HOW DOES MENOPAUSE CAUSE HAIR LOSS?

As if the mood swings and hot flushes aren’t enough, hair loss during menopause can be a common but troubling symptom to add to the list of changes our bodies are going though. So how does menopause affect hair loss?

Hair loss during menopause is a big issue for some women, for others it's dry and damaged-looking hair. Both equally troubling and problematic when you see your luscious locks disappear as if before your eyes.

For me, it is all of the above. My name is Bambi Staveley and I am a nurse (RN), author of HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN and female hair loss advocate and the creator of Boost N Blend. But more on that later. First, let's talk female hair loss after 45...

Zinc and Iron are also essential for healthy hair growth. Being low in iron and in particular in iron stores, known as ferritin, can be the number one contributing factor to hair loss in women of any age. Following menopause and with a less than perfect diet, a woman can have dangerously low iron and not be aware of it. Get to your GP and ask for a blood test. Always a good idea to have a blood test if you are concerned about hair loss.

Even with iron as an underlying cause, since female hair loss at any age is multifactorial, it can be challenging for you and your doctor to be sure you have uncovered every possibility. HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN offers everything you need to know to find out what is causing your hair loss and what you can do about it.

A woman's first experience of hair loss during menopause can be quite daunting. But you’re not alone; it’s a very common symptom of menopause. In fact, up to 80% of women experience some form of hair loss by age 60.

If lack of confidence is a concern or you are feeling less than feminine, the first thing to do is to get yourself a cotton hair fibre concealer. Back in 2010 I suffered a huge amount of hair loss. Not willing to use a men's hair loss product I looked around for a feminine product and discovered there weren't any - everything available was for men!  The men's hair fibre products tend to be made from animal products and a myriad of chemicals, and I was looking for something vegan and without a huge number of horrible chemicals.

And so I developed Boost N Blend! Boost N Blend is an organic cotton product that comes in many hair colours designed and developed especially for women, particularly if you colour your hair. It is an instant solution since you simply shake it on and blend it in with your fingers, any signs of visible hair loss disappears instantly. 

BOOST N BLEND FEMALE HAIR FIBRES COVER UP VISIBLE SCALP IN SECONDS. SHAKE IN AND GO.

Stress causes hair loss in a variety of ways. Stress, and in particular chronic stress, leads to a sustained increase in the body's cortisol levels. Long term raised cortisol levels can lead to chronic inflammation. It can also lead to the suppression of the immune system which can also lead to disease (such as cancer and auto-immune for example). Due to this Cortisol effect therefore, it can be said that lifestyle, poor diet and stress, all over time, can lead to systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation hyper-sensitizes the hair follicles to androgens which is why chronic inflammation can cause female pattern hair loss. 

There is a viscous cycle between stress > raised cortisol > inflammation > female hair loss.There are other factors at play here such as type 2 diabetes, being over weight and oxidative stress affecting the mitochondria of the hair cell. However, I've tried to keep it simple in order to help you understand and try to identify your triggers and contributing factors.

So while some women maybe in menopause or are taking medications that are known to cause or trigger hair loss, they may not have any form of hair loss if they are otherwise healthy. However if a women has systemic inflammation then the medication may cause hair loss in that woman. This is why when women ask on Facebook groups if others have found hair loss caused by a certain medication or trigger, there will always be a number of women who also have also taken that medication successfully for many years, with no hair loss.

I suffer hair loss myself and you can read my story and how I got my hair back, in my latest book HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN. If you have left a doctor’s surgery in tears because he/she wasn’t able to offer anything constructive about your hair loss, then you need to read this book. My research and advice picks up where most doctors leave off.

If hair loss is a problem for you, it’s a good idea to visit your local GP. In the meantime, usea women’s hair loss concealer like BOOST N BLEND™ to keep your hair loss a secret. It is easy to apply and gives an instant result.