Tonic Dr: “Help! My Hair Is Falling Out”
“I’ve always been prone to hair loss, but it’s become worse since I’ve turned 50. Is this just ageing or could it be linked to something else?”
No, this isn’t just ageing, and you can do something about it. When women go through menopause their oestrogen levels decrease, which increases the influence of testosterone on their hair. In a basic sense, we can think of oestrogen as good for the hair and testosterone as more detrimental to the hair.
In the skin, testosterone is converted to a stronger male hormone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Women who have an inherited sensitivity to DHT experience female pattern hair loss. The good news is that there are plenty of medications available that work by counteracting the influence of the male hormones. A trichologist can identify which option would be appropriate for you.
Another type of hair loss that can occur around the time of menopause – and this is something that we see more and more of – is frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA).
Often the first sign of FFA is the loss of eyebrow and body hair, followed by loss of hair at the hairline. FFA is an autoimmune problem that destroys hair follicles. A number of medications can help halt the loss and stop the autoimmune reaction, but they need to be taken in conjunction with vitamin D. Your trichologist can guide you further.
Answer provided by Chelcey Salinger of the Australian Trichology Centre
Photo_ Alexander Krivitskiy/UnSplash