Hair thinning and loss is often associated with men but it may also be a problem for some women.
There are many causes of hair thinning including things such as stress, medication and illness.
Yet some of the more common causes of female hair thinning are attributable to the changes taking place in a woman’s body around the menopause.
Remember though, never self-diagnose. This article should not be read as qualified medical advice and if you start to lose your hair you should consult a physician.
Menopausal hair loss
It’s worth stating that the precise detail of the mechanisms at work here are not entirely understood, even if the general principles are.
What is clear is that most women in the age range late 30s-early 50s, will become pre-menopausal then eventually enter the full menopause.
The menopause is best described as being the period in which a woman will cease producing eggs and being fertile.
The body typically undergoes major hormonal changes during this period and the symptoms experienced may be many and varied.
Some women report only very moderate problems, issues and experiences while for others, the changes may be severe and traumatic – both psychologically and physiologically.
One moderately common symptom reported by menopausal women is hair thinning.
This often follows a relatively set pattern and for that reason it’s sometimes referred to as female pattern baldness/hair loss.
The pattern
The human body rarely tidily conforms to ‘standard’ descriptions and the hair loss associated with the menopause may depend slightly upon the hair of the person concerned and their genetic background.
In those with longer straighter hair, the thinning often commences along a central widening ‘parting line’ giving what’s sometimes called a ‘thin and straggly’ appearance. This can progress down the sides of the head leading to an increasingly thin-looking appearance over larger areas.
In women that have more naturally curly hair, the hair loss may be less visible initially along a central line but may become visible over a wider area.
Whatever the hair type, the thinning may also be accompanied by a receding of the hairline from the front of the head though this is not as common in women as it is in men.
Female pattern hair loss rarely reaches the levels seen in large numbers of men and the thinning is typically more evenly distributed across the head.
It is impossible to outline a ‘typical’ loss rate. In many women, the loss stabilizes naturally and fairly quickly. In others it may continue over years and become moderately pronounced or more rarely, very severe.
Psychological effects
The effects on men and women may be grave.
In men, the effects may be consistently underestimated due to the sociological pressures for males to disregard such a thing as being ‘normal’.
However, for many women it may be worse.
In males, society does not generally interpret premature hair loss as implying a loss of masculinity or virility (though it may well imply a lack of attractiveness to females).
However, in females, there is no corresponding safety net. Thinning hair often cuts directly to many women’s self-perceptions of their femininity and sexuality and this view is also reflected to some extent by society at large.
As menopausal hair loss also corresponds to an approaching loss of fertility, this may be an extremely difficult thing to accommodate emotionally without trauma.
The causes
Estrogen is commonly described as the ‘female hormone’.
Although the exact mechanisms are still under debate, it appears as if estrogen stimulates hair growth and encourages thicker hair.
During the menopause, it’s not unusual for estrogen levels to fall. Sometimes this leads to female pattern hair loss being described as estrogenic alopecia.
Paradoxically, this may also correspond with what appears to be a tendency for the male hormones (androgens) to increase.
One of these, testosterone, is converted by the body into a substance called DHT.
DHT is known to have a negative effect on the hair follicles and restrict their growth. It is presumed to be a major cause of male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia).
Researchers are keen to point out though that there are many factors potentially at work and that they may well be interacting.
For example, hormonal changes commonly result in increased stress levels in women and rapid mood swings. Stress is also now generally accepted to be a significant cause of hair thinning even though the exact mechanisms are poorly understood.
Treatments of menopausal hair loss
It is sometimes estimated that around 90% of hair loss treatments are completely ineffective. That may be because they simply don’t work or because they don’t work for the individual concerned.
In the case of the menopause, hormone related treatments are available and for some women they appear to be moderately successful in reducing many of the undesirable effects of the menopause including hair thinning.
However, hormone treatments may have serious side effects and for some physicians, they remain controversial.
There are some reports that vitamin supplements (taken under direction) may also be beneficial in some cases.
Ultimately, cosmetics may be the most effective way of reducing the visible effects although extreme solutions such as ‘hair transplants’ are also becoming increasingly available (though again, often with mixed or disappointing results).
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