Thinning hair is a common occurrence during what is still euphemistically called "change of life." The loss of estrogen in menopause, paired with spikes in testosterone, reprogram the hair follicle and result in what some women call "menopause hair"— hair that not only becomes thinner in the sense of density of distribution on the scalp but results in an actual narrowing of the follicle, so the individual strands become skinnier, drier and more brittle.

For some women, their ponytail just gets a little lighter and a little skinnier, with no bare patches and no visible retreat of their central hairline. Other women endure more severe forms of alopecia. Unfortunately, all of these experiences can bruise a woman's self-esteem, which may already be battered by mood swings driven by unruly hormones and other symptoms starting in perimenopause.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Here's more of what to expect during menopause; plus the Hair Wellness® products that can help support thicker, fuller-looking strands at every age. 

What's the Medical Definition of Menopause?

Menopause is declared after you've gone 12 months without a menstrual period. According to Mayo Clinic, the average menopause age in the U.S. is 51. As with the two other major benchmarks of a woman's reproductive health, namely puberty and pregnancy, hormone levels begin to behave erratically and affect every area of life and well-being.

The traditional male-dominated medical establishment still uses language which places menopause into the realm of disease. But advocates for female reproductive health maintain that changing the health industry lexicon is essential to women's agency in at last reclaiming their own bodies. This means that perimenopause and menopause do not need to be diagnosed, but rather simply identified. And the arrival of these conditions is not considered symptomatic, which is evidence of disease, but simply acknowledged by common signs and signals.

Shop: GRO More Kit

Menopause and Hair Loss 101

Menopause is one of the major causes of hair loss as women enter middle age. While losing 50-100 hairs every day — and a few more on shampoo days — is common, menopause may double that loss rate.

Other common signs are more time than usual between periods, and shorter periods, along with night sweats, hot flashes, weight gain, especially in the belly (hormones literally redirect fat from the thighs to the belly during this transition!) and dry skin.

When these signs start showing up, talk to your doctor. A few basic blood tests will pinpoint your current testosterone levels and estrogen loss, and you can begin to explore treatment options if you choose to do so. 

Also: The Best DHT Blockers to Grow Hair and Reduce Hair Loss

What Causes Hair Loss During Menopause?

During menopause, hair changes are driven largely by a shift in the balance between estrogen and androgens. Estrogen plays a key role in keeping hair in the anagen (growth) phase for longer periods, supporting fuller, thicker strands and a steadier growth cycle. As estrogen levels decline, however that growth phase shortens and hair spends less time actively growing and more time transitioning into shedding. The result can be increased hair fall, reduced density, and strands that feel finer over time.

At the same time, androgens (like testosterone) become more influential by comparison. This relative rise can lead to follicle miniaturization, where hair shafts grow back thinner and weaker, particularly around the crown and hairline. It’s important to note that this process differs from postpartum telogen effluvium. After childbirth, the body experiences a sharp, sudden drop in estrogen following a major hormonal peak, triggering temporary, widespread shedding that typically resolves within months. Menopausal hair changes, by contrast, are more gradual, ongoing and tied to a long-term hormonal recalibration —making consistent, targeted care essential for supporting scalp health and hair vitality.

When Does Menopause Hair Loss Start?

Menopause-related hair loss doesn’t begin at a single, fixed age. Rather, it follows a general timeline that varies for everyone. For many women, changes actually start during perimenopause, the transitional phase leading up to menopause. This stage often begins in the early 40s and can last anywhere from 4 to 8 years. During this time, fluctuating hormone levels, especially declining estrogen, can trigger early signs of thinning, increased shedding or changes in texture. Because these shifts happen gradually, many women don’t immediately connect their hair changes to perimenopause.

On the other hand, menopause itself is officially reached after 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle, with the average age being 51.5 years. By this point, hormonal changes are more pronounced, and hair concerns may become more noticeable. In short: hair thinning can begin in your early 40s during perimenopause, progress through your late 40s, and continue after menopause; though the timing, pace and severity are highly individual.

What Menopause Hair Thinning Looks Like

Again, it varies for everyone, though there are some key signs to look for. As noted, hair thinning tends to happen gradually during and after menopause, showing up as subtle shifts in volume, texture and overall density rather than sudden or dramatic loss.

