If you’re experiencing dry hair and are curious as to whether it could be a symptom of menopause, you’re in luck! I’ve spoken to a few women who’ve gone through menopause and this what they’ve said.
Dry hair can be a symptom of menopause as women experience a change in hormones, causing their estrogen and progesterone levels to decrease. This causes an increase in testosterone levels, which causes dry hair and dry scalp during menopause. That said, by taking supplements and having a healthy lifestyle, menopause-related dry hair can be fixed.
During my chats with these women in my life, I managed to get some insider tips on how to get rid of menopause-related dry hair. If you want to find out how then make sure you keep reading!
How To Fix Menopause-Related Dry Hair
Although menopause is a natural stage of aging for women, dry hair doesn’t have to be. There are ways to prevent and even repair your dry hair during menopause and I’ve laid out the best tips below. Take a look!
The best way to fix menopause-related dry hair is to eat foods rich in vitamins and nutrients such as Omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids, magnesium, zinc, biotin, iron, protein, and folic acid will help to restore natural oils in your hair and pick up some of the slack from your decrease in hormones that promote good hair health.
1. Eat Good, Healthy Food
Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet to help restore moisture to your hair from the inside out is the best way to naturally treat menopause-related dry hair.
These are the foods you should be incorporating into your diet to fix menopause-related dry hair:
| Vitamin/Mineral: | Foods: |
| Omega-3 fatty acids & Amino acids | Seeds, beans, flaxseed, spirulina, nuts, soy products, tofu, fish poultry, and canola oil |
| Magnesium | Seeds, nuts, whole grains, beans, and dark green veggies |
| Zinc | Whole grains, nuts, lentils, beans, chocolate, and oysters |
| Biotin | Lentils, beans, and eggs |
| Selenium | Nuts |
| Iron & Protein | Lentils, beans, nuts, wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, dates, raisins, dried apricots, yogurt, cottage, cheese, eggs, tofu, spinach, kale, fish, chicken, red meat, and liver |
| Folic acid | Lentils, pinto beans, nutritional yeast, spinach, chard, kale, and broccoli |
| Vitamin B | Whole grains, nutritional yeast, tempeh (fermented soybean), eggs, salmon, poultry, pork, red meat, and liver |
2. Nurture Your Hair
Stop using excessive heat on your hair. Be kind to your hair and ditch the heat styling stools such as curling irons and hair straighteners. The heat from these tools physically strips your hair of its moisture. So there is no point in repairing moisture from the inside if you’re only going to strip it away again from the outside.
Deep condition and limit wash days. When washing your hair, use shampoos and conditioners that are gentle as well as moisturizing. You must incorporate a deep-conditioning routine into your hair wash days. Hair wash day should only be between 2 to 3 times a week. Over-washing your hair also causes dry hair.
A shampoo that a lot of women swear by for menopause-related dry hair is the Pura’dor biotin anti-thinning shampoo and conditioner set. This set not only moisturizes your hair, but it also promotes hair growth and healthy hair!
The key ingredient in these products is biotin, which stimulates hair growth and thickens hair. This shampoo and conditioner are also a DHT blocker which means that they block the hormone that causes hair thinning and hair loss. DHT is a male sex hormone, like testosterone.
If you’re interested in learning about the other things that dry hair can be a sign of and how to prevent or remedy these things, keep reading! It’s worth your while.
3 Additional Causes Of Dry Hair And How To Fix Them
Other leading causes of dry hair are environmental conditions such as dry, humid climate, wind and sun exposure, and swimming in chlorinated pools or seawater. These all strip your hair of moisture; if any of these apply to you, the best thing to do is apply a leave-in conditioner twice a week or before exposure to the above-mentioned conditions.
Dry hair is also a good indicator of what is going on with our bodies, whether it be an illness or a change in hormones, our hair gets affected too. This is why it’s always important to pay attention to your dry hair, it could be alerting you about something deeper such as:
1. Dehydration
We all know the importance of keeping hydrated when it relates to our body and our skin, but it’s actually just as important for our hair. Keeping hydrated improves your blood circulation, this keeps your hair follicles nourished. If your hair follicles are nourished then it will promote healthy hair growth and nourishment for the rest of the hair strand.
How can you solve this?
It is recommended that a person drinks 8 to 10 glasses of water or at least a gallon a day. There are also foods that you can eat, that can help with rehydrating your body in order to provide healthy-hair nutrition, such as:
- Watermelon
- Cucumber
- Celery
- Papaya
2. Stress
Although it’s easier said than done, it’s important to manage your stress effectively. Our biological response to stress causes our body to lower its levels of estrogen and thyroid hormone. This hormonal imbalance is what causes hair issues such as dry hair, brittle hair, and also hair loss! I cannot stress enough the importance of finding effective coping mechanisms to manage stress.
How can you solve this?
- Try some yoga. Activities such as yoga, meditation, and even breathing exercises have been known to be effective in reducing stress. When you’re successful in reducing your stress levels, you are also maintaining your hormonal balance which will prevent your dry hair issue.
- Do regular exercises. You don’t have to take up a new extreme sport, a simple walk around the neighborhood or a light jog will suffice. Incorporating an exercise routine into your daily activities is the best way to keep your stress levels at bay. Exercising regularly also promotes good health as well as good sleep. These are things that help maintain ideal hormone levels in your body thus promoting good hair health.
3. Smoking
Studies have shown that tobacco actually reduces the estrogen levels in a woman’s body. As we know, one of the functions of estrogen in our bodies is to promote healthy hair growth as well as hair nourishment. So not only does smoking destroy your lungs, it destroys your hair as well.
How can you solve this?
The answer is simple, quit smoking. As we know (like most things in life) it’s easier said than done. If you find it difficult to quit smoking then I recommend trying cutting down on how often your smoke. Also, take additional measures to protect your hair.
If you have dry hair and know that you won’t be able to quit smoking any time soon, then make sure that your diet consists of food that will help you restore moisture back into your hair such as:
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Flaxseed Oil
- Salmon
- Tuna
If you are experiencing hair loss, you may need to treat this will a slightly more aggressive approach. With that being said, keep reading to find out what you need to do!
Is Hair Loss A Symptom Of Menopause?
Hair loss is a symptom of menopause caused by estrogen and progesterone’s lowered levels in a woman’s body during this time. It causes hair to become dry and thin, then to fall out. When estrogen and progesterone levels get low, male hormones (androgens) increase; these make hair follicles shrink, which results in hair loss and bald spots.
With that being said, here are some options you can utilize to solve this problem:
Human Replacement Therapy
Women who are menopausal and are also experiencing extreme hair loss, as a result, will more often than not have to undergo Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) to treat their hair loss.
HRT is basically taking female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. These can be taken in various forms such as pills, creams as well as patches.
Whilst HRT is extremely effective in treating hair loss in women who are menopausal or post-menopausal, it’s usually only prescribed to women who have androgenetic alopecia (pattern baldness). This is because it is a strong treatment that can have adverse effects.
Supplements
A more accessible treatment for menopause-related hair loss is taking hormone supplements. A safe, highly reviewed, and accessible supplement is the Propidren DHT blocker and hair growth supplement. This product is made from ingredients that promote good hair health such as biotin, zinc, and iron, just to name a few. It is also a DHT blocker, this means that it blocks androgens or decreases their production.