Discover Why the Menopause and Hair Loss Can Be Connected
Some women find that they go through the menopause and hair loss occurs.
Now of course this can happen due to the fact that there are so many hormonal changes taking place within the body, but significantly the menopause can reveal that the woman going through it has androgenic alopecia which is known more commonly as pattern baldness.
And this is why the menopause and hair loss can be linked together.
The cause behind pattern baldness which is more common in men, is that when there is testosterone in the blood and it combines with an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase, a new chemical is produced which is DHT.
We all have this chemical in our body, however some people are genetically receptive to it, and when they are it will attach to the follicle thinning it out until there is no more hair produced.
Estrogen in a woman normally keeps the testosterone she produces under control, however after the menopause there is less estrogen and therefore the above process can take place and this is when a woman may find out she is genetically sensitive to DHT.
Similarly the same thing can happen for women who are unfortunate enough to have to undergo a hysterectomy.
So what can be done about it? Initially a lot of woman have found hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has helped as this puts some estrogen back into the body, however this is not really a long term solution.
It has been discovered though, that there are certain minerals and herbs that can help.
The first of these is nettle root as this can help to catch some of the free testosterone in the body; the other is zinc as this helps inhibit the production of 5 alpha reductase.
Alternatively another train of thought is to increase on the essentials the body needs to grow healthy hair.
The first of these is vitamin B6.
This is important for several factors, but mainly it helps to metabolize protein, and your hair is made from protein.
It also gets more oxygen into the red blood cells: this is significant because your hair needs oxygen to grow.
In addition to that B6 helps the body handle stress too, and stress is another cause of thinning hair Something else that is recommended to encourage hair growth is biotin.
Quite often dermatologists will recommend biotin to people who are suffering from hair loss as it is absolutely essential to new hair growth, so essential that if you are completely deficient in biotin then chances are you will have no eyebrows or eyelashes either.
Now of course this can happen due to the fact that there are so many hormonal changes taking place within the body, but significantly the menopause can reveal that the woman going through it has androgenic alopecia which is known more commonly as pattern baldness.
And this is why the menopause and hair loss can be linked together.
The cause behind pattern baldness which is more common in men, is that when there is testosterone in the blood and it combines with an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase, a new chemical is produced which is DHT.
We all have this chemical in our body, however some people are genetically receptive to it, and when they are it will attach to the follicle thinning it out until there is no more hair produced.
Estrogen in a woman normally keeps the testosterone she produces under control, however after the menopause there is less estrogen and therefore the above process can take place and this is when a woman may find out she is genetically sensitive to DHT.
Similarly the same thing can happen for women who are unfortunate enough to have to undergo a hysterectomy.
So what can be done about it? Initially a lot of woman have found hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has helped as this puts some estrogen back into the body, however this is not really a long term solution.
It has been discovered though, that there are certain minerals and herbs that can help.
The first of these is nettle root as this can help to catch some of the free testosterone in the body; the other is zinc as this helps inhibit the production of 5 alpha reductase.
Alternatively another train of thought is to increase on the essentials the body needs to grow healthy hair.
The first of these is vitamin B6.
This is important for several factors, but mainly it helps to metabolize protein, and your hair is made from protein.
It also gets more oxygen into the red blood cells: this is significant because your hair needs oxygen to grow.
In addition to that B6 helps the body handle stress too, and stress is another cause of thinning hair Something else that is recommended to encourage hair growth is biotin.
Quite often dermatologists will recommend biotin to people who are suffering from hair loss as it is absolutely essential to new hair growth, so essential that if you are completely deficient in biotin then chances are you will have no eyebrows or eyelashes either.
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