Hormone Therapy Training

Provider Hormone Therapy Training:
Does Testosterone Replacement Cause Hair Loss in Women?

SottoPelle is a world leader in provider hormone therapy training. We have trained thousands of doctors in the use of subdermal bioidentical hormone replacement pellets. The SottoPelle Method is more than learning how to insert hormone pellets. Our hormone therapy training includes the “who, what, and why” of pellet therapy, especially dosing and ongoing management.

An essential component of provider hormone therapy training is remaining on the cutting edge of clinical research in the field of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). Certified SottoPelle trained hormone therapy providers have access to an extensive library of the latest and most advanced BHRT research.

In this article, the hormone therapy training experts at SottoPelle share some revelatory research on the side effects of prescribing testosterone replacement therapy for women.

Hormones and Female Hair Loss

Thinning hair is a common complaint in women, and one that is very emotionally charged. Therefore, it is essential that hormone therapy providers be sensitive to both the positive and negative effects of various hormone replacement modalities on women’s hair growth.

The frequency of female hair loss increases with age. Studies of Caucasian women in the U.K. and United States report reduced hair density of 3 to 6% in women aged under 30 years, increasing to 29 to 42% in women 70 years old. The most common diagnostic cause is Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL).

Testosterone Replacement Training: The Traditional View

Provider hormone therapy training typically indicates the use of testosterone implants in women for symptoms of relative androgen deficiency including: fatigue, decreased sex drive, hot flashes, bone density decline, decreased muscle strength, changes in cognition and memory, and insomnia. It is also often used to treat a diminished sense of well-being and/or “mood disorders” such as sadness, irritability, depression, and anxiety.

However, androgens – specifically testosterone – have long been thought to have an adverse effect on female scalp, causing hair loss. As a result, traditional hormone therapy training has sometimes eschewed the use of testosterone replacement in women in favor of avoiding hair loss.

However, a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology questions this conventional wisdom and sheds new light on the effects of testosterone replacement therapy in women on hair loss. The study was authored by three physicians who noted that in their own our clinical experience, testosterone replacement therapy in women with androgen deficiency seldom led to marked hair loss.

The authors reported that after treating more than 1,100 female patients with over 10,000 subcutaneous testosterone pellet insertions, hair thinning was rarely reported by their patients.

To evaluate the effect of subcutaneous testosterone therapy on scalp hair growth in female patients, 285 women with androgen deficiency were studied, who were treated for a minimum of 1 year with testosterone pellets. The subjects were required to complete a survey that included questions on scalp and facial hair. The study also collected data on age, body mass index (BMI) and serum testosterone levels.

The conclusion of that report was that subcutaneous testosterone therapy was found to have a beneficial effect on scalp hair growth in female patients who were treated for symptoms of androgen deficiency. The study posits that this is due to an anabolic effect of testosterone on hair growth. The study authors stated, “The fact that no subject complained of hair loss as a result of treatment casts doubt on the presumed role of testosterone in driving female scalp hair loss.”

Provider Hormone Therapy Training

This is just one of many examples of why providers seeking to offer BHRT to their patients should undergo hormone replacement certification from a reputable hormone therapy training company like SottoPelle.

With thousands of research articles on the topic of hormone replacement, it is literally impossible for individual hormone therapy providers to keep up on every study. SottoPelle provider hormone therapy training ensures that you and your practice always have the latest and most relevant data at your fingertips to ensure the most accurate and effective hormone dosing and ongoing management.

SottoPelle® hormone therapy training is based on science with forty years of HRT expertise, and 30 years of pellet therapy … with proven results!

CLICK HERE to learn more about becoming a SottoPelle Certified hormone therapy provider, or call us directly at 323.986.5100 & press 1
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Improvement in scalp hair growth in androgen-deficient women treated with testosterone
R.L. Glaser, C. Dimitrakakis* and A.G. Messenger
Millennium Wellness Center, 228 E. Spring Valley Road, Dayton, OH 45458 and Department of Surgery, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, 3460 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435, U.S.A.; *1st Department of Ob ⁄Gyn, Athens University Medical School, 80 Vas. Sophias Street, 11528, Athens, Greece and National Institutes of Health, NICHD, Bldg 10, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-1103, U.S.A.; Department of Dermatology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF, U.K.