Menopause hair & nails
Menopause can bring unexpected and unwanted changes to hair texture & manageability, as well increased hair loss. New hair growth may be wispy and fine, coarse and wiry, or grow stubbornly in the opposite direction. Straight hair grows kinky and those curls go flat. Individual strands become thinner, increasing the impression of hair loss. It’s not surprising that women can find hair changes in a psychologically challenging symptom, that affects self-confidence.
Why does your hair change during menopause?
Menopausal hormone imbalance can disrupt your hair’s growth cycle. The growing phase - Anagen - lasts between two to six years, before each hair enters a three-month resting phase - Telegen - when it detaches from the follicle and falls out.
You have approximately 100,000 follicles on your head. In perimenopause, you’ll lose between fifty to one hundred hairs a day. Hitting menopause, approximately 15% of your hair is in the resting phase, meaning heavy hair loss. New hair coming through may be grey as levels of melanin, the hormone responsible for colour, drop.
This is not necessarily exclusive to the hair on heads, it's the same for all body hair! Fluctuating hormones mean that you may find you develop hairs in unwanted places and that your pubic hair becomes more threadbare and patchy.
Hair loss may also be caused by genetic factors, stress, diet, fatigue, illness, eating disorders, deficiencies, thyroid conditions, and fevers.
What can help menopause hair loss?
Managing hair loss caused by menopause takes time and patience as hair goes through its growth cycle - so give any intervention time to work. Act as soon as you notice thinning to help prevent further loss and stimulate new growth where hair is thinning.
You should get all the nutrients your body, hair, and nails need from a healthy, balanced diet. Supplements that can be used to top up, if necessary, include:
Remedies & supplements for menopausal hair
Iron*: heavy periods may lead to low ferritin levels – the protein that stores iron in your body. Lack of iron is one of the most common deficiencies in women with thinning hair. it’s essential to talk to your doctor before self-prescribing - too much iron can be toxic. Get a proper diagnosis from a doctor, dermatologist, or trichologist (www.trichologists.org.uk).
Zinc: often recommended by dermatologists for hair loss.
Multivitamin & mineral supplement: specifically for menopause. Try Wild Nutrition’s Women's Food-Grown® Skin Hair & Nails
Biotin: an essential B vitamin, helps the body to make the protein used to create skin, hair, and nails (however, there is some debate about whether this works or not, take no more than 0.9mg per day)
Omega-3 supplements: milled Linseeds or fish oils
Ginseng & Black Cohosh: phytoestrogens that address underlying hormonal imbalance
What can exacerbate menopause hair loss?
Cigarettes and Alcohol - Both are toxic to your skin. Most of the research has been done on the link between male baldness and smoking - reasonable to assume there could be a similar link for women?
Heat horror - Limit exposure to heat in dryers, tongues, curling wands, and straighteners as it damages weakened follicles and already brittle hair. Let’s be realistic, most of us need a little bit of heat to make hair look acceptable. Towel and air-dry as much as you can before turning on the heat.
Chemical reaction - Dyes and highlights damage hair and follicles. Hormonal imbalance causes some women to react more violently to these chemicals. Time to follow trend-setting models Sam Gold and Pam Lucas, who regularly feature in The Sunday Times and Guardian style sections, rocking the grey look?
Rough stuff - Brush hair gently with a soft brush or a Tangle Teezer. The first sign of hair loss may be a thinning ponytail, a consequence of yanking hair back to be scraped into the tight elastic. Time to let the locks hang loose?
Menopause & nail changes
Menopause can be a nail-biting transition - it’s not just skin, hair, weight and temperature that change. Nails can have a torturous time, too, splitting, breaking and changing shape and texture, with vertical ridges becoming more noticeable.
Why do nails change in menopause?
Hormonal imbalances and dehydration are the likely causes of brittle nail syndrome, and although it might not be the most serious (or well-known) menopause symptom, it can be upsetting and painful. Nails are made of a hardened protein called keratin, but depleting oestrogen levels affect its production. Oestrogen also helps the body to regulate water retention and as levels dip, nails dry out and may crack, flake and break, exposing the nail bed and allowing bacteria to get in, causing infection and swelling.
Changes to nails may, of course, be caused by an underlying health condition rather than menopause. Talk to your doctor if diet and lifestyle changes don’t result in improved nail health.
Remedies & supplements for menopausal nails
Nettle – contains the mineral silicone, which may strengthen nails.
Evening Primrose Oil – contains essential fatty acids, which may prevent cracking.
Vitamin E – apply oil drops directly to your nails and cuticles or as a capsule (will help with hair, skin and nails).
Natural supplements may affect any prescription medications that you’re taking. Always buy products with a THR (Traditional Herbal Remedy) mark. If in doubt, check safe levels with your doctor.
Caring for menopause nails
It’s a no-smoking zone - smoking lowers oestrogen levels further, causing dehydration, which could make nails brittle. It also affects your circulation and turns nails yellow.
Don the marigolds - hands and water don’t mix. Wear rubber gloves if you’re washing up, or must put your hands in water regularly. Cells absorb water and expand slightly, but then nails dry and contract, making them brittle. After washing, use a hand cream that will moisturise nails & cuticles, too.
Avoid the Acetone - at least while you’re trying to restore nail health. Nail varnish removers can be very astringent, dehydrating already dehydrated nails, and causing them to chip and peel. Why not go the whole hog and give nails a break from varnish and gels?
Keep your fingers warm -skin and nails become thinner and dehydrated during menopause and cold weather makes things worse. Wear gloves to keep hands and nails warm - and moisture in.
Can HRT help nails and hair growth?
HRT can improve hair thickness and quality. Some women report an increase in hair loss when using HRT, possibly due to the type of progesterone in some HRT preparations. It could be worth checking with your doctor if any proposed HRT could cause hair loss as a side effect.
We think it’s unlikely you’d choose HRT just to improve your nails, but if you take it for other menopause symptoms, enjoy the added bonus that increased levels of collagen bring, improving skin, bone and nails.
Advice for Hair & Nails
