What You Need to Know About Female Aging and Hair Loss
12 / 07 / 20

What You Need to Know About Female Aging and Hair Loss

Thinning hair and hair loss is an issue that affects nearly everyone at some point during their life. While often considered a problem primarily for men, it is estimated that over half of all women will experience some noticeable hair loss during their life. Thinning hair and hair loss in women have various causes, ranging from genetics to medical conditions to styling issues, and becomes more common with age.

Aging and Your Hair

One of the first and most obvious signs of aging that women experience is a change in hair color. Your hair color is due to a pigment known as melanin, produced in the hair follicles. As you age, the follicles begin to produce less melanin, which causes your hair to start to gray. It is not uncommon for many women to begin noticing graying hair in their 30s and becoming more evident as they age.

Gray hair typically begins to first appear around the temples and extends to the top of the scalp. Gray hair is mainly determined by your genetics and tends to occur earlier in people with lighter skin tones.
Along with the graying of your hair, aging also affects the thickness of strands of hair. A hair strand typically has a lifespan of between two and seven years, after which time it falls out and is replaced by a new strand. It is normal for an adult to lose from 50 to 100 strands of hair every day. This normal hair shedding usually goes unnoticed because as a strand falls out, it is replaced by a new strand of hair. As you age, your hair follicles begin to shrink, slowing the natural hair growth cycle, and impacting the follicle's ability to produce strong, healthy strands of hair.

As your hair becomes thinner and begins to grow slower, many women notice that their hair is not as dense, thick, and luscious. As the thinning continues, portions of the scalp may become visible, especially near the part.

Effects of Menopause

Throughout a woman's life, their body is nearly continually changing due to hormone fluctuations. While many of these changes are subtle and almost unrecognizable, hormonal changes during menopause and beyond can be much more dramatic and noticeable.

During menopause, a woman's body begins to produce less of some hormones and more of others. Even small changes in hormone levels can create an imbalance that increases the effects of other hormones that remain at or near normal levels. Menopause can bring on many uncomfortable symptoms, including hot flashes, depression, and mood swings, as well as thinning hair and hair loss.

The ovaries begin to produce less estrogen and progesterone before and during menopause, which increases the effects of male hormones, known as androgens. These hormonal imbalances can cause you to grow hair where it didn't previously exist or to begin to experience thinning hair and hair loss. Other factors, such as stress, genetics, diet, and lifestyle, can worsen your symptoms.

What Can You Do?

While aging, and the physical changes it causes, is inevitable, thinning hair or hair loss does not need to be permanent. Various practical and effective solutions can help with thinning hair and hair loss, but it is important to get treatment as early as possible.

At New Image Hair Clinic, we are experts in all aspects of hair care and offer our clients the most advanced, proven solutions available. Regardless of your age, if you are noticing thinning hair or concerned about hair loss, we have a solution. To learn more about what you can do to slow or stop the effects of aging to your hair, contact us today and schedule your FREE initial consultation.