We often come across a one-liner, “Hormones mess with the hair of women.” Today, we are going to understand why most women experience hair fall due to hormones. The scientific terminology for female pattern baldness is known as “Androgenetic alopecia”.
Hormones play a significant role in women’s lives. The initiation of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, body weight, hair growth, bone growth, and muscle growth; everything is governed by sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone, in women. The production of these hormones occurs in the ovaries, adrenal glands, and during pregnancy, the placenta.
Initially, it was said that androgenic alopecia is caused by testosterone, viz., a male sex hormone. Later, it was concluded that female pattern baldness is the result of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The enemy of the hair follicles on your head is DHT, a testosterone
derivative. Simply stated, DHT often wants those follicles to die. This straightforward behavior is the cause of numerous types of hair loss.
Basic Hair Fall Mechanism
Let’s cover basic anatomical concerns before moving on to endocrine logistics. Changes in the hair follicle, which is the section of the hair beneath the skin’s surface, the hair cycle, or any of these factors may result in changes to the hair. The structure of the human hair follicle is fascinating! The extraordinary productivity of hair follicles, which continually cycle between telogen (rest), the anagen (regeneration), and catagen (degeneration), makes them the only ones to be able to dynamically switch between these two states, i.e., rest and growth states.
Hormones and Hair Loss in Women
Both men and women experience the hormonal process of testosterone converting to DHT, which then damages hair follicles. Normal testosterone levels in women are a tiny fraction of those in males, but even lower testosterone levels in women can result in DHT-induced hair loss.
The androgens, as male hormones are known, do not need to be elevated in order to cause a problem because hormones work best when they are in a delicate balance. These androgens, like DHT, have an advantage when their female counterpart hormones are suppressed. In addition to other issues, such an imbalance might result in hair loss.
Hormones cycle in and out. Some males experience a 10% decline in testosterone levels per decade after age 30. Hormone levels in women decrease as menopause approaches and drop drastically during and after menopause. One reason hair loss can worsen temporarily when taking a treatment to stop it is the cyclical nature of both our hormones and our hair. This is true even if you are seeing a long-term slowing in hair loss (and a long-term rise in hair growth).
In addition, diseases, certain drugs, pregnancy, thyroid hormone imbalances, and other conditions that affect the phases of hair development and shedding can all result in hair loss.
Stress Hormones and Hair Loss
Stress makes your hair fall out as stress puts you in survival mode, which diverts resources away from good skin blood flow, adequate digestion, sleep, growth, etc. Cortisol and other stress-related chemicals can target and harm hair follicles. For stress-induced ponytail
circumference reduction, you don’t even have to wait until menopause; many women in their 20s and 30s begin losing hair as a result of stress-related problems.
The signs of telogen effluvium, a disorder when hair in the anagen (growing) phase prematurely enters the telogen (resting) phase, include rapid bouts of hair shedding with little to no hair growth. Further, the stress of losing hair itself is bigger stress, which in turn leads to hair loss.
Sex Hormones and Hair Loss
Women experience excessive hair loss during menopause when the levels of estrogen and progesterone fall. The hair loss at this stage is irreversible. Hair experiences these protective effects when estrogen levels fall because estrogen lengthens the period that hair spends in the growth phase. Additionally, testosterone’s androgenic effects can be amplified, causing its metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), to produce progressively weaker hair as a result of the follicle’s failure to grow.
PCOS, a common female endocrine disorder, comes with elevated levels of androgens, and thus, women lose hair. Simultaneously, women get excessive hair growth on other parts of the body, like their face, chest, and back. Thyroid conditions like hypothyroidism slow metabolism and lead to dry, brittle, dull, and diffusely thinning out hair.
Read more about Understanding the types of diseases that cause hair loss
Conclusion
Given that it has been demonstrated that the expression of the related hormone receptors enables the skin to synthesize a variety of different hormones, it can be regarded as an endocrine organ.
n women, these hormones already play a major role, and they do so in hair loss. Skin, being an endocrine organ, affects the scalp and hair follicles in females. Besides hormones, there are other conditions like diabetes, psoriasis, and inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases that lead to hair loss.
Hair loss reversal is possible only when hormones are in harmony. In my experience over 15+ years, I have been treating females and reversing their hair loss condition permanently in a completely natural way. I aim to fix the underlying cause of hair loss and, furthermore, maintain the re-born hair.
If you wish to reverse your hair loss, which is due to any underlying condition, book a consultation call today at eliteayurveda.com.