• A widening part: One of the earliest signs is a part that gradually looks wider, especially under bright light or when hair is styled straight.
• Reduced density at the crown: Hair may appear flatter or less full on top, with more scalp visibility when you look in the mirror or photos.
• Finer, more fragile strands: Individual hairs often grow back thinner due to follicle miniaturization, making overall volume feel diminished.
• Drier, rougher texture: Hormonal shifts can reduce natural oil production, leaving hair feeling more brittle, frizzy, or prone to breakage.
• Changes in manageability: You may notice your hair doesn’t hold styles as well or feels limp where it used to have body.
• Not bald patches: Unlike some forms of hair loss, menopause-related thinning is typically diffuse and gradual, not sudden or patchy.

These patterns can help you recognize early changes and better understand what your hair is experiencing.

What Does a Normal Hair Cycle Look Like?

A healthy scalp follows a continuous hair growth cycle made up of four phases that determine how hair grows, sheds, and renews over time.

• Anagen (growth phase): Lasts 2–7 years. This is when hair actively grows, and most strands are in this phase at once.
• Catagen (transition phase): Lasts about 2–3 weeks. Growth slows as the follicle shrinks and detaches from its blood supply.
• Telogen (resting phase): Lasts around 3 months. The strand rests in the follicle before being released.
• Exogen (shedding phase): The final stage where the hair strand fully sheds from the scalp, making room for new growth to begin.

Together, these phases work in a repeating cycle. 

Updated Thinking on HRT

Hormone replacement therapy has an image problem. The use of hormones, including those found in estrogen-rich pregnant mare's urine, have consistently proven to ease the discomfort from menopausal symptoms. Initially, hormone replacement was de rigueur and widely prescribed by gynecologists. Then came the Women's Health Initiative, which cast this practice in a newly negative light and led to an abrupt decrease in women's access to HRT. The trial was stopped early, in 2002, because the hormone-users in the study had a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke and blood clots. As of this writing, many clinicians maintain the stance that HRT is dangerous.

But a recent reexamination of the WHI has led forward-thinking practitioners to a new set of conclusions which again opens the door to the utility, safety and value of HRT. Current analysis of the data establishes that when HRT is initiated soon after menopause, coronary heart disease and osteoporotic fractures due to thinning bones are reduced, and life expectancy is extended. The National Institutes of Health states that "In younger healthy women (aged 50-60 years), the risk-benefit balance is positive for using HRT, with risks considered rare."

"Menopausal hormone therapy is definitely a safe option for most women (those without risk factors for cancer or cardiovascular disease) entering perimenopause and menopause to treat menopausal symptoms and in some cases to protect against bone loss," said Dr. Kelly Culwell, board-certified OBGYN and nationally-renowned women’s health expert. "The earlier studies (Women's Health Initiative or WHI) that showed significant risks for cardiovascular events and breast cancer with use of hormone therapy in menopause largely enrolled older women who had already gone through menopause but were still having symptoms. Most women enter the perimenopausal/menopausal period in their late 40s and early 50s, at which time their risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular events (like strokes and heart attacks) are much lower than that of older women."

Read: Are Baby Hairs a Sign of New Growth or Breakage?

Should You Be Worried About Hair Disorders After Menopause?

While hair changes after menopause are common, true “menopause-specific” hair disorders are rare. Instead, most postmenopausal hair concerns are related to age, genetics, and the gradual shift in hormone balance rather than a distinct disease caused by menopause itself. Conditions like androgenetic alopecia (female pattern hair loss) may become more noticeable after menopause because declining estrogen allows androgens to have a stronger relative effect on hair follicles, leading to gradual thinning and miniaturization.

With that being said, this is not a disorder unique to menopause, and it often develops over years in combination with genetic predisposition. Other types of hair loss, such as telogen effluvium or scalp conditions like dermatitis, are not directly caused by menopause, though hormonal changes may influence their severity. A proper diagnosis helps clarify the underlying cause.

What You Can Do To Help Encourage Healthy Hair During Menopause 

Supporting hair through menopause isn’t just about what you see — it’s about creating the right internal and external environment for growth. As hormones shift, a targeted routine can help encourage stronger, fuller-looking hair over time.

Together, this inside-out approach can help hair look healthier, fuller, and more resilient over time.

Give Your Hair a Break

If your hair's been living life in the fast lane — coloring, daily blow-outs, flat-ironing, scalp-stressing hair extensions, tight braids, backcombing, or straightening and relaxing processes — now's the time to give your tresses a breather.

Consider letting go of your extensions, and reserve hot tools for special occasions. If your hair is midback or longer and feeling a bit damaged and depleted, go shorter. There's zero truth to the old belief that cutting your hair makes it grow faster, but clean ends and a shorter shape can make hair appear thicker, fuller looker.

