There comes a time in life when women hit the dreaded menopause, but finally, thankfully, it is spoken about openly now and is being taken more seriously. As a hairdresser, I come across women all day, every day, and many of my clients are going through the same thing. This article is to help you as stylists understand menopausal hair slightly better and to give you advice on how to treat menopausal hair and support your clients or yourselves through this tough time in yours or their lives.
Menopause is when hormones in the body have a dramatic shift at a certain age. The average age for women to hit full menopause is anywhere between 45 to 55, but actually, your body can be changing up to ten years before full menopause; this is called perimenopause. This means estrogen levels within the body start to drop, which affects nearly everything. Full menopause is when the body hasn’t had a period in a full year. The signs of low estrogen are:
- Dry skin
- Tender breasts
- Weak, brittle bones
- Trouble concentrating
- Moodiness and feeling generally irritable
- Vaginal dryness
- Hot flushes
- Irregular periods
- Trouble losing weight or weight gain
- Headaches
- Decreased sex drive
- Feeling tired and having trouble sleeping
- Hair loss
- Hair thinning
- Texture of hair change
- Color of hair change
So basically, everything changes within our bodies (lucky us). Estrogen is a key hormone to keep hair in its anagen phase or growth phase. Once estrogen levels in the body start to fall, you may find clients complaining of their hair breaking or you are seeing slow growth in your clients’ hair. Suggest to clients to be gentle with their hair at home and limit the amount of heat applied to the hair. As we all know as stylists, more often than not, clients tend to use high heat settings on every appliance for their hair and often skip using heat protection, even though they tell you they do every time.
Thinning of the hair: Why does this occur? This occurs because the levels of estrogen are depleting, and as it is a vital hormone for hair growth, it takes longer for the hair to grow and replenish the everyday hair loss. With age, hair follicles shrink, so the hair that grows through them tends to be finer, resulting in the appearance of thinning hair. On the market today, there are many products to help camouflage or address thinning hair, one of which is Nioxin.
Nioxin sells a whole range to help people with thinning hair. Nioxin contains an ingredient called Minoxidil, which has a clinically proven ingredient to reduce hair thinning. Minoxidil works by enlarging the blood vessels to your scalp, which strengthens the hair follicles and increases their size. This encourages new and existing hair to grow through healthy and happy. Minoxidil helps keep the hair in its anagen phase rather than its resting phase, preventing the hair follicles from shrinking too quickly. Smaller hair follicles result in finer, slower hair growth.
Nioxin offers treatment systems for all hair loss types, including light thinning or progressed thinning. Both treatment systems cater to all hair types, whether natural, colored, or bleached.
Frequent scalp massages help with hair loss because massaging the scalp increases blood flow to the scalp, which, as explained above, helps keep the hair follicles strong and promotes hair growth.
Vitamins and diet are also key to keeping our hair strong and healthy. Omega 3 and Biotin are essential for shiny hair. Vitamin A helps produce sebum, an oil-like substance that coats the hair as it grows, preventing it from breaking or developing split ends too quickly. Vitamin C is an excellent immune-boosting vitamin that also promotes hair growth. Vitamin E is soothing and beneficial for those with dandruff or a slightly irritated scalp; it repairs the cells in your body and scalp. Iron plays a significant role in our bodies and hair; if we are deficient, it can lead to constant tiredness and hair loss or thinning. Finally, protein is essential for healthy, strong, and luscious hair, as hair is made up of protein.
Menopause can make you feel out of control of your mind and body. It is essential, if you haven’t gone through it yet, that you try to understand where your client is coming from. Listen to their concerns, maybe suggest a change in style to help the new growth of hair catch up with the rest, or perhaps just a slight change of color can really boost someone’s mood. Coloring the hair coats the hair shaft, giving it more body, and it also softens gray hair, making it more manageable.
I hope this post helps you in the war against menopause and provides some understanding of the constantly changing hormones and the effects they have on the hair.
Keep being wonderful people; over and out!