“Surgical Menopause and Hair Loss: What You Need to Know and How to Help”
1. Introduction to Surgical Menopause and Hair Loss
Hair Loss?? OMG! Not that!
One of many questions that I started researching when I realized that surgical menopause and hair loss was a real thing. I was completely unaware of what was going to happen because I was NOT TOLD anything before, during or after. I still get angry thinking about it.
Maybe your experience is like mine. You’ve recently had a hysterectomy/oophorectomy due to endometriosis, fibroids or cancer. Or maybe you’re deep into surgical menopause and hair loss is happening to you.
Now you are wondering and a lot of times scared as to why all of these symptoms are popping up. The hot flashes, night sweats, overwhelming fatigue, brain fog and now … .THIS?? C’mon!!!
Why surgical menopausal hair loss happens
If you have a bilateral oophorectomy, (removal of both ovaries) this triggers surgical menopause. With the sudden drop in estrogen, what you have left are androgens, which are the male hormones that women also have in much smaller amounts. Normally, estrogen regulates these androgens, and without the estrogen, the androgens can be more likely to cause hair loss or thinning. More Here:
Stress plays a HUGE part in hair loss/thinning! Genetics plays a part as well. That could be a good or a bad thing.
I consider myself lucky because other than a little more breakage, my hair seems to be holding up pretty well. That’s also in part because I only color my gray roots and that’s it as far as processing goes. I also very rarely use a curling iron.
2. Understanding Hair Changes After Surgical Menopause
Humans have approximately five million hair follicles, which offer protection from cold and UV radiation, produce sebum, and can have a significant psychological impact when growth or structure is unbalanced. From Here.
Anagen Phase:
This is the active growth phase of your hair and this phase can last from 2-7 years!! The hair follicle takes on its classic onion shape and works to produce hair fiber.
Catagen Phase:
This is where the hair transitions into a dormant state and the hair follicles go through a cellular death, so to speak, and lose one sixth of their diameter. Club hair is also formed at this time and depending on many different factors, if too many club hair’s form and shed, it can give the hair the appearance of thinning. This phase is typically a few weeks long.
“Club Hair” is simply the hair that is fully grown, not growing anymore and currently on your head. They call it club hair because of the bulb/root at the base. It’s a bulb of keratin!
Telogen Phase:
This is the resting phase of the hair cycle and hair will be dormant and no growth occurs.
Exogen Phase:
This is typically when the hair sheds. We can lose up to 100 hairs a day!! This phase can last months.
Typically, on a healthy head of hair, 80% to 90% of all the hair is in the anagen or (growth) phase!
When our ovaries are removed, the sudden hormone loss is a shock to our system and women can notice changes months after surgery. The growth cycle is shortened from years possibly to months with more hairs entering the resting phase.
Different types of hair loss experienced
FPHS:
Female pattern hair loss or (androgenic alopecia) is the most common type of hair loss that women experience. As we age, our hair naturally becomes thinner and loses density. 40%-50% of women, over the age of 50, have some degree of hair thinning.
Telogen Effluvium:
This is when the hair is shedding much faster than normal and is caused by significant physical stress, such as surgery, hospitalization, illness or childbirth. It can also be caused by significant emotional stress. Hairs that are shed as a result of telogen effluvium will gradually grow back.
Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA):
This condition is characterized by a receding hairline and eyebrow thinning caused by hormonal fluctuations.
For the most part, women’s hair thins instead of falling out in patches. The common areas for thinning are the crown of the head moving toward the front. It might be time to see a doctor if it’s worrisome to you or feels like it’s thinning too quickly.
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3. Managing Surgical Menopause and Hair Loss Without HRT
After researching many different places, I’ve decided that the Mediterranean diet is the way to go for nutrition that supports our hair. Just be sure that you have enough protein, iron, Vitamin D and biotin. Be sure to keep in mind that if you are taking supplements, that Iron and vitamin A can be toxic if you over do it.
Always talk to your doctor if you feel that you aren’t getting enough vitamins and minerals in your diet and you think you need supplements.
On the topic of supplements, I currently take this Ashwagandha for stress and I do take this general supplement for my hair, skin and nails. I really like this one because it has Argan Oil and Hyaluronic Acid in the supplement!
In the past, I’ve used Minoxidil to regrow a thin area where I parted my hair. When I used it, it only came in 3% strength, now you can get it in 5%!
Scalp care is just as important as hair care. My husband has had a receding hairline but only to a small degree. This started for him when he was a teen and he was pretty freaked out about it.
His doctor told him that when he’s showering, be sure to gently scrub the scalp, especially around the areas he was worried about. Don’t be harsh but be firm and his hair never receded any farther. He still washes his hair using the same practice.
I personally believe that massage will help stimulate the scalp as well. Any type of massage will increase blood flow thereby increasing growth.
