Do I Need To Look Into Wigs To Combat My Menopausal Hair Loss?

I never expected thinning hair would be a big issue for me, but menopause has wreaked havoc on my hairline

Image source freepik

I always had too much hair. It was very curly and unruly, and there was loads of it. So much that I felt bad for my hairdresser when I went in to have it braided. I never thought hair thinning would be an issue; I thought it would be a relief.

Until it happened. Instead of evenly thinning out, it started to recede—gradually. At first, I didn’t notice it myself. But then I had some studio photographs taken that I loved - one of them is in my bio, by the way - and my mum showed them to one of her friends.

Instead of complimenting the pictures, she asked if I was losing my hair.

This started my daily obsession with studying my hairline. Because it turns out she was right. My hairline has receded. It is now at least 1.5 cm (0.6 in) further back than it used to be.

My first suspicion was that it was traction alopecia. I’ve been wearing braided hairstyles for most of my adult life, so this was definitely a possible culprit. And part of it might be. But then I noticed my hair was coming out in what felt like large clumps while washing, and I realized it had to be something else.

I went into research mode, and lo and behold, another wonderful possible side effect of menopause is a receding hairline. Well thank you, Mother Nature.

Hot flashes, mood disorders and weight gain aren’t enough it seems. Let’s throw in some baldness to make you feel really down on yourself.

I also learned that I’m not alone in this predicament. By the age of 70 around 38% of women will have experienced hair loss. 50% of women will be impacted in some way. Starting in perimenopause, they’ll experience symptoms due to the drop in hormones: hair thinning, loss of volume, or a difference in hair texture. Why? Because, the change in hormone levels impacts the growth and structure of our hair.

Research by Fabio Rinaldi et al. published in Biomedicines in November 2023 found:

During menopause, hormonal fluctuations and aging can impact the HF, leading to phenomena such as thinning, loss of volume, and changes in hair texture. These changes are primarily attributed to a decrease in estrogen levels.

I don’t know why I was so surprised this was happening. I’m already a veteran of hormone-related hair loss, after all.

When I was 40, I had a hysterectomy, and as a result, I lost my eyebrows. Again, it was gradual. I didn’t notice until my brother, who hadn’t seen me in a while, asked me what was “wrong” with my eyebrows. Charming. But unfortunately accurate. Something was wrong; a few months later, I had lost all my eyebrows.

They never grew back. Doctors were no help. They had no clue what was “wrong” and told me I had to live with it as they couldn’t do anything. No doctor mentioned that this could be hormonal. And I never suspected hormones either.

Knowing what I know now, I’m pretty furious about the lack of knowledge in the medical community. Looking back, not one of my doctors bothered even to mention that having a hysterectomy could come with side effects due to hormonal changes. If it hadn’t been for the site hystersisters.com, I would have been completely at a loss during the aftermath of that operation.

So here I was years later, again losing hair in a place where I would have preferred to keep it, and I had no clue why my hairline was continuously creeping up my head. I tried changing hairstyles, I started taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy), hoping this might reverse the process and trying to tell myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.

And it probably isn’t, but you know how we exaggerate our shortcomings in our heads.

But neither HRT nor new hairstyles managed to improve the situation. My hair kept thinning, and my hairline remained further north than it should have been.

I started using topical Minoxidil (Regaine© 0.2%) but stopped after less than a month because I didn’t believe it would change anything. At that point, I had resigned myself to a life with less and less hair and contemplated just shaving my head and wearing wigs. Unfortunately, I have a big head, and hot flashes and wigs aren’t the best combination, so I nixed that idea.

Last November, I decided to give it another (more consistent) try and added folic acid to my supplements (if it helps during pregnancy, why not during menopause?).

So far, I’ve been seeing some slight improvement. Single new hairs below what is now my new hairline. Not a resounding success, but enough to keep me going.

I’ve done some further modern research (aka googling) and learned that there is a condition called Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia that can cause hair loss along the hairline and on eyebrows, eyelashes and other body parts.

According to the Cleveland Clinic: Frontal fibrosing alopecia usually affects women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) after menopause, most often after age 50. But women as young as age 21 can have FFA, too. Women of African descent also tend to show symptoms earlier, sometimes in their early 40s.

The skin on my forehead doesn’t look pale, scarred or shiny, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t suffer from this condition. But I guess a visit to a dermatologist is pending.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t seen a doctor instead of scouring the internet, well, my experiences with doctors (except my gynecologist) have been so frustrating I have a hard time shaking the feeling that going isn’t pointless. But yes, I should go.

I wish I had had better experiences with doctors and menopause symptoms. But I realize that many doctors simply don’t have the training necessary to help women in this phase of life. Things are finally changing, I think, thanks to more women being vocal about their experiences, but we still have a way to go. I don’t have the numbers for Austria, but according to this article in Flow Space the situation in the US is just as dire:

In fact, of the 99 U.S. obstetrics and gynecology residency program directors surveyed for the study, nearly all participants (92.9%) strongly agreed that residents nationwide should have access to a standardized menopause curriculum, yet only 31.3% reported having a menopause curriculum in their residency program.

So, despite all its negative sides, I’m very thankful for the internet and the communities of women willing to share and discuss their symptoms and possibly remedies.

A few days ago, I stumbled across this thread on Reddit and realized that despite feeling bad about my receding hairline, I’m in good company. User hellno_ahole (love the handle) reports that she has lost three-quarters of her hair and is now struggling with increased facial and body hair due to oral Minoxidil. 

From the comments on this post, oral Minoxidil comes with these side effects for quite a lot of women. Many of them are willing to tolerate them to keep their hair growing back. And I get it. Hair loss in women is a very emotional topic. It is so deeply linked to our perception of beauty. Still, for now, I’m staying with topical Minoxidil, just upping the dose to 0.5% and switching to a cheaper brand that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Being a woman is just so expensive, isn’t it?

She ends her post with:

I can see why suicide rates increase during menopause. Nothing is right with my body and it feels like it all happened overnight. Thanks for reading.

And yes, I relate to that very much. For years now, nothing has seemed right. And it doesn’t seem to end. The thread is full of women sharing both their experiences with hair loss and the remedies they have tried.

For a long time, I tried to pretend my hair loss wasn’t happening because I felt ashamed of losing it. Now, I realize there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a natural process. And we need to talk about it so other women know they’re not struggling alone.

Have you struggled with hair thinning and hair loss? If you have found a way to combat it, let me know. I’m happy to try other solutions.

---

My Menopause Brain is an entirely reader-supported publication that wants to spread Menopause Awareness to as many women as possible. If you read our blog regularly and value the information you get here, please consider sharing this article or becoming a paid subscriber so we can keep on doing the work.

You can also buy us a coffee instead.

My Menopause Brain is looking for writers to collaborate with who want to share their experiences and create more menopause awareness. We’re happy to cross-post your stories or publish your menopause experiences directly.

If you’re interested, apply here.