Is Long-Term Hair Loss Related to Hormone Change?'

Name: Mary

Question: Its been 2 and half years now my hair keeps falling out in bad clumps. I did every blood work in the book to rule out disease and autoimmune. It all came back normal. I am 47 years old - does this hair loss have anything to do with hormone change? If so how can I fix this problem so my hair can grow instead of falling out in clumps.

Answer: Hi, Mary. We cannot diagnose you from just the description of your hair loss that you give here. However, if you have been losing hair for this length of time and underlying health issues have been ruled out, we would suggest there are two most likely culprits.

It sounds most likely to be female pattern hair loss and/or diffuse thinning, also known as chronic telogen effluvium. These both display as thinning hair but whilst chronic telogen effluvium causes hair fall from the whole scalp, female pattern hair loss only affects the top of the scalp including the frontal hairline.

With particular regard to hormones, these can certainly have an effect on hairloss as the contraceptive pill as well as the menopause and pre-menopause can also lead to thinning hair in women.

Whilst female pattern baldness is incredibly common, prolonged stress, hormonal changes or dietary imbalances - among many other common factors - could lead to chronic telogen effluvium, which is also a frequently-seen cause of women's hair loss.

It is also possible for both hair loss conditions to present simultaneously, so we would ideally need to perform a scalp assessment and ask you a few more questions in order to ascertain precisely what is happening.

As there are so many variables and possible causes - as well as solutions - we recommend you have a consultation. This can take place either in person at one of Belgravia's City of London or Central London hair loss clinics or online via our website and allows a specialist to diagnose your condition(s), talk you through the options available and recommend appropriate hair loss treatments.