Read: Why Millions of Women Love This Hair Serum

Implement External and Topical Support

Start from within with GRO+ Advanced Hair Growth & Density Supplements, which deliver bioavailable vitamins, minerals, and plant-based actives to help fill common nutrient gaps and support hair health. These supplements are designed to target root causes of thinning — like stress, aging, and hormonal shifts — working to reduce shedding over time. 

GRO+ Advanced Hair Serum is another excellent addition to your routine. The MD-developed formula is powered by plant exosomes and helps target thinning, balance the scalp and improve the look of fuller, denser hair. 

To enhance results, incorporate the GRO Revitalizing Scalp Massager into your routine. A gentle head massage can help boost circulation, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the scalp, which are key for maintaining an optimal growth environment.

Does Food Play a Role in How I Feel About My Menopause?

Simply: yup. Here are some suggestions of how you can tweak your diet in an effort to positively affect menopause symptoms.

Rethink Your Menu

It's a proven fact that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce hot flashes and night sweats, so add flax or chia seeds to your plate.

Try tracking what you eat for a week to examine which nutrients you're not getting from your diet. Then, tweak what you eat. You can also add a hair vitamin to your routine like GRO Biotin Gummies to ensure you get your daily dose of biotin, folic acid and other hair healthy vitamins.

Eat More Protein

In general, doctors recommend that menopausal women eat more protein, not less, as they age. Good news for vegans: In early studies, eating plant protein has been demonstrated to be more effective than dairy protein in reducing the risk of hip fracture.

Read: How to Challenge Yourself to a Month of Vegan Eating

Eat More Cruciferous Veggies and Some Fruits

Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage), grapes and berries show evidence in early studies that they may lower blood pressure and fight the inflammation that's an inevitable part of the aging process.

Add Botanical Phytoestrogens

Phytoestrogens, compounds in food that act as mild estrogens in your body, are demonstrated in recent research to lower hot flashes in some studied control groups. Although the soy craze of the 1980s was misguided, experts today agree that botanical phytoestrogens support overall body health, especially for women who are losing estrogen in the process of menopause. Foods rich in natural phytoestrogens include chickpeas, peanuts, barley, plums and spinach.

Read 9 Biotin-Rich Foods for Healthy Hair

Avoid Starches and Sugar

Of course, refined white sugar, along with high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners, are present in desserts. But they're also present in a staggering majority of processed foods, including many cereals, soups, breads, salad dressings and even commercially produced tomato sauce. Avoiding blood sugar spikes by avoiding these foods may be helpful in avoiding the most infamous of menopause markers, the Menopause Meltdown. Also, be aware that other foods, like potatoes, pasta, rice and other carbohydrates, spike your glycemic index as well. A general rule of thumb is to avoid all white processed foods.

Read: 4 Foods to Eat to Delay Gray Hair

Cut Back on Caffeine and Alcohol

The effects of those two old standbys, caffeine and alcohol, are highly subjective, but both are known sleep disruptors. If you're tossing and turning at night, experiment by skipping that nightcap, that morning joe or both.

Read: Does Drinking Alcohol Lead to Hair Loss?

Use Less the Salt

Lowering your salt intake is a good move at any time of life, and especially when the risk of high blood pressure rises. Buy organic lemons and limes, and squeeze fresh, sunny citrus over your food in place of salt. It's a refreshing alternative and even delivers a splash of always-welcome vitamin C!

Destress

In general, just chill. Menopause is the ideal time to wrap your head around "slow beauty." Your body is always renewing itself, and with menopause comes a slowing of the metabolism. It is unrealistic to expect that your body will ever be 21 again. It won't. Skin cell turnover is slower. Ditto for digestion. Ditto for self-repair of your muscles after a workout. And ditto for your hair.

The good news is that with healthy destressing, your hair loss may normalize. It's unlikely that you will lose all your hair. Most often, women experience gradual, incremental thinning that plateaus after menopause.

Read: What You Should Know About Stress and Hair Loss

Can HRT Help Me Keep My Hair?

The short answer is probably yes! Hair loss during perimenopause and menopause happens when estrogen and progesterone supplies drop. And in a perfect, ying-yang match, androgens — male hormones, specifically testosterone — spike sky-high. As a result, the anagen or growth phase of hair slows to a crawl, and hair follicles shrink, preventing them from extruding those long, strong strands that help define youth. Initiating medication, including bioidentical hormones, may be the most effective among hair loss treatments currently available.