STRESS
Stress can really do a number on our bodies! It can cause so many bad things to happen. From exacerbating our symptoms, to fatigue and sleeping problems. It will affect your overall health, which will in turn cause hair loss. This is why finding ways to manage stress is crucial for maintaining both physical and mental well-being.
Whether it’s through exercise, relaxation techniques, or seeking professional help, addressing stress is essential for a healthier lifestyle. Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
Just being in surgical menopause and hair loss starts becoming noticeable is a stressful thing. So you may need to take the extra step of meditation or yoga to help yourself out. Take a walk outside and stop and look around, just be thankful that you have this life to create or change anything you want to!
4. Hair Care Strategies
Best products to use:
These would include minoxidil, especially because it’s proven and because you can get it in so many more ways than were previously available. You can even get it in an oral form, however, that does require a doctor’s prescription.
*Generic minoxidil also works just as well, in my honest opinion.*
This shampoo is highly rated for thinning hair. Use the conditioner along with it and follow it up with serum for the very best results!
Make sure to avoid sulfates, parabens, silicones, formaldehyde, and heavy oils. Also harsh alcohols and synthetic fragrances can be bad too. While some of these items seem good at first, they do a lot of damage by causing build-up and drying the hair out.
The jury is still out on the “dry shampoo.” I used to use it fairly often, but usually only on my bangs and front of my hair. I heard from a friend that dry shampoo can cause breakage and when I researched this, I found that to be true, BUT only because of harsh chemicals that some contain.
When you use those kinds often, and then use a curling iron or flat iron, it bonds the chemicals into your hair shaft, making it hard. Next time you brush through it, SNAP! It’ll break right off!
As for styling? There are SO MANY ways to style or cut your hair to hide any thinning. Honestly? I believe that the thinning we’re experiencing always looks worse to us than it does to others, but it still brings up a lot of fear and bad feelings, doesn’t it?
It depends on the style that you already have. For sure, do not pull back your hair into any tight style such as a pony tail, cornrows etc. You also shouldn’t go too short or too long. A medium length, blunt cut or maybe a shag is going to give you a lot of coverage.
5. Professional Treatment Options
Procedures available:
Some hair loss is common but if you decide that you think you need help, the treatment for hair loss would include:
Finding out the underlying cause. If it’s from stress or hormonal, you may not need treatment, as the hair loss should stop on its own in time.
Next would be medications and if you don’t see results going that route and it’s really affecting your life, then you’d look into hair regrowth procedures.
PRP – Platelet-Rich Plasma: this involves taking your blood and removing the plasma from it and then injecting the plasma back into you.
Low-Level Laser Therapy: using medical grade lights to stimulate the hair follicles to grow.
Scalp Micropigmentation: is basically a tattoo on the scalp to cover bald patches. Make sure that you see some of the person’s work beforehand to make sure that they know what they’re doing.
Before having any of procedures done, make sure that your lifestyle is fully optimized for health. The main things being nutrition, exercise and sleep. These aspects of your life will form the foundation of your health, especially in surgical menopause.
6. Emotional Impact and Coping
It’s rough, I know, looking in the mirror and finding a “spot” or “patch” where there is just a little more scalp showing through than you remembered.
I started hounding my husband with questions like “am I going bald there?” or “can you see that?” I would ask friends at work and when a fellow female co-worker said “Yes, she saw it,” I felt my stomach drop!! It was VERY troubling!!
For some women, it’s even harder and that’s okay. Your hair provides your sense of identity. It gives you good self-esteem and self confidence. Even losing a small amount of hair can be damaging to our self-image and self confidence.
To combat this, we need to accept the fact that we are in surgical menopause and hair loss is going to occur to some degree, and our bodies are going to change, especially if you can’t take hormone replacement therapy.
Choosing the right hair style can REALLY do wonders for you! Make sure you work closely with a caring hair stylist to come up with a style that’s just right for you!
Use gentle products on your hair and look into volumizers and other cosmetic ways to work with your hair. There are even beautiful wigs out there!
If you find you are really spinning out of control due to hair loss, please don’t hesitate to seek out a counselor. And remember…. regardless if you’re losing hair or not…You are BEAUTIFUL! Beauty comes from who we are as people. Give yourself a break!!
So I hope I’ve given you enough information about surgical menopause and hair loss so that you might better understand WHY this happens and some things for you to try to manage it.
Support resources
If you’ve had a hysterectomy/oophorectomy and you cannot take HRT due to a cancer diagnosis, than the Rapunzel Project might be able to help you navigate through surgical menopause and hair loss associated with cancer treatment.
This is a Facebook group for women with hair loss. This is only one of many groups available for you to join to be around and talk to like-minded people about this tough issue.
