Menopause, Hair Loss & Hormone Therapy

Menopause is a natural biological process in which female hormones decline as a woman reaches the end of her reproductive years. As estrogen levels decrease, the female body goes through many physical changes. Some unpleasant menopausal symptoms – such as hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia will thankfully eventually subside. But sadly, menopausal hair loss can last the rest of a woman’s life unless it is treated.

Fortunately, there are some revolutionary new treatments – including bioidentical hormone replacement therapy – that can take to prevent or minimize hair loss during menopause.

Our SottoPelle hormone specialists and menopause experts discuss some of the best and most effective treatments for menopausal women’s hair loss.

How Do I Know if My Hair Loss is Due to Menopause?

There are many types and causes of female hair loss. Pregnancy and other medical conditions, for example, can result in Telogen Effluvium – a loss of hair in “patches” that often grow back.

“Androgenetic Alopecia” – also called Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) – causes hair follicles to shrink. This results in hair falling out faster and growing back “wispier”, with fewer follicles per inch of scalp. Female Pattern Baldness is the most common cause of female hair loss and is caused by a combination of heredity and hormones.

Female hair loss due to the hormonal changes of menopause tend to be subtler and more gradual than the “balding” that males experience. Menopausal women will typically undergo overall hair thinning rather than distinct patches or “bald spots”.

Hair thinning due to menopause can occur on the front, sides, top or all over the head. Women will often notice hair falling out in “clumps” when brushing or washing their hair if the hair loss is due to menopause.

What Causes Menopausal Hair Loss?

Clinical research has determined that hair loss that occurs during menopause is typically the result of a hormone imbalance. Both the female hormones estrogen and progesterone help hair grow faster, as well as help stay on the head longer. However, when estrogen and progesterone levels start to drop during menopause, a woman’s hair grows more slowly, falls out more rapidly, and becomes much thinner.

Further, menopausal hormone estrogen also triggers an increase in the body’s production of certain male hormones called “androgens”. And, frustratingly, androgens both shrink a woman’s hair follicles on her head and cause more hair to grow on her face.

Treating Menopausal Hair Loss

Seeing a doctor who specializes in hormone balancing, is crucial to accurately diagnosing the cause of your hair loss and identifying the best hair restoration treatment for you. Indeed, the cause of menopausal hair loss is almost always rooted in hormone changes. However, there are many additional contributors to thinning hair during menopause, including stress, illness or disease, certain medications, and some nutritional deficiencies.

A certified SottoPelle physician can order diagnostic blood tests – including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid tests, as well as complete blood panels – to identify any underlying deficiencies that may be the cause of your thinning hair.

Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopausal Hair Loss

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can effectively restore hormonal balance to menopausal women. This can provide long-lasting relief from many of the embarrassing or unpleasant symptoms of menopause, including hair loss.

After identifying a patient’s individual hormone deficiencies, a certified SottoPelle provider can prescribe customized, natural, biodentical hormone replacement. By restoring a woman’s levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, a woman can more rapidly often re-grow thicker hair that stays on her head longer.

Other Treatments for Menopausal Hair Loss

Topical medications can improve female hair growth but have several unpleasant side effects. Finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) can result in decreased libido, breast tenderness, and excess hair growth in unwanted places. Minoxidil (Rogaine) can cause unwanted facial and/or body hair, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, fainting, chest pain, swelling of the limbs, weight gain, tiredness, and difficulty breathing.

Depending upon the underlying cause of a menopausal women’s hair loss, dietary supplementation can also help stop hair loss, and support hair regrowth. SottoPelle Hair Repair Supplement can be used in combination with hormone replacement for even better results.

This revolutionary hair restoration supplement supplies essential nutrients to support healthy hair growth at the deepest cellular level, including Saw Palmetto to help keep the hair growth cycle intact, as well as d-Biotin, Zinc and Selenium to stimulate scalp health, inhibit further hair loss, and encourage new growth.

Hormone Therapy for Menopausal Hair Loss – Scottsdale, AZ

SottoPelle has been helping menopausal women restore hormone balance and reverse the symptoms of menopause for more than four decades. If you are suffering from hair loss or other symptoms of hormone decline, a SottoPelle certified provider will take a thorough diagnostic approach and prescribe the most effective treatment(s) to restore a thick and healthy head of hair.

Women’s Hormone Therapy for Hair Loss – Scottsdale, AZ:  (323) 986-5100

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as general information only and is not intended to be used as medical advice. While the benefits of hormone replacement are well documented through clinical research, we are not representing that hormone therapy is a “cure” for any disease. Only your treating physician can determine if hormone replacement may be a beneficial part of your healthcare regimen, based on your age, overall health, risk factors, and lifestyle.