Hair loss due to hormonal imbalance: the main symptoms and treatment

There are many causes of hair loss and not even every trichologist can find the reason for their loss. If hair loss lasts more than three months and more than a hundred hairs fall out a day, then it is imperative to examine your body, since hair is one of the first to react to malfunctions in the body. Our body is a complex, multi-level system, a malfunction of which can lead to a deterioration in the condition of hair and skin. But it is hormonal hair loss that is difficult to calculate, since "hormones do not hurt", that is, you will not feel pain or discomfort when hormonal levels are disturbed, unless at an advanced stage of the disease (changes in organ tissue), and the hair will begin to react much earlier, so do not start hair loss.

Hormonal causes of hair loss

Menopause and its effect on hair loss

During menopause, the ovaries stop producing hormones that are responsible for reproduction and can affect sexual behavior. A decrease in the level of circulating estrogens affects the entire chain of a woman's reproductive function - from the brain to the skin, including intensive hair loss, the scalp is prone to dryness and itching, and the hair structure itself also changes. It is now generally accepted that these phenomena are caused by low estrogen levels. The average age at menopause is between 45 and 55 years.

Pregnancy and the postpartum period

Pregnancy and hair loss

During pregnancy, there is a sharp surge in the level of female sex hormones, which has a positive effect on the hair, they become strong and shiny, their density increases, since they practically do not fall out. In the second half of pregnancy, the number of anagen hairs (hairs in the growth stage) increases from 85 to 95%, while the number of hairs with a large shaft diameter is also higher than in women of the same age who are not preparing for motherhood.

But after childbirth there is a rapid transition of follicles from the extended anagen (growth phase) phase to the catagen (rest) phase, and then telogen (hair loss phase), followed by increased hair loss, noticeable 1-4 months after childbirth. This is due to the fact that the level of extragens sharply decreases and returns to normal. Within a year, the hormonal background is normalized, and hair loss stops by itself. How to care for your hair during this period so that losses are minimal, you can read here.

Hormonal drugs and hair loss

The increased hair loss that many women experience between 2 weeks and 3–4 months after stopping oral contraceptives resembles the hair loss commonly seen after childbirth. This is due to the fact that estrogens for some time came from the outside in the form of pills, helping the body to maintain beauty, and after stopping the intake, the level of hormones dropped and this can provoke hair loss.

Birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy with progestogens, which have androgenic activity (norethisterone, levonorgestrel, tibolone), are more likely to cause general baldness in genetically predisposed women.

Hair loss with thyroid dysfunction

Thyroid hormones affect the growth and differentiation of many tissues and the overall energy expenditure of the body, the circulation of many substrates, vitamins and other hormones. Thyroid activity affects oxygen consumption, protein synthesis and mitosis and is therefore essential for hair formation and growth.

The effect of the activity of thyroid hormones on the hair is most noticeable when it is deficient or in excess.

With hypothyroidism (with a deficiency of thyroid hormones), the hair becomes dull, coarse and brittle, diffuse alopecia can be observed with thinning of the lateral part of the eyebrows. The rate of hair growth slows down, and the proportion of telogen hair increases. Alopecia is characterized by a gradual onset. In genetically predisposed women, prolonged hypothyroidism may be accompanied by AGA (androgenic alopecia), an increase in free androgens in the blood plasma.

In hyperthyroidism (excess thyroid hormones), diffuse hair loss occurs in 20–40% of cases, and axillary hair loss in 60%, while the hair becomes thin, soft, straight and is said to be resistant to permanent curling. It should be borne in mind that the cause of hair loss can be drugs for the treatment of thyroid diseases or drugs that interfere with thyroid metabolism.

Hair loss due to ovarian and adrenal dysfunction

The ovaries and adrenal glands are responsible for the production of sex hormones, so any disturbances in a well-functioning system will immediately affect the hair. Here you definitely need a consultation with a gynecologist-endocrinologist.

For example, under constant stress, the adrenal glands begin to intensively produce the "stress hormone" cortisol, which in turn increases the level of testosterone and its derivative, dihydrotestosterone, and as a result, hair loss may begin, and not immediately after stress, but after a month or two. So stress is also the cause of hair loss.

Hormones and hair loss

Hereditary hair loss. Androgenic alopecia

With a genetic predisposition, the ratio of estrogens to androgens may act as a provoking factor for hair loss in women. Estrogens are a natural source of beauty and youthfulness of skin and hair, while androgens are the main culprits of hair loss. Hair loss of this type is called androgenic. The hair follicles on the head are sensitive to male hormones - androgens and under their action the bulbs atrophy, the hair becomes thinner, more vellus, their life cycle is reduced, they do not grow to their total length.

Blocking the activation of androgen receptors by antiandrogens is in theory a useful but impractical approach, since antiandrogens block all the actions of androgens, which leads to unacceptable side effects on the severity of male characteristics in men and possible feminization of the male fetus in a pregnant woman.

Hormonal Hair Loss Treatment

If hair loss is associated with hormonal levels, then you need to first bring hormones back to normal. This point is the first and required. But this requires the consultation of a doctor who will select the treatment that is right for you. Do not under any circumstances self-medicate. The first doctor to whom you should contact is a therapist or dermatologist (here the main thing is to get to an experienced specialist), who will help to find out the cause of hair loss, send for basic tests, as well as to other specialists (gynecologist, endocrinologist, immunologist, psychotherapist).

Hair Loss TestsPossible tests that will need to be passed in case of intense hair loss:

  • general blood analysis;
  • blood biochemistry;
  • analysis for infections;
  • the content of serum iron in the blood, ferritin;
  • a blood test for zinc, magnesium and calcium levels;
  • thyroid hormones;
  • sex hormones;
  • spectral analysis of hair;
  • hair trichogram or trichoscanning.

In no case do not run the problem, the earlier you start treatment, the more hair you will be able to save. Also, do not forget about the maintenance therapy for the hair itself: plasma lifting, mesotherapy, darsonvalization, ozone therapy, external drugs and means, the appointment of the necessary drugs inside.

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