The most common effect of menopause could be hair thinning or widening hair part, both of which are something that you can actually take control of. While you cannot control menopause, you can address the root causes of hair loss and work on it inside-out.
Culprits behind hair thinning during menopause:
The top culprit behind hair thinning during menopause are hormones. While women are going through their menopause, their ovarian function starts to decline rather quickly. The shift in ovarian function can cause androgen which is a male sex hormone increase, along with which estrogen and progesterone which is the female sex hormone level decrease at a faster pace than testosterone. Therefore, testosterones then convert into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at the follicle level, and too many hair follicles become sensitive to that. This results in two things - first, the overproduced androgen receptors bind with your follicles, causing them to shrink, this process is known as miniaturization. Because of this, your follicles no longer get the amount of blood (therefore, oxygen and nutrition) to produce thick and healthy hair. So your hair gets thinner, shorter and sometimes, non-pigmented hair until there is no more hair growth from your follicle.Other underlying causes can be stress and aging during menopause. It has been found in several studies that the cortisol levels in women increase and the elevated cortisol levels can reduce the hair growth phase and decrease the necessary nutrients needed for hair growth.
Almost every menstruater develops some degree of pattern baldness. Most of the time, it starts any time after the onset of puberty. However, it is only during menopause, when hair loss typically increases, that many people first notice the symptoms of female pattern baldness. The risk increases with age and has prominent genetic linkage - if either of your parents has had a history of androgenetic alopecia then there is a higher probability that the condition might affect you too.
How to diagnose female pattern baldness due to mesopause:
The hair strands appear from hair follicles in the scalp. When hair follicles shrink over time, baldness happens and the hair starts to become shorter and finer, and eventually, the follicle stops growing hair. Female pattern baldness can be detected through the below symptoms -- During early stage female pattern baldness, thinning mainly happens at the top and the crown part of the scalp. Usually, the center hair part starts widening at the beginning – this is known as the Christmas tree pattern.
- The front hairline is unaffected by female pattern baldness. Only normal hair fall happens here.
- The hair loss never proceeds towards total baldness, as may happen with men.
- If female pattern baldness is happening due to increased androgens, the hair on the head is thinner while the hair on the face is coarser.
- Scalp itching is generally absent.
Can you prevent menopause hair loss?
Female pattern baldness cannot be prevented, but the hair can be prevented from breakage. Below are some hair care tips that you can follow to minimize hair damage.- Try to avoid heat and chemicals and the treatments that involve them. It will not only cause damage to the hair but might also cause hair loss later on.
- Consume green leafy vegetables, cereals, and protein-rich foods in your diet. Keep your diet healthy and balanced.
- If you feel that your hair fall is more than usual, get in touch with a dermat or get a free hair diagnosis at Traya.
- Avoid smoking and alcohol consumption.
- You can also pamper your hair by applying a few homemade hair masks like egg white and lemon hair mask, green tea and apple cider vinegar hair mask.
