How Menopause Can Affect Your Hair Growth

There are many reasons why hair loss is linked to menopause.  Menopause is a time in women when they experience changes.  Many of these changes affect their bodies, minds, and hair. 

Many women who are going through menopause experience thyroid disease, such as low thyroid function.  Thyroid disease can cause hair loss in women, and often the indirect cause is menopause.  Also during menopause, there are changes in hormone levels, increased testosterone, decreased estrogen, increase physical and emotional stresses, necessary medications, and dermatological and scalp problems.  All of these things have tendencies to cause hair loss in women. 

Menopause can bring about a decrease in the levels of progesterone because of the lack of ovulation that occurs during this time of life.  With this lack of progesterone, adrenal cortical steroid levels rise, also known as androstenedione, which sometimes produces male-like properties in females.  Some of these male-like properties can be male pattern hair loss.  This problem usually remedies itself when progesterone levels rise once again with the use of supplements, causing the androstenedione level to fall.