Hair loss in women over 40 - what you can do about it

Hair loss in women over 40 - what you can do about it

As we age, all hair thins to some extent. We age and so does our hair. The main complaint of women in the second act after sagging skin is thinning hair.

In the United States alone, more than 20 million women suffer from some form of “female pattern baldness.” Consequently, a big question in my chair is: “How can I make my hair appear fuller?” If you want volume (or height), you'll probably need to raise your arms above your shoulders and spend some time creating it. Some time is not an hour. Some time is 15 to 20 minutes. When hair thins, we often cannot rely on a good haircut alone. Hairdressers can't just cut "height" into your hair. Making thinning hair look thicker requires both of us to work together.

The most common cause of hair loss in women is hereditary hair loss or androgenetic alopecia. In fact, 95 percent of all hair loss in women can be attributed to hereditary hair loss. Few women have heard of this condition and even fewer know that it can be the cause of their hair loss.

The word “alopecia” is used to describe types of significant hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia describes hair loss caused by androgens, which are hormones present in every human or man. Hormonal changes affect many things, including hereditary hair loss. In particular, your genetic sensitivity to the male hormone testosterone is key. The testosterone is converted into a stronger hormone called dihydrotestosterone, causing sensitive hairs and follicles to become smaller.

Why hair becomes thinner

Typically, each of your hairs grows for two to seven years, takes a three-month “break,” and then falls out to make room for new hair. However, if you have a genetic predisposition to curl thinning, your hair follicles may become more sensitive to the male hormone testosterone sometime in your twenties, thirties, or even your teens. (It's not that you produce more testosterone than other women; the hormone just affects you differently.) Over time, your follicles shrink and can only produce finer, shorter, weaker hair, or none at all. For some women, the process accelerates during menopause when natural estrogen levels decrease.

This is why you may notice short hairs that never seem to grow, especially around the hairline and middle section. You know the “little blurs” you see at the top of your head. One reason why adding layers and texture helps create the illusion that these blurs are meant to be there, rather than oddly shorter than the rest of the hair.

What can you do to thin hair?

The three common methods for treating hair loss are medical, surgical and cosmetic. Medically, the topical drug minoxidil is used to prevent hair follicles from shrinking in about 60 percent of women who try rubbing it into their scalp twice daily. About two-thirds of these women will also experience some regrowth within eight months, although the new hair is usually much finer than the old.

Medical therapy is more effective at stopping the progression of hair loss than regrowing hair that has already been lost, but a fortunate percentage of patients may experience significant regrowth. Minoxidil is available without a prescription, but you must use it continuously for the rest of your life to maintain new hair growth. Hair loss begins again within a few months after stopping minoxidil treatment. Some women find that the solution causes itching or headaches.

Minoxidil is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat hair loss in women. Finasteride, a prescription pill that lowers testosterone levels, appears to only work in men. It is not safe for women.

Hair restoration surgery is another option for women, although it works best if, like men, you thin primarily at the top. A surgeon removes hair from a denser area of ​​your head and transplants the follicles one at a time to where you need them most. Surgical treatment has made dramatic advances in the last 10 years. The most advanced surgical technique now is follicular unit transplantation, in which lost hair is replaced with microscopically harvested, tiny, natural-looking units containing only one to three hairs each. It's so natural that if done correctly, even delicate areas like eyebrows and eyelashes can be recreated. You can expect to pay between $4,000 and $30,000 over time.

Finally, cosmetic enhancement is the use of products such as thickeners, concealers, and techniques that create the illusion that your hair is thicker than it actually is. As you read on, you will discover the most effective cosmetic treatments available today.

 Do you need volume? Here's what works.

o Backcombing: No, it will not harm your hair. No, it won't look like a beehive if you do it right. Learn how. It will always and forever give you control of this division in the crown.

o Styling products such as mousse are often best applied to the scalp and root area only.

o Tension blow dry your hair in all directions (strongly pull the hair away from the scalp with a brush or your fingers) with heat on the scalp and voila, volume! Bending “upside down” helps, but only if you also apply tension with a brush or your fingers so that the hair dries pulled 90 degrees from the scalp.

o Volumizing products temporarily impact the hair shaft. You get more volume. More tangles, but more volume. They can also weigh down certain fine hair types.

o Velcro fasteners: On dry hair: set, spray with hairspray, heat with a hairdryer, allow to cool. Poof! Volume. Back comb for more.

o Curlers: rollers, magnetic rollers, rags, bends and anything that you wrap wet hair and let it form in this shape increases the volume through waves or curls.

o Hot rollers: Always ensure ends are wrapped neatly to avoid “fishhooks”.

o Curling iron: Start at the root of the hair, straight up and away from the direction you are curling to lift the scalp. Then roll up the clip and close it slightly to click through, heat, release and cool the hair before styling.

o Round brush uses the same concept as Velcro rollers. The more you heat and lift the hair at the scalp and allow it to cool before removing the brush, the more volume will be created.

Creating illusion through shadows

One of the simplest but least used techniques for creating the illusion that you have thicker hair is to fill the hairline or scalp area with a scalp shader. Like brows with brow tint and lashes with liner, your hair will look thicker if you conceal the scalp with a color that matches your hair.

There are several scalp shaders on the market. My favorite is a product called Dermatch. Simply apply the shadow-like powder to thinning areas and voila – the illusion of thicker hair. This is particularly effective on hairline, temples, hairpieces and that nasty gap in the crown. Also great for men.

Inspired by Christopher Hopkins