Cancer Treatment Is A Trigger
Radiation and chemotherapy used to treat cancer are some of the common causes of hair loss in women. Both therapies harm hair follicles in addition to killing cancer cells. People undergoing cancer treatment often experience dramatic hair loss as a result of these therapies. They may wake up with clumps of hair on their pillow or they may lose large amounts of hair in the shower. Rapid hair loss in women often starts within 2 weeks of beginning treatment. It may be worst between 1 to 2 months into therapy. The scalp may be extra sensitive during this time. It may be irritating to wash, brush, and comb hair. The good news is that once cancer treatment is over, hair tends to grow back.
Correct The Underlying Hormonal Imbalance
If your difficulty sleeping started – or got WORSE – during menopause… It might be due to hormonal changes and imbalance.
If you can correct that underlying hormonal imbalance… Your sleep can improve to the point where you no longer need to worry nearly as much about good sleep habits, because when you lie down, you sleep.
There’s not always a quick fix for this, but I help women with this all the time. It’s possible.
I’m so passionate about helping you to quickly and easily start using herbs for sleep, hormonal balance, and, yes, hair loss – that I hope you’ll take advantage of my free herbal masterclass while it’s available and FREE.
What Is The Best Vitamin For Hair Loss
B vitamins
One of the best known vitamins for hair growth is a B vitamin called biotin. Studies link biotin deficiency with hair loss in humans . Although biotin is used as an alternative hair loss treatment, those who are deficient have the best results.
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What Are Some Tips For Dealing With Hair Loss In Women
There are some things you can do on your own. You 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 are washing your hair, can stimulate blood flow 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 can also help. Look for a shampoo that adds volume without using sulfate detergents.
- Using the right kind of product at the right time can also help. There are products that add volume that you add while your hair is still wet. However, using too much product can add weight.
Estrogen Progesterone And Androgens
Estrogen and progesterone hormones keep your hair in the growing phase the longer the growing phase, the longer and healthier your hair can grow. When your levels of estrogen drop, the growth cycle of your hair shortens and hairs shed before it reaches its maximum length.
A decrease in estrogen and progesterone also triggers an increase in the production of androgens, or a group of male hormones. Androgens do not decrease your number of scalp hairs they miniaturize the hair bulbs, causing a reduction in the volume or body of your hair overall. So, your hair may not be falling out more or failing to grow back, but the hairs growing in to replace the lost ones are thinner and weaker.
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Outlook: Is Menopausal Hair Loss Permanent
Hair loss during menopause is common and can be upsetting, but there are things you can do to help protect your hair. Some of these will also help with other menopause symptoms, so they can help you feel generally better, too.
Whether your hair loss is permanent depends on the cause. If youre worried, see a doctor, and they can investigate.
Can Bald Spots Grow Back
In many cases, bald patches regrow by themselves without treatment. In particular, if there are just one or two small bald patches then many doctors would advise that you simply leave it alone at first. If the hair loss is not too bad then there is a good chance that your hair will regrow after several months.
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Hair Loss And Menopause
Menopause is a natural biological process that all women go through, usually in their 40s or 50s. During this time, the body adjusts to fluctuating hormone levels and the menstrual cycle ends. Along with that, women experience many other symptoms, such as hot flashes, changes in mood, changes in body fat distribution and sleep problems. Another common occurrence during menopause? Hair loss.
Dr. Lady Dy of Dy Dermatology Center in Glenview, Illinois, specializes in hair loss treatments. Patients from across the country seek her servicesincluding women who are experiencing hair loss from menopause.
Hair loss is often disheartening to those who experience it. Many are too embarrassed to talk about it or assume that there is no treatment. Dr. Dy educates women on menopause, how it changes their bodies, and what she can do to help.
What Are The Myths About Hair Loss
Myths about hair loss are widespread. Nothing in the following list is true:
- Youre losing hair because you shampoo it too much, or because youve colored it or gotten a perm.
- Dandruff causes permanent hair loss in women.
- Stress causes permanent hair loss in women.
- If you shave your head, your hair will grow back twice as thick.
- If you stand on your head youll increase circulation, stimulating hair growth.
- If you brush your hair 100 strokes a day that will make your hair healthier.
- Hats and wigs cause hair loss in women.
- Hair loss only affects intellectual women.