Bioidentical Hormones

As an alternative to other forms of HRT, bioidentical hormones, synthesized from soy and yam, are now available. In addition to the vegan aspect, bioidentical hormones are identical in molecular structure to the hormones made by your own ovaries. Bioidenticals are available in pills, patches, gels and lotions. However, women with a uterus who take bioidentical hormones must also take an FDA-approved progestin or micronized progesterone to prevent endometrial cancer, according to Harvard University.

Read: 10 Hair Growth Mistakes You're Making

What Medical Treatments Are Available for Menopausal Hair Loss?

"Not all women experience hair loss or thinning during menopause, but many do," said Dr. Culwell. "For women who are experiencing hair loss, I recommend that they have their thyroid levels checked as hypothyroidism can also cause hair loss and is more common in women in their 40s and 50s. Assuming the thyroid is normal, the only prescription treatment for hair loss is minoxidil (also known as Rogaine) which is applied topically to the scalp. This option has rare, but serious, side effects of elevated heart rate and can decrease blood pressure as it was originally developed as a medication for high blood pressure."

Read: Hair Loss After 50? Here's What You Can Do

What About Those Progesterone Creams at the Health Store?

If you browse the aisles of your favorite health store, you'll likely see jars of progesterone cream, which are advertised as an alternative to HRT. If the cream is sold over the counter without a prescription, it contains too little of the hormone to be effective. And yam extracts don't help because your body cannot convert them into progesterone.

When Should You See A Dermatologist?

You should consider seeing a dermatologist if menopause-related hair thinning becomes noticeable, persistent, or emotionally distressing. While gradual shedding and reduced density are common during perimenopause and menopause, a specialist can help rule out other contributing factors such as thyroid imbalance, iron deficiency, or androgenetic alopecia. It’s especially important to seek care if you notice rapid shedding, visible scalp changes over a short period, or thinning that continues to progress without stabilizing. A dermatologist can assess your scalp health, identify the underlying cause, and recommend evidence-based treatments to help slow shedding and support regrowth. Early intervention often leads to better long-term outcomes and more personalized care.

All This to Say: Take Menopause and Hair Loss One Step at a Time

Just like other stages of life, menopause is inevitable. The good news is that extra-gentle treatment and intentional Hair Wellness® habits can help ease its symptoms. Put a positive spin on menopause by using it as a time for reflection and taking stock. Also, do things to make you feel good about yourself, such as getting a shorter, breezier cut that can give your hair a fresh new lease on life.

Hair Loss and Menopause FAQs

Does menopause cause permanent hair loss?

Not necessarily. Menopause-related thinning is progressive if untreated, but it responds to intervention. The follicles aren't destroyed; they miniaturize. Early action with topical treatments, nutritional support, and scalp care can help maintain and even improve density. The key is starting before significant miniaturization occurs.

What does menopause hair loss look like?

Most women notice a widening part line, reduced fullness at the crown, and finer-feeling strands. It's gradual, not sudden. You might also notice your ponytail feels thinner or your hair takes longer to grow. It's different from the clumps-in-the-shower shedding that happens with stress or postpartum hair loss.

Can HRT help with hair loss during menopause?

Some women report improved hair quality on hormone replacement therapy, but the evidence is mixed and HRT isn't typically prescribed solely for hair loss. A 2023 pilot study showed estradiol replacement improved hair density in postmenopausal women with female pattern hair loss, but more research is needed. Discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor.

What vitamins help menopause hair loss?

A: Iron, vitamin D, zinc, biotin, and adequate protein are the most evidence-supported nutrients for hair health during menopause. Get levels tested before supplementing, especially iron and vitamin D, since excess supplementation without a deficiency won't help and can cause other issues.

When should I see a doctor about menopause hair loss?

If you notice sudden bald patches rather than gradual thinning, scalp pain or scarring, hair loss accompanied by fatigue or unexplained weight changes, or if your thinning hasn't responded to 6 months of consistent treatment, see a dermatologist. They can rule out thyroid issues, iron deficiency, and other conditions that mimic menopause-related loss.

Is perimenopause hair loss different from menopause hair loss?

The mechanism is the same (estrogen decline, relative androgen increase), but perimenopause hair changes can be more unpredictable because hormone levels fluctuate rather than steadily declining. Some women experience intermittent shedding episodes during perimenopause before settling into the more gradual thinning pattern of menopause.

READ MORE FROM VEGAMOUR:

• How to Stop Gray Hair Naturally
• Does Hair Turn Gray at the Temples First?
• 5 Things to Avoid If Your Hair Is Thinning