Hormonal Hair Loss in Women

Fluctuating hormones, or a decrease in hormone levels, can take its toll on your hair. When your hormones aren’t balanced, your hair can thin and fall out. Women going through perimenopause and menopause may notice that their hair is thinning and hair loss is accelerated.

Hair loss during the perimenopausal and menopausal period is the result of a decrease in estrogen as well as an imbalance between testosterone and estrogen. Testosterone is the male hormone that females also have. When there is too much testosterone, it causes hair loss on your head but hair growth on the face and chin.

Effects

• Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone cling to hair follicles, which causes the follicles to shrink and your hair then falls out. When you do grow new hair, if you do, it will be at a slower rate, explains Familydoctor.org.

Considerations

• When a woman has polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS, she has too much testosterone. This will cause hair loss as well as weight gain, increased facial hair, acne and inability to get pregnant.

Features

• Taking birth control pills, which contain hormones, usually stimulates and prolongs the hair growth cycle; however, much like the aftermath of pregnancy, the hair will reach the sloughing off phase three or four months after going off the pill. The hair will grow back. When pregnant, the hormones in a woman’s body prolong the hair growth phase, and the pregnant woman will have an abundant head of hair. However, six weeks to six months after delivery the hairs go into the resting phase and that’s when large amounts of hair break or fall off. This is the result of hormonal shifts. Familydoctor.org notes that correcting your hormonal imbalance may remedy your hair loss situation.

Potential

• When taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), you may initially experience a bountiful head of hair; however, in a few months, you may notice excessive hair loss. If you stop taking the hormones, you may notice even more hair loss, explains Wdxcyber.com.

Recommendation

• Taking the B vitamins, including biotin, may help ward off hair loss. Biotin helps fatty acids and glucose form, which aids in the metabolism of proteins as well as increases energy. Hair is primarily made up of protein. Additional vitamins that will help keep your hair healthy and attached to your head include vitamin E and vitamin C with bioflavonoid