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Ringworm And Hair Loss
Ringworm is a fungal skin infection that causes patches of hair loss. The official medical name for ringworm on the scalp is tinea capitis. The infection starts out as a small pimple that grows larger. Affected areas are itchy, red, inflamed, scaly patches with temporary baldness. The skin may ooze. People may have one or more bald spots. Ringworm is more common in children, but adults can get it, too.
The fungus triggers hair loss by causing hair to become brittle and to break off. The skin often appears most red around the edge of the lesion, with a more normal appearing skin tone in the center. That is one of the reasons the condition is called ringworm. The condition is contagious with skin-to-skin contact. It is also transmissible by infected combs, hairbrushes, unwashed clothing, and surfaces in gyms, showers, and pool areas. Your doctor can treat ringworm with oral antifungal medication. Ringworm on the scalp is one potential cause of hair loss in women that is reversible.
Do Hair Growth Vitamins Actually Work
With ingredients like biotin, vitamin B-12, and collagen, the best supplements for hair growth in women treat vitamin deficiencies that cause hair loss from the inside out. . Bonus: not only do hair growth pills stimulate the hair follicle and thicken hair, they also can make your skin and nails healthier. These vitamins have proven to be effective at contributing to hair growth:
- Vitamin A
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Avoid Starches And Sugar
Of course, refined white sugar, along with high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners, are present in desserts. But they’re also present in a staggering majority of processed foods, including many cereals, soups, breads, salad dressings and even commercially produced tomato sauce. Avoiding blood sugar spikes by avoiding these foods may be helpful in avoiding the most infamous of menopause markers, the Menopause Meltdown. Also, be aware that other foods, like potatoes, pasta, rice and other carbohydrates, spike your glycemic index as well. A general rule of thumb is to avoid all white foods .
Caring For Your Hair And Skin In Menopause
My hair, nails and skin look amazing since menopause started, said no perimenopausal or postmenopausal woman EVER! BUT that does not mean all hope is lost. On the contrary, there is a lot of easy and effective actions to take.
In general, skin and hair appearance are a reflection of what our body is trying to tell us. We are what we eatso lets start with the nitty gritty about diet and nutrients:
TAKE HOME POINT: for most women- a daily multivitamin is really all you need.
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How To Support Your Iron Levels
If you discover that your iron levels or iron stores are low, make sure you include plenty of iron rich food in your diet. This includes liver, red meat, fish, nuts, green leafy vegetables, blackstrap molasses, dark chocolate and even the odd glass of Irish stout. Combine these with vitamin C rich foods such as berries, kiwis, red peppers, parsley, and greens to support absorption of the iron.
If you need to supplement iron, do take some vitamin C alongside your iron tablets to support absorption. 500mg up to three times per day with every iron tablet is usually advised.
Dont Forget Conditioners And Volumizers
Applying conditioner after shampooing your hair is essential to maintaining healthy locks. Conditioner is a vital hair-care step that adds moisture to help replenish hairs sheen and natural oils lost during shampooing. And volumizers work like a splint to strengthen each strand of hair, plumping it to provide more volume per strand.
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Whats The Medical Definition Of Menopause
Menopause is declared after youve gone 12 months without a menstrual period. According to Mayo Clinic, the average menopause age in the U.S. is 51. As with the two other major benchmarks of a womans reproductive health, namely puberty and pregnancy, hormone levels begin to behave erratically and affect every area of life and well-being.
The traditional male-dominated medical establishment still uses language which places menopause into the realm of disease. But advocates for female reproductive health maintain that changing the health industry lexicon is essential to womens agency in at last reclaiming their own bodies. This means that perimenopause and menopause do not need to be diagnosed, but rather simply identified. And the arrival of these conditions is not considered symptomatic, which is evidence of disease, but simply acknowledged by common signs and signals.
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How Hormone Replacement Treatment Affects Your Hair
Most of us have heard about hot flashes and mood changes during menopause, but what about hair thinning? Many women experience hair loss during menopause, but hormone replacement treatment may be able to help. Thinning hair during menopause can seriously affect your sense of well-being and your self-esteem. However, youre not alone with menopausal hair loss. An estimated 21 million women in the U. S. will experience hair loss at some point in their lives, many of them during and after menopause. Our providers can help you determine underlying causes of hair thinning during menopause and help you find personalized treatment plans to help you feel better.
Hormone replacement treatment can help improve your quality of life during menopause.
