Why hair changes during menopause (and it's not just about age)

Hot flashes, mood swings, dryness... when we talk about menopause, we tend to think of the same symptoms. But there's one that's talked about less, and that affects a large share of women: hair thinning and hair loss.

Why does this happen?

Oestrogen doesn't just influence the reproductive cycle: it also plays a protective role for hair. It helps keep the hair growth phase (the anagen phase) active for longer, which supports thicker, denser hair. When oestrogen levels fall during perimenopause and menopause, that protective effect fades and the growth phase tends to shorten.

At the same time, as oestrogen declines, the relative influence of other hormones — such as androgens, which are also naturally present in women — can become more noticeable in the hair follicle, which in some women leads to a hormonal pattern of hair loss, similar in mechanism (though not in appearance) to what's seen in men.

It's not just a thing of your 50s

An important point: the hormonal changes that can affect hair don't start suddenly the day menopause arrives. The hormonal transition is a gradual process that can begin years earlier — up to a decade before menopause, according to the available evidence — and with it, subtle changes can start appearing that, over time, show up in your hair. That's why talking about "hormonal hair care" isn't exclusive to women who are already in menopause.

You're not alone

Hormone-related hair loss affects a considerable share of women during the postmenopausal stage, and it can be a real source of insecurity, since hair is often a big part of how we feel about our image. If this resonates with you, you're not alone, and above all: it's not something you should simply have to accept.

In upcoming posts, we'll talk about the ingredients that can help address this type of hair loss — like the ones in menoelle® HAIR med, the hair care line from menoelle — and what the clinical studies showed.

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