Menopause And Hair Loss How To Treat

Overview

What'southward pilus loss in women?

Hair loss in women is only that — when a woman experiences unexpected, heavy loss of hair. More often than not, humans shed betwixt l and 100 single hairs per day. Hair shedding is function of a natural residue — some hairs fall out while others abound in. When the balance is interrupted — when hair falls out and less pilus grows in — hair loss happens. Hair loss is different than hair shedding. The medical term for pilus loss is "alopecia."

Pilus grows on almost all of your skin surfaces — not the palms of your easily, soles of your feet, lips or eyelids. Light, fine, curt hair is chosen vellus hair. Terminal/androgenic hair is thicker, darker and longer.

What are the cycles of hair growth?

Hair goes through three cycles:

The anagen stage (growing phase) can last from ii years to eight years. This phase by and large refers to virtually 85% to 90% of the pilus on your head.
The catagen stage (transition stage) is the fourth dimension that hair follicles shrink and takes virtually ii to 3 weeks.
The telogen phase (resting phase) takes most two to four months. At the end of this phase, the hair falls out.

Your shorter hairs like eyelashes, arm and leg pilus and eyebrows take a curt anagen phase — almost one month. Your scalp pilus can final up to six years or even longer.

What are the types of hair loss?

In that location are iii: anagen effluvium, telogen fetor and FPHL.

Anagen fetor: This is caused past medications that poison a growing hair follicle (like chemotherapy).
Telogen effluvium: This is caused by an increased number of pilus follicles reaching the telogen phase, which is the stage where hair falls out.
Androgenetic baldness/female person pattern alopecia/female pattern hair loss (FPHL)/alopecia: This blazon is the most common. Hair thins over the pinnacle of the head and on the sides.

How common is hair loss in women?

Many people think that hair loss simply affects men. However, it is estimated that more than than 50% of women will experience noticeable pilus loss. The virtually significant cause of hair loss in women is female-pattern pilus loss (FPHL), which affects about one-3rd of susceptible women, which equals out to some 30 million women in the United States.

Which women are likely to experience hair loss?

Whatever daughter or woman can exist affected by pilus loss. Still, it is usually more than common in:

Women older than twoscore.
Women who accept just had babies.
Women who have had chemotherapy and those who have been affected by other medications.
Women who often take hairstyles that pull on the hair (like tight ponytails or tight braids) or use harsh chemicals on their hair.
Menopausal women.

What are the myths about hair loss?

Myths nigh pilus loss are widespread. Zip in the following list is true:

You lot're losing hair because you lot shampoo it likewise much, or because you lot've colored information technology or gotten a perm.
Dandruff causes permanent hair loss in women.
Stress causes permanent pilus loss in women.
If yous shave your head, your pilus will abound back twice every bit thick.
If you stand up on your head you'll increment circulation, stimulating pilus growth.
If you brush your hair 100 strokes a day that volition make your hair healthier.
Hats and wigs cause hair loss in women.
Hair loss only affects intellectual women.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the common causes of hair loss in women?

What causes hair loss?

Pilus fashion: Your style of hair tin can cause hair loss when your hair is arranged in ways that pull on your roots, similar tight ponytails, braids, or corn rows. This type of hair loss is called traction baldness. If hair follicles are damaged, the loss can be permanent.
Vitamin deficiency.
Dieting (rapid weight loss).
Restrictive diets.
Over candy scalp hair (breakage).

What causes anagen effluvium hair loss?

Toxic substances, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and some medications. These cause sudden pilus loss that can occur anywhere on your trunk. It happens to hair in the growth phase. Sometimes, this type of hair loss can exist permanent if your hair follicles are damaged.

What causes telogen effluvium hair loss?

Farthermost physical stress or shock to your body: This causes temporary pilus loss. This category includes events like losing a lot of weight, surgery, anemia, illness and having a baby.
Extreme emotional stress: mental disease, the death of a loved 1, etc.
An abnormal thyroid.
Medications and supplements: blood pressure medicines, gout medicines and high doses of Vitamin A.
Hormone changes caused past pregnancy, menopause or birth command pills.

