During perimenopause and menopause, many women notice changes in their hair. It might start looking frizzy, feeling dry, and becoming brittle. This common issue is not just about dry skin; your hair suffers too.
Managing Frizzy Hair in Menopause
If you’ve recently found that your hair seems to break more easily than before, you’re not alone. These changes in hair texture can be frustrating. It’s essential to rethink how we treat our hair and the products we use. Adopting new hair care strategies that cater to menopausal hair can make a significant difference.
How do Hormones Impact Hair Strand?
During menopause and perimenopause, hormones like oestrogen and testosterone undergo a significant decline. According to Glenn Lyons, clinical director at Philip Kingsley, this hormonal shift directly affects the scalp, making hair texture drier and altering hair follicles.
Typically, these follicles may constrict or shrink, leading many women to experience hair loss or thinning. Hormones can even affect the shape of hair follicles, turning straight hair from circle-shaped follicles into curly (is curly hair a dominant gene?) locks as they morph into an oval shape.
The reduction in oestrogen leads to decreased sebum production, which lubricates the scalp and maintains your hair’s acidic pH level. This acidity usually helps keep cuticle cells close together and hair smooth, but when the pH balance is upset, these cells can lift and pull away from each other, causing the hair to look rough and frizzy.
Less oil also means your scalp becomes dry and flaky, further reducing hair hydration. Additionally, naturally, coarse hair, such as tightly coiled curls, is even more prone to natural dryness and brittleness due to its reduced ability to retain adequate moisture levels. Grey hair, noted for its coarse feel, often exacerbates these effects.
Why Frizzy Hair is Associated with Menopause?
During menopause and perimenopause, many women experience significant changes in their hair texture. The decline in hormone levels, specifically estrogen and progesterone, plays a crucial role.
This hormonal imbalance affects the scalp’s ability to produce sebum, a waxy, oily substance that coats the hair and maintains a natural oil balance. Without sufficient sebum, hair becomes dry, frizzy, and hard to manage.
Additionally, hormonal fluctuations can cause the hair follicles to change from producing smooth to coarser textures, contributing to a frizzy look.
As women age, they might notice more grey hair, which naturally has a different texture and is prone to frizz. This, coupled with a disrupted scalp oil balance, leads to dryness and frizz. While these changes can be frustrating and impact confidence, understanding that this is a common link to menopause can help.
Recognizing the causes is essential, and using the right treatments and medicines designed for menopause symptoms can make a significant difference. These strategies not only fight frizz but also work towards restoring healthy, vibrant hair.
How can You Manage Frizzy Hair in Menopause Efficiently?
Regular Shampooing Benefits
frequent shampooing—ideally twice weekly—plays a major role in maintaining healthy hair and scalp. This routine helps keep the normal skin cell turnover, which occurs approximately every 28 days, from accumulating.
Shampooing not only cleanses the hair of environmental pollutants, sweat, and excess oil but also ensures it doesn’t dry out. Wash your hair with warm water instead of hot to avoid further dryness, and massage in your shampoo to stimulate blood circulation.
Switch to Sulfate-Free Shampoo
To combat menopause frizzy hair, switching to sulfate-free shampoos can be a game-changer. These shampoos are gentle and don’t dry out your hair like traditional sulfates, which are detergents that strip your treasure out of natural oils.
Instead, opt for options that moisturize and nourish, keeping your hair soft, frizz-free, and healthy. They effectively clear away dirt and oils without damaging or taxing your hair, especially important in any season.
Moisturize Your Hair with Conditioner
During menopause, the scalp’s natural oil secretion from sebaceous glands doesn’t travel far along the hair shaft, making it crucial to apply conditioner directly to the hair, not the scalp.
Use conditioners with moisturizing ingredients that are effective in penetrating the hair shaft and more beneficial for hair health than just applying natural oils like olive and argan oil. On days you don’t shampoo, opt for a leave-in conditioner to maintain moisture and health.
Lock Out Humