The 40 Year-Old Hair Loss Dilemma

The Daily Mail last week highlighted the issue of female hair loss, a topic which is not usually accorded sympathetic reporting. The report discussed many of the factors faced by women in their 40s which can lead to patchy hair loss or even a receding hairline.

Hairdresser Jean Nôel de Casanove attributes female hair loss to a number of factors including weight-loss and general diet, pregnancy, hormonal changes and over-styling of hair. De Casanove believes that in their 40s, women’s hair “simply starts to lose its oomph.”

However, the situation is far from hopeless: there is much that can be done to resolve hair loss in women.

Oestrogen fluctuation contributes to female hair loss

It’s true that as women enter their 40s, their bodies enter a phase known as ‘peri-menopause’ which causes their hormone levels to change as a precursor to the menopause proper. Of particular relevance to the issue of hair loss are the levels of the hormone oestrogen.

Oestrogen is responsible for counteracting the hormone testosterone. In women prone to the genetic hairloss condition Androgenic Alopecia (also known as female pattern hair loss), increased testosterone levels leads to increased levels of the androgen DHT, which attacks the hair follicles. This attack causes the hair follicles to cease production.

As DHT affects more hair follicles, women find that they experience the loss of more and more hair, leading to patches of extremely thin hair, or even baldness. The condition then continues to develop as oestrogen levels drop further.

Oestrogen is also essential for general hair health and regulation of the growth cycle itself. Human hair works on a cycle of growth and shedding, but if the growth phase is shortened, so too is the length of each strand of hair before it falls out. The effect of lower levels of oestrogen in the bloodstream is shorter growth cycles, resulting in hair thinning.

By the age of 50, around half of all women experience thinning of the hair to at least some degree.

Treating Female Pattern Hair Loss and Oestrogen-related hair loss

The Belgravia Centre has successfully treated many women in their 40s, 50s and beyond for Androgenic Alopecia and other forms of hairloss. Depending on the specific needs of the client, female hair loss treatments can include our own formulations of minoxidil, the only medically proven hair loss treatment for women.

Because diet plays a critical part in keeping existing hair healthy and assisting new growth, our unique Hair Vitalics dietary supplement has been formulated to contain everything required for healthy hair. A unique blend of vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts provide all the fundamental building blocks of new hair which is then delivered directly to the client’s hair follicles.

Clients may also be offered the FDA-cleared LaserComb which uses focused beams of light to stimulate the cells of the scalp, speeding up new growth and revitalizing and thickening existing hair.

To find out more about how The Belgravia Centre can treat your hair loss condition, please call us today on 0800 077 6666 or message us online to arrange a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our qualified hair loss experts. You can also read some of our hair loss success stories in our website archive.

If you’re not local to our London hair loss clinic you can fill out our online diagnostic form for a home-use treatment programme that we can post to you anywhere in the world.

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