straw hat! Now that seems like a total bargain to me! Im just going to wear hats all the time! Wool hats in winter, straw hats in summer. Itll be an investment Ill make every couple years. Done! Thank you, Kelly, you have made me realize I dont need to solve this problem, I just need to keep covering it up.
Umm, youre welcome?
But Emily had already hung up, apparently impatient to get on her with her life and get to the mall. I didnt even know Emily frequented malls.
But if theres one thing Ive learned, its that perimenopause changes us all.
This essay was originally written by Kelly Dwyer, a published novelist, playwright, and freelance writer.
What Age Does Menopause Start
While the average age is 51, the majority will go through menopause between the ages of 40 and 58. Theres a transition period, called perimenopause, where you may have menopause symptoms but still have a menstrual cycle. Perimenopausal symptoms can start up to 10 years before the menstrual cycle stops.
Premature menopause occurs before the age of 40. Those who undergo premature menopause may benefit from hormone replacement therapy to help prevent cardiovascular disease and protect bone health.
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Managing Menopause: Tips To Help With Weight Gain Sex Hair Loss And More
Its something natural, but many people dont like to talk about: menopause.
Menopause is the natural end to the menstrual cycle, when the ovaries stop producing estrogen and progesterone. Some will experience menopause naturally, and for others, menopause will result from surgical removal of the ovaries, or because of medical treatments or genetic disorders that stop ovarian function.
The decline of those hormones in the body can cause unpleasant side effects ranging from night sweats to weight gain. No experience is the same. Some will have severe symptoms, while others will only experience mild changes.
The menopause transition doesnt have to be horrible. Because of the bothersome symptoms, often menopause is feared however, it shouldnt be. Its just a different phase of life. Menopause isnt good or isnt bad, it just is. And for those struggling with symptoms, they shouldnt be afraid to ask their doctor about treatment options. At the University of Chicago Medicine, a custom care plan is created for each individual based on their symptoms, medical history and personal preferences.
Here are answers to some common questions I hear from patients about menopause.
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What Can Be Done To Minimize The Weight Gain Caused By Menopause
Start adopting healthy lifestyle practices before menopause by exercising and eating well, so those good habits are in place. Aging is associated with changes in metabolism, decreased muscle and increased body fat. We are often less physically active the older we get, which is a large contributor to weight gain. Weight tends to deposit around the midsection, which can increase the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer . In addition to the negative impact on health, weight gain often leads to poor self-image and depression.
It is important to your overall health and well-being to adhere to a healthy diet and engage in regular physical activity. A healthy diet includes watching portion control and limiting amounts of sugar, processed carbohydrates, fat and processed foods. The Mediterranean diet has been shown to help with weight loss, improve cognition and decrease the risk of dementia and osteoporosis, as well as improve heart health. Weight-bearing exercises such as walking, Pilates and yoga help maintain posture, balance and core strength.
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How To Stop Thinning Hair: Hair Loss Treatment For Women
Medications are the most common treatment for hair loss in women. They include the following:
Minoxidil . This drug was initially introduced as a treatment for high blood pressure, but people who took it noticed that they were growing hair in places where they had lost it. Research studies confirmed that minoxidil applied directly to the scalp could stimulate hair growth. As a result of the studies, the FDA originally approved over-the-counter 2% minoxidil to treat hair loss in women. Since then a 5% solution has also become available when a stronger solution is need for a woman’s hair loss.
Clearly, minoxidil is not a miracle drug. While it can produce some new growth of fine hair in some not all women, it can’t restore the full density of the lost hair. It’s not a quick fix, either for hair loss in women . You won’t see results until you use the drug for at least two months. The effect often peaks at around four months, but it could take longer, so plan on a trial of six to 12 months. If minoxidil works for you, you’ll need to keep using it to maintain those results. If you stop, you’ll start to lose hair again.
Some women find that the minoxidil solution leaves a deposit that dries and irritates their scalp. This irritation, called contact dermatitis, is probably caused not by the minoxidil itself, but rather by the alcohol that is included to facilitate drying.
Increase Your Iron Intake
Low iron levels are the leading risk factor in the development of a condition called Chronic Telogen Effluvium amongst women, which is characterised by increased hair shedding . Poor iron stores usually result from the loss of blood during your period, especially if you have heavy periods, which can occur in perimenopause.There are a few ways in which you could increase your iron intake:
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NutriHair® a specialist multivitamin that packs 20mg of iron to support hair growth.
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Try to have one serving of red meat each week if its part of your diet.
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Increase your dietary intake of plant iron sources, such as pulses, dark green vegetables, and dried fruit.
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High vitamin C fruit and vegetables support the absorption of iron into your bloodstream.
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Multi-Guard® Active or Iron 14mg as Citrate vegan-friendly supplements, all of which contain relevant levels of iron at 14mg and should help achieve the recommended daily allowance of 14.8mg for adult women.
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Finding The Root Cause Of Hair Loss Is Important
If youre bothered by your thinning hair or hair loss, a visit to your primary care doctor is a great place to start, says Bruce. Its likely that female pattern hair loss is probably the cause, but a clinical examination can confirm this, she says.
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If the hair loss doesnt follow the typical appearance of female pattern hair loss, your doctor will likely perform a few tests to explore potential causes.
- A complete blood count test is used to evaluate overall health and can detect many conditions, including anemia, which can cause hair loss.
- Thyroid function tests can reveal thyroid issues that may be related to thinning hair.
- A dietary assessment, or a discussion of what you eat, can determine whether you have a normal healthy diet and any vitamin deficiencies.
- Autoimmune inflammation Your doctor may investigate conditions related to inflammation in the scalp, including autoimmune diseases, which can be associated with hair loss, says Bruce.
- A hormone test may be performed, though a hormone imbalance is rarely the culprit in hair loss, says Faubion.
The Typical Hair Loss Experience
On average, a person loses around 100-200 hairs a day to allow for new hair growth. During menopause, when your hair is breaking, it may seem that you are losing more than the average amount. In reality, however, your hair is not falling out but breaking somewhere along the hair strand itself, giving the appearance of thinner hair.
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Treatment For Menopause Hair Loss
Nutrients and Alternative Remedies:
Nutrients:
- Iron, in situations where anaemia is present. Anaemia can cause hair loss.
- Zinc and biotin are considered helpful with hair growth. A lack of these nutrients can cause brittle hair and nails.
Ginseng:Has been shown to promote hair growth in several studies, its effects on isolated human dermal papilla cells were evaluated using cytotoxicity assays, immunoblot analysis of signalling proteins, and the determination of associated growth factors.
Black Cohosh: Is thought to assist in preventing hair loss by serving as an âoestrogen bufferâ to protect hair follicles to DHT. It helps slow down the thinning process.
Aloe Vera: this works to soothe and calm a damaged scalp which may create a healthy environment for hair cells to replenish and flourish
Garlic: applying garlic gel to areas of the scalp that have experienced hair loss together with a steroid treatment has been shown to lead to more hair regrowth compared to a placebo.
Hormone Replacement TherapyBio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
If youâre noticing hair loss, that has become sudden, it is important to always consult your medical professional to ensure your health is fully assessed as in many instances, complex diagnostic testing may be required.