There’s a lengthy list of unwanted issues that accompany perimenopause and menopause, from disrupted sleep and hot flashes to a low mood and foggy concentration.
But one symptom that’s not as well known or discussed is hair loss, which effects an estimated 50 per cent of women. Occurring alongside the natural thinning out of hair as we get older, the two aspects are intertwined, meaning that the hormonal causes of losing hair are difficult to detect on their own.
However if your hair is feeling thinner, your ponytail isn’t as chunky or your scalp seems more visible around the age of 51 – the average age of menopause, although the perimenopause period beforehand can last about five years – then changes in hormone levels could likely be a factor.
“Most women find that their hair loses volume and length around menopause,” explains leading British trichologist, Anabel Kinglsey. “This can be attributed to both natural age-related factors and hormonal changes. Menopause causes oestrogen levels to decrease and oestrogen is a hair-friendly hormone that helps keep your hair in its anagen (growth) phase for longer. This decrease in oestrogen levels can lead to a reduction in the size of hair follicles and a decrease in hair growth.
“In addition, the decrease in oestrogen can also cause an increase in androgens (male hormones) in the body, which can contribute to hair loss in women. You may also find that your hair breaks more easily because the new hairs that your follicles produce gradually become finer. Finer hair is naturally more fragile.”
Pre-menopause, you can expect to lose between 60 and 100 hairs every day through normal processes such as brushing and washing. But as hormone levels start to fluctuate and the growth cycle is disrupted that number rises, contributing to hair feeling thinner and becoming less dense as hair sheds quicker than it can be replaced.
Meanwhile, the scalp becomes drier too as the drop in oestrogen means oil glands are less productive, making the skin there more prone to dryness and itching. “Scalp health has a profound influence on the growth of your hair,” advises Kingsley. “Weekly targeted scalp masks and daily scalp toners are great in this instance, while the use of a weekly pre-shampoo conditioning treatment is also a good way to restore strength and manageability to strands. Shampoos and conditioners won’t treat hair loss, but a well-formulated volumizing duo can do wonders for the appearance of fine, limp and lacklustre hair. Ultimately, you want to optimize each possible factor that can affect your hair growth cycle, such as health, nutrition, thyroid function and stress levels, as well as scalp health and the condition of the hair itself.”
From scalp treatments that have lasting results when you make a long term commitment to hairstyling thickeners that offer a temporary quick fix, these are our pick of the best to help combat menopause-related hair loss.
Virtue Flourish Mask For Thinning Hair
With a whipped cream texture that feels weightless when applied, this three-minute mask cares for the scalp while it helps bolster new and existing lengths for a well-rounded approach to hair loss, particularly during menopause.
It’s packed with a unique mix of proteins that keep the scalp’s delicate microbiome healthy, repair damage to help strengthen strands and also improve elasticity to reduce breaking and hair fall by boosting its flexibility. Added natural extracts include beetroot to infuse hair with hydration and red clover flower, said to help with healthier hair growth by targeting the follicles directly.
Used twice a week, the result is a fuller, shinier look as well as enhanced softness without making the hair or scalp feel coated.
Buy now £33.50, Sephora
Philip Kingsley Density Scalp Preserving Drops
Massaged daily into the scalp, this nourishing, exfoliating formula helps prolong the hair’s life cycle, slowing down thinning and making the hair on the scalp grow and appear more dense over time. Caffeine helps stimulate the scalp, while the botanical active saw palmetto is thought to reduce hair loss, creating an optimal scalp environment for healthy hair growth and to preserve the hair that’s already there.
The pipette applicator makes applying the right amount of serum accurately along partings easy and it feels cooling and refreshing on the skin – a welcome benefit if you’re prone to hot flashes during perimenopause or menopause.
Buy now £48.00, Cult Beauty
Vichy Dercos Energising Scalp Shampoo
Suited to both dry and oily scalps, this fresh-scented shampoo is formulated to use as a six-week treatment course. Leave the easy-to-lather foam on for one minute and allow the patented ingredient Aminexil work to boost blood flow to the hair follicles, helping to prevent hair loss and promote re-growth at the same time.
With Vichy’s hydrating thermal spa water, plus strengthening vitamins B3, B6 and Pro-vitamin B5, hair is nourished and strengthened, encouraging it to break off less on your brush and maintain its density where it’s thinning. After styling, hair looks more bouncy too.
Buy now £12.50, Boots
Leonor Greyl Tonique Vivifiant
Sitting between a treatment mist and a light styling product, this tonic is sprayed into the roots of towel-dried locks and massaged in for 60 seconds to feed hair and scalp with nutrients. Vitamin-rich seaweed extract, strengthening plant proteins and hydrating mimosa are absorbed into the scalp to help keep skin healthy and nourished encouraging growth, as aloe and morninga seed extract soothe and help protect hair.
This lightweight fluid gives hair a thicker, fuller look once it’s been styled, which is impressive and offers a touch of hold too. Plus the delicate scent of peaches and passion fruit is almost as pretty as perfume if you like to fragrance your hair.
