Advise for Women with Menopause and Hair Loss

Women experience a variety of symptoms associated with menopause. However, some are discussed more frequently than others. Hair loss is one of the most distressing yet infrequently discussed symptoms of menopause. As women enter menopause, reports of changes in hair thickness and integrity are common. The North American Menopause Society credits hair loss during menopause to the change in amounts of androgen and estrogen in the body as well as to genetic predisposition. Certain types of therapy, namely androgen and progestogen, may also result in hair loss and/or thinning.

If you are a woman struggling with hair loss during menopause, it is important to know that there are viable hair replacement solutions available to you for the particular type of hair loss you are experiencing. In this posting, I want to highlight two non-surgical hair replacement procedures that are commonly used by women struggling with hair loss during menopause.

Hair Additions

Simply defined, a hair addition is a nonsurgical hair loss solution that adds human and/or synthetic hair to a person’s existing hair or scalp. Hair additions may include but are not limited to: hair weaves, hair extensions, hair fusions, hair pieces, hair prostheses, and wigs. Hair additions are not simply a “pull it off the shelf and stick on your head” cosmetic accessory. Women should meet with an trained hair loss expert and decide exactly what type of hair addition, color, texture, and style is right for them.

Hair additions are suitable for people who have temporary or permanent hair loss due to genetic or medical causes. Additionally, hair additions are appropriate for women who are uncertain about or unable to undergo hair transplant surgery. Hair Additions are a perfect solution for people who want long, beautiful, thick hair and who want full control over the color, thickness, length, and style of their hair.

Hair Augmentation

Hair augmentation as a procedure that adds hair to areas where hair is thinning or the scalp is bald. A hair graft is bonded to the scalp or to the natural hair to compensate for hair loss and/or thinning. Depending on the degree of hair loss in a particular area, the overall hair density can be adjusted as well as being designed to cover the precise area of hair loss. Hair augmentation is highly individualized and tailored to meet your specific and individual needs.

Menopause and Hair Loss

Menopause is difficult enough without worrying about the emotional and psychological effects of female hair loss. If you are experiencing the early signs of hair thinning and you are trying to decide what to do, remember that you have many options. If you are in the throes of moderate to severe hair loss and aren’t sure how to proceed, you don’t have to make any decisions today. Be patient with yourself and keep gathering information. Explore the options available to you, seek out a hair loss professional you feel you can trust, and ask questions.

Female Hair Loss: More Common Than One Might Think

According to Alopecia Studies & Hair Loss Alopecia Information, 40% of women by the age of 50 years old will show signs of hair loss. Female pattern baldness involves a pattern of hair loss in women that follows a particular cycle. Physicians attribute hair loss in women to hormones, aging, and other factors. Female pattern baldness may also be called alopecia, baldness, hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia.

Causes and Presentation:
The American Hair Loss Association explains that dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an offshoot of the hormone testosterone, is a major contributor to many types of hair loss. Essentially, DHT attacks hair follicles and either damages the follicle or kills them entirely. Female pattern baldness has several different courses and presentations. The course of female pattern baldness may include an overall and gradual thinning of the hair on the crown of the head. When thinning hair occurs for women, it usually begins at the top of the scalp and widens through the center of the head. Hair usually grows at a rate of half an inch per month. Hair may grow from two to six years, fall out, and immediately re-grow. The hair growth process spans three cycles: growth phase (or anagen phase), resting phase (or catagen phase), and falling out (or telegen phase).

The American Academy of Family Physicians explains that the cause of female pattern baldness is undetermined. Potential causes may include: hormone imbalance, genetics, pregnancy, medical issues, and external causes. Complete baldness is relatively rare in women as compared to men. However, it may occur. Complete baldness occurs when hair falls out and a new hair fails to grow in its place. Although the causes behind baldness are not well understood, research demonstrates that baldness may be related to aging, changes in hormone levels, and/or a family history of hair thinning, hair loss or balding.

Female Hair Loss Treatment:
Once you’ve noticed hair loss, it is important to schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will be able to determine whether your hair loss is a disorder that requires medical treatment. If the doctor informs you that your hair loss is not resulting from a medical problem, consider that permanent hair loss could be a reality. It is important to remember that female pattern baldness is not a medical disorder.

Many women prefer to receive treatment in an effort to slow the course of hair thinning and baldness. Minoxidil is the only drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat female pattern baldness. Minoxidil, which is most commonly marketed under the brand name Rogaine, helps hair growth in approximately 20-25% of women. However, hair loss begins once you stop applying Mixoxidil.

Hair has been called a woman’s crowning glory. To look good is to feel good. Female pattern baldness and thinning hair can be painful, devastating, and embarrassing. Beauty is but one of many elements that comprise a woman’s life, yet one of the most important by which she is judged. Hair is a huge component of female beauty. Hair replacement or hair restoration may be an ideal solution if you suffering from thinning hair or moderate to severe hair loss.

According to Michael Suba, owner of Continental Hair Ltd. inToronto,Ontario, modern, state-of-the-art hair additions can be an extraordinary solution for female pattern thinning. “A hair integration system is a state-of-the-art hair enhancement that adds any amount of fullness, length and body to your existing hair. It is feather-light, secure and completely undetectable.”

Parting Thoughts
Female pattern hair loss is a reality that many women live with every day. Although the effects of hair loss can exact an emotional and psychological toll on women, there are resources available to help you solve your hair loss problem. If you are struggling to maintain your positive outlook on life in the face of female pattern baldness, we encourage you to contact a trained hair loss professional and explore the various state-of-the-art hair replacement and hair restoration solutions that are available today.

Trichotillomania: Living and Coping

Trichotillomania has been described by the National Institutes of Health as
“Hair loss from repeated urges to pull or twist the hair until it breaks off. Patients are unable to stop this behavior, even as their hair becomes thinner.

Causes, Incidence and Risk Factors.  Trichotillomania is a type of impulsive control disorder. Its causes are not clearly understood. It may affect as much as 4% of the population. Women are four times more likely to be affected than men. 

Symptoms usually begin before age 17. The hair may come out in round patches or across the scalp. The effect is an uneven appearance. The person may pluck other hairy areas, such as the eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair.

These symptoms are usually seen in children:

• An uneven appearance to the hair
  Bare patches or all around (diffuse) loss of hair
  Bowel blockage (obstruction) if people eat the hair they pull out
  Constant tugging, pulling, or twisting of hair
  Denying the hair pulling
  Hair regrowth that feels like stubble in the bare spots
  Increasing sense of tension before the hair pulling
  Other self-injury behaviors
  Sense of relief, pleasure, or gratification after the hair pulling

Most people with this disorder also have problems with:

• Feeling sad or depressed
  Anxiety
  Poor self image”

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According to MayoClinic.com, for some people, trichotillomania may be mild and generally manageable. For others, the urge to pull hair is overwhelming and can be accompanied by considerable distress. Some treatment options have helped many people reduce their hair pulling or stop entirely.

An article on Trichotillomania at Wikipedia.org suggests that support groups and internet sites such as the Trichotillomania Learning Center can provide recommended educational material and help persons with trichotillomania in maintaining a positive attitude and overcoming the fear of being alone with the disease.

Trichotillomania is classified as an impulse control disorder and leads to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment.  Teens and adults with the disorder may find coping with the disorder in every day life somewhat easier by consulting a trained hair loss professional who may recommend a wig or hair prosthesis to mask the resulting hair loss and allow the sufferer to interact normally in social and public situations such as work and school.

Resources:
Trichotillomania Learning Center
OhioHealth.comMemphis Trichotillomania Support Group