Thinning Hair And Peach Fuzz
Your periods have come and gone and with menopause, but all of a sudden it seems your hair is less full also and you need an eyebrow pencil to fill in your brows. Meantime, your chin is making up for hair loss elsewhere. You may be wondering, "What's going on?"
Hair loss and facial hair growth are real menopausal phenomena. If you're suffering from these complaints you may be wondering why this is happening to you. You may also be wondering if there's anything you can do to rectify this unpleasant situation. Read on to hear what the experts have to say about menopausal hair loss.
Thinning Hair
Lovera Wolf Miller, MD, a member of NAMS (North American Menopause Society) says that half of all women will notice some thinning of their scalp hair (androgenetic alopecia) and facial hair growth (hirsutism) by the time they turn 50, though these symptoms may occur at any time after a girl hits puberty. Dr. Miller comments, "Alopecia is actually as common in women as it is in men, but it's less apparent because it rarely causes balding."
However, just because 1 in every 2 women experience the problem doesn't make it any easier for them to cope. This is according to a 2007 report published in Clinical Interventions in Aging. It seems that because a woman's complexion and hair add a great deal to her self-image, any negative changes in her physical appearance may cause a certain degree of psychological distress along with what the report terms, "impaired social functioning."
Hormonal Pattern
While you might have assumed that menopausal hair loss is due to depleted stores of estrogen, research suggests that more than one hormone is responsible for this symptom. One article, which appeared in the international science journal Annales d'Endocrinologie, says that postmenopausal hair loss and concurrent facial hair growth is due to a new hormonal "pattern" that is caused by the loss of both progesterone and estrogen.
Miller does note that there are other factors that can lead to hair loss such as your genetic history, high levels of stress, illness, and hormonal imbalances. She suggests that sudden hair loss should be accompanied by blood tests to rule out high levels of androgen. Androgen is a hormone that is responsible for triggering characteristics associated with the male sex. It's also advisable to turn to diagnostic tests for thyroid, blood sugar, and rheumatoid disease.
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