Buy now £23.50, Net-A-Porter
Uklash Hair Growth Serum
Once you’ve mastered applying this serum (it can feel too fluid to pump directly onto the scalp in a manageable way), it gives visibly noticeable and lasting growth results when used daily over three to six months.
Packed with vitamins and active ingredients including a pea sprout extract that helps shorten the telogen resting phase of the hair growth cycle and strengthen hair follicle stem cells, it improves hair health, thickness and density. All three results are a fantastic boost for those noticing menopause-related hair loss.
The formula is vegan and fragrance-free, won’t make the scalp or hair feel greasy and quickly reduces the amount of breakage you see on your hairbrush or down shower drain.
Buy now £39.99, Uklash
Viviscal Hair Thickening Serum
Renowned for supplements that support hair health, the Viviscal range also now includes clinically formulated haircare products to take a two-pronged, inside and out approach to bolstering locks.
This leave-in serum is packed with biotin and keratin, the natural building blocks of hair, to coat each strand and give a denser-looking and thicker feeling finish when hair is thinning due to age plus menopause. The clear fluid spreads easily and glides through lengths, as a duo of marine collagen and seaweed extract boost the strength of fragile and snap-prone hair. Applied to damp or dry locks, the finish on styled hair is full and shiny as well as frizz-free.
Buy now £21.99, Amazon
Philip B Scalp Booster Pre-Wash
This warming and stimulating golden liquid is formulated for appliction to a dry scalp before washing hair to help reactivate hair follicles, boost hair growth and also prevent hair loss. The hero ingredient is Redensyl, a patented active that stimulates growth factors in the scalp, adding volume to the hair shaft and increasing fullness and suppleness, while improving shine and texture.
To break down any coating on the scalp, salicylic acid gives gentle exfoliation while citrus extracts dissolve sebum, allowing the formula to be distributed more evenly and penetrate better. To be used every two days and left on for up to 20 minutes until the self-heating sensation has cooled, this pre-wash does require dedication. But with almost three quarters of testers in a clinical trial of Redensyl noting a thicker look and feel to their hair after three months, it’s worth making the commitment.
Buy now £82.00, lookfantastic
Grow Gorgeous Intense Thickening Hair & Scalp Mask
Swap this buttery rich treatment in for your regular conditioner once or twice a week and the 10-minute mask will aid enhancing hair and scalp health, while visibly increasing thickness. The nutrient-rich actives that combine to make it effective include caffeine, biotin and amino acids which improve hair density, shea butter and coconut oil to nourish and boost suppleness. There’s also hyaluronic acid that infuses locks with moisture for a soft, shiny finish once dry.
To tackle flatness, pea peptides have been added to create a conditioning film around lengths that help add body too. It’s an intensely rich formula, but rinses away without any heavy residue and is a fantastic soother for a dry, itchy scalp as well as hair loss during menopausal hormone shifts.
Buy now £25.00, Cult Beauty
Charles Worthington Thicker & Fuller Densifying Shampoo and Conditioner
While allowing time for hair loss regrowth treatments to kick in, this thickening duo is the ideal accompaniment for daily care during menopause. The shampoo uses vitamin E beads and marshmallow flower to care for the scalp and help reduce the amount of fine hair that breaks off, while the conditioner also includes keratin plus the range’s PLEX-REPAIR system that works on protecting and restoring the core of each hair to improve strength.
Used together, there’s a noticeable thickening effect immediately without adding any weight, encouraging fine and deflated styles to look fuller and healthier as well as making hair feel softer and smoother to touch.
Shop the conditioner (£5.33) here.
Buy now £5.33, Boots
Moroccanoil Thickening Lotion
Combining a volumising and conditioning treatment in one, just a little of this creamy lotion gives the impression of fullness and lift without any stickiness or stiffness. The formula is enriched with polymers and quinoa proteins that plump and strengthen strands to create a ‘scaffold’ that adds body, while vitamin-rich argan oil infuses hair with softness and makes it more manageable so it’s less likely to break when you brush it.
The instant benefits are ideal for menopausal hair loss sufferers that need the kind of quick confidence boost that can come via the illusion of thick and lustrous locks with better bounce.
Buy now £21.19, Amazon
Verdict
Unlike many masks that keep you waiting around, Virtue Flourish Mask For Thinning Hair works wonders in under three minutes. Virtue is renowned for using a smart, science-backed type of keratin that fills in the gaps of damaged hair to make it stronger, smoother and healthier: that’s one of the elements that makes this mask a winner for hair loss.
Improving scalp health and therefore the density and strength of new hair that grows is another. The texture is thick so without using much, your fingers will glide through and untangle as you work along lengths, while the delicate floral and patchouli scent is comforting and relaxing. Despite its richness, the mask rinses out quickly and easily leaving behind no residue, but from the first use, hair looks fuller, thicker and feels significantly more silky than before.