What causes FPHL (Female Pattern Hair Loss)?

Genes: Your family's genes tin can cause thinning of pilus along the top of your head.
Aging: Hormone changes every bit you lot historic period tin can cause balding.
Menopause: This type of hair loss often gets worse when estrogen is lost during menopause.

There are as well some conditions that affect pilus loss:

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin illness that causes patchy pilus loss on your head and possibly other places on your body. It's usually not permanent.

What is the relationship between pilus loss in women and menopause?

During menopause, y'all might see 1 of two things happen with your hair. Y'all might offset growing pilus where you didn't before. Or, y'all might encounter the pilus you have start to sparse. I cause may be changing levels of hormones during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male person hormones, are increased.

During and after menopause, pilus might get finer (thinner) considering hair follicles shrink. Pilus grows more slowly and falls out more than easily in these cases.

Your healthcare provider will exercise a thorough exam and accept a detailed history to assist y'all deal with changes in hair growth. You lot may be directed to have your iron levels or thyroid hormone levels tested. Your medications might be changed if what you take is found to affect pilus loss or growth.

What are the signs of pilus loss in women?

Seeing more pilus fall out daily either on your brush, on the floor, in showers, on your pillows, or in the sink.
Seeing noticeable patches of thinner or missing hair, including a part on the pinnacle of your head that gets wider.
Seeing scalp skin through hair
Having smaller ponytails.
Seeing pilus break off.

Diagnosis and Tests

How will a healthcare provider diagnose hair loss in women? What tests are washed?

The tests performed to diagnose pilus loss in women can be simple or complicated:

Gently pulling on your pilus to encounter how many hairs come out.
Blood tests. These check for vitamin and mineral levels (like vitamin D, vitamin B, zinc and iron) and hormone levels (including thyroid and sex hormones).
Scalp examination nether a microscope and trichoscopy.
Scalp biopsy to remove and examine a very small piece of scalp skin.

What questions might your healthcare provider enquire to diagnose and categorize your hair loss?

Your healthcare provider might ask about your habits:

What kinds of hair products practise you use?
What kinds of pilus styles do you wear?
What types of food exercise y'all consume (protein is important for hair growth)?
Do you have a habit of pulling your pilus out (trichotillomania)?

They might ask about your history:

Has anyone in your firsthand family unit experienced hair loss?
Is there annihilation stressful going on in your life?
What medications and supplements do you accept every twenty-four hour period?
Has hair loss e'er happened to you before?
What foods are in your nutrition?

And, they might ask near your observations:

How long have y'all been losing hair?
Have you been shedding more?
Accept you noticed hair loss in places other than your scalp, like your eyebrows? Leg and arm hair?
Does anything worsen your hair loss?
Does anything improve your hair loss?
Have you noticed hair loss occasionally or has it been going on continuously?
Have you noticed if your hair growth has changed?
Has your hair been breaking more often?

Management and Treatment

What kind of healthcare provider treats hair loss?

You may be treated by a dermatologist.

How is hair loss in women treated? What medicines or supplements may help?

Treatment depends on the cause of your pilus loss.

In cases where the loss is due to stress or hormone changes like pregnancy, there might be no treatment needed. The hair loss will finish after a menses of time.
In cases of hair loss existence due to hair styling practices, like tight braids or ponytails or certain chemicals, treatment means not doing the things that caused the impairment.
In cases due to nutritional deficiencies, you might be told to take supplements. For instance, you lot might be told to take a multivitamin and iii to v milligrams of biotin daily.
Minoxidil (Rogaine®) is canonical for treating FPHL. The two% or five% solution tin be purchased in stores. However, you have to follow directions exactly and use the production indefinitely. Don't utilize this product if you're pregnant, if y'all plan to get meaning, or if you're breastfeeding.
The HairMax Lasercomb® low light laser is canonical by the The states FDA to treat FPHL. Some other FDA-approved light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation product is the Theradome LH80 PRO® helmet and depression calorie-free laser helmets and caps.

Other medications that take been studied, but not canonical, for hair loss in women include:

Spironolactone and other anti-androgens.
Finasteride and other alpha-reductase enzyme inhibitors.
Estrogens.
Prostaglandin analogs.
Steroids.
Other calorie-free treatments.

Information technology is important to note that premenopausal women should not take medications for hair loss treatment without using contraception. Many drugs, including minoxidil and finasteride, are not condom for meaning women or women who want to get pregnant.

Pilus transplant surgery is some other option. Modest pieces of scalp with hair follicles are taken from the dorsum of the head and moved to slits in the areas of baldness. Potential problems with this handling include the usual risks of surgery like infection, folliculitis and shock loss — where the hair falls out in the transplant area. In cases where the bald areas are large, there might be problem trying to find enough hair to transplant. In addition, the surgery can be costly and is usually non covered by insurance.
Injections of protein-rich plasma (PRP) accept also been done to encourage hair growth. PRP is by and large fabricated from blood drawn from a patient. The platelets are removed and full-bodied and and so added back to the blood for injection.
Microneedling of the scalp with and without the application of minoxidil.

Are there complications/side effects of treatment?

Minoxidil may irritate your scalp and cause dryness, scaling, itching and/or redness. Run into your dermatologist if this happens.

With Minoxidil you lot might also see hair growing in other places other than your scalp (cheeks and forehead, for example). Launder your face after you apply Minoxidil and brand sure you avoid other areas when you apply it.

Prevention

How can pilus loss in women be prevented?

Preventing hair loss is not possible when it is due to disease, aging, heredity or physical stressors like injuries. You lot tin can prevent hair loss caused by caustic chemicals or tight hairstyles past fugitive them. You might be able to prevent some hair loss past eating a healthy diet that provides necessary nutrients in terms of vitamins, minerals and protein. Yous tin can cease smoking.

Outlook / Prognosis

What is the prognosis/outlook for women with hair loss?

Your diagnosis determines the prognosis:

Anagen and telogen shedding may stop with fourth dimension.
Treat any diseases associated with pilus loss.
Disguise or embrace your pilus loss using a wig or hat.
Early treatment of alopecia may reduce the speed of thinning and may promote regrowth.

While hair loss is not itself dangerous, women with pilus loss tend to be very upset past the changes to their appearance. These negative feelings tin can touch self-esteem and social lives. Recent studies suggest that FPHL can be associated with conditions that include metabolic syndrome, endocrine disorders and diabetes.

Living With

What are some tips for dealing with hair loss in women?

At that place are some things yous tin do on your own. Yous might check with your stylist or try some of these:

Coloring your hair adds volume to the strands, making your hair seem fuller.
Massaging your head, like when you lot are washing your hair, can stimulate blood catamenia to the scalp and hair follicles.
Getting your hair cut shorter, and having layers added, can make your hair seem fuller.
Using the right kind of shampoo tin can as well aid. Expect for a shampoo that adds volume without using sulfate detergents.
Using the right kind of production at the right time tin can also help. In that location are products that add book that you add while your hair is still wet. However, using also much product tin add together weight.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

See a dermatologist as soon as possible when y'all notice hair loss. The sooner you get handling, the more constructive it will exist.

What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

What is the cause of my hair loss?
How many strands of hair am I losing per day?
What type of hair loss do I accept?
Will my hair loss be permanent?
What's the best treatment for me?

A note from Cleveland Dispensary

Hair loss may crusade you distress whether information technology happens because of genetics, a disease, or even stress. Know that at that place are some treatments you lot can try, and expert dermatologists are in that location to help you. Your hair loss may be able to be reversed. See your healthcare provider as shortly equally you notice something wrong because the sooner you lot start handling, the meliorate.