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Other Forms Of Hair Loss
Most of the time, hair loss that occurs during menopause is caused by androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss.
However, several other health issues may cause you to temporarily lose hair. These include:
Telogen effluvium. This is a form of hair shedding thats often brought on by illness or infection, injury, medication, chronic stress, nutritional deficiencies, sudden weight loss or in response to major surgery.
Alopecia areata. This is a type of autoimmune hair loss that may cause you to shed hair in tiny, round patches. Approximately two percent of people experience this form of hair loss at some point in life.
Traction alopecia. This type of hair loss can develop if you wear your hair in a very tight hairstyle, such as braids or a tight ponytail.
Although these forms of hair loss may occur during menopause, they generally arent thought to be related to the physical and hormonal changes that occur in your body during menopause.
Weve talked about these forms of hair loss in more detail in our full guide to common causes of sudden hair loss.
Supplements You Should Be Taking After Menopause
Hormonal shifts are responsible for most of the wonderful side effects of menopause, including an increased risk of certain diseases and conditions. When estrogen drops, the risk for osteoporosis and heart disease risesas does the tendency to suffer from symptoms such as hot flashes, mood changes, and vaginal dryness.
To combat this, vitamins and supplements can be a key component of a womanâs care during and after menopause, but the process of deciding which ones to take can be overwhelming. âWhen it comes to supplements for menopause, there isnât just one pill,â says Jacqui Justice, a clinical nutritionist at the NY Health & Wellness Center. âItâs a process. Itâs a complex system.â
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Does What I Eat Affect Menopause Hair Loss
It can! While eating the perfect diet cannot prevent menopause hair lossremember, the hair thinning is more likely due to genetics and age than hormones, your diet can help. Eating a diet rich in protein is necessary to stimulate hair growth. Additionally, vitamins A and C offer the optimal nutrients to support hair growth.
This means eating things like berries, spinach, sweet potatoes, and sweet peppers. The fresh, vital nutrients in these foods provide the nutrients your body needs to stimulate hair follicles. Click here for a full list of foods to eat to help support lush, full hair.
Conversely, if your diet is lacking in protein or Vitamins A, C, or E, that could be contributing to your menopause hair loss. Give your diet a second look to make sure youre eating plenty of produce to get these vital nutrients into your system. Other dietary changes for perimenopause can support your whole body health.
Is Menopausal Hair Loss Permanent
Normally, hair loss due to menopause is not permanent and can be completely reversed. Most women who experience hair loss during menopause do not have any medical problems.
Your doctor will ask you some questions about your hair loss, and if there is any trigger that effect on hair loss, such as bad nutrition or any stressful incident. Also you will be asked about your medical history to determine if you suffer from any disease such as anaemia, iron deficiency or any skin disorder.
It may also be necessary to test for signs of hormonal imbalances, such as irregular menstrual periods, increased facial hair, or acne.
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Nutrients For Healthy Hair During Menopause
For many women, hair loss during menopause is a stressful and all too common occurrence and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy can be an excellent treatment option. However, your diet can also play a huge role in maintaining healthy hair during menopause. These ten nutrients can make excellent additions to your diet.
Common Menopause Skin And Hair Changes
These are the most common changes people can expect in their skin and hair post-menopause.
Sagging and loss of plumpness
Collagen is a protein that holds the bodys tissues together. And when estrogen drops, your skins collagen production decreases, too. Loss of collagen means the skin loses its youthful volume and tightness.
To combat this problem, many people take collagen supplements or eat high-collagen foods like bone broth. But the jury is still out on this strategy. We dont have enough controlled studies to prove that consuming collagen will help post-menopausal skin, Dr. Williams says.
Dont give up, though. You can help fight collagen loss at home with a simple facial massage. Dr. Williams recommends taking your favorite moisturizer or facial oil and giving yourself a facial rubdown each night. The massaging motion stimulates your skins collagen production, she says.
Dryness, flakiness and itching
If you see redness or rashes, see your doctor. A dermatologist can rule out issues like eczema, rosacea or allergic reactions and help you find a solution.
Dark spots
Those pesky dark marks, sometimes called age spots, often appear after menopause and theyre hard to treat at home.
Unwanted facial hair
As hormones shift, you may notice hair on the upper lip or chin. If you want it gone, the tried-and-true methods of tweezing, waxing, hair removal creams and threading will get rid of it until it grows back.
Post-menopause acne breakouts
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