How Can I Stop Menopause Hair Loss?

They say it’s normal to lose 50 to 100 hair strands each day, but in menopause, hair loss can be very severe: You find large clumps of hair on your brush or in your hands, while shampooing. There is also a noticeable thinning of the hair on top and sides of head, and the scalp turns itchy, oily, and red.  Another distressing symptom of menopause cause.

A lot of women are embarrassed by menopause hair loss for justifiable reasons. Hair thinning or balding (but not as big patches as with male baldness) does show age.

Female pattern baldness really begins at the onset of menopause. Again, fluctuating hormone levels, particularly of the estrogen and testosterone (a well-known and primary androgen), contribute to menopause hair loss. There are different kinds of hair loss (or alopecia) associated with menopause cause.

Menopause Cause – Why Does Menopause Hair Loss Happen?

One is estrogenic alopecia, the most common among menopausal women, which is due to the decline in estrogen levels. Estrogen promotes hair growth, lengthens the hair’s “growth phase” (anagen), and blocks testosterone. In addition to this, when estrogen levels go down, androgen (or male hormones) levels go up. This kind of menopause hair loss is called androgenic alopecia. Testosterone converts to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and sticks to hair follicles and forces them to go into telogen or “resting phase, causing hair follicles to shrink.

Besides hormones, other factors come into play in menopause hair loss. Stress, anxiety, depression—all prevalent in menopause cause—may also cause hair thinning or loss. So can deficiency in iron, protein, vitamins B and C. In others, certain medical conditions may trigger the condition: anemia, thyroid or pituitary problems, chronic illness, and others.

What can you do about it? Adjust your diet to include more iron, protein, folic acid, and vitamins A, B and C; these are found in chicken, fish, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, tomatoes, citrus fruits, among others. You may also look into foods rich in phytoestrogens like soy, tofu, soybean, and the like.

Eliminate certain practices that further desensitize the hair, like blow-drying, hair strengthening, and hair coloring. Keeping hair short also reduces pressure (from weight of hair) on scalp.
You may also resort to certain drugs to treat menopause hair loss. Finasteride or Propecia is a prescription for hair regrowth and hair loss prevention (but pregnant women are advised not to take this drug), while Spironolactone slows down the production of androgens (testosterone) in the adrenal glands and ovaries. Minoxidil, more popularly known as Rogaine, is a topical treatment that stimulates hair follicles.
A more radical treatment is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), a procedure that “replaces” lost estrogens. It is rather risky, and studies have shown a link between HRT and certain types of cancer. It’s best to discuss with doctor and proceed with caution. Still another extreme treatment for menopause hair loss is microsurgical hair implants—that is if you don’t mind shelling out more money.