Treating Menopausal Hair Thinning, Hair Loss – Everyday Health

Do you ever look in your shower drain or hairbrush and wonder how you still have any hair left on your head? Is your scalp easily sunburned, or are you noticing thinning hair around your part? You may be experiencing female pattern hair loss, a problem that’s much more common than you might think.

Hair Loss Happens as We Age

“About half of all women will have some element of hair loss by the age of 50, and by the age of 60, approximately 80 percent of women will experience some hair loss,” says Glynis Ablon, MD, an associate clinical professor at the University of California in Los Angeles and a dermatologist at Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center in California.

We all know hair loss or balding can happen to men in midlife, but we don’t talk about it as much when it comes to women, she says. “It usually impacts women in a different way, especially their self-confidence. Someone like Bruce Willis can just shave their head look fine, but it tends to be a bigger deal for women,” says Dr. Ablon.

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The good news: Various treatments are available to address hair loss in menopausal women, says Stephanie S. Faubion, MD, the director of the Center for Women’s Health at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the medical director of NAMS. “There are simple fixes for female pattern hair loss, but we shouldn’t assume that is always the reason for hair loss; sometimes there are underlying issues causing the condition,” says Dr. Faubion.

What Is Female Pattern Hair Loss?

The most common type of hair loss in women is called androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss (FPHL). Hair follicles shrink, causing the hair to become thinner and finer, with decreased numbers of hairs overall. The hair’s growing phase also gets shorter and fewer hairs are in the active growing phase.

“Usually in female pattern hair loss, the frontal hairline stays about the same, but there can be a widening of the part and a central thinning of the hair,” says Alison Bruce, MBChB, a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Bruce presented information on common causes of midlife hair loss and new therapy options at the North American Medical Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, held September 22–25, 2021.

Finding the ‘Root’ Cause of Hair Loss Is Important

If you’re bothered by your thinning hair or hair loss, a visit to your primary care doctor is a great place to start, says Bruce. “It’s likely that female pattern hair loss is probably the cause, but a clinical examination can confirm this,” she says.

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Source: https://www.everydayhealth.com/menopause/help-for-hair-thinning-in-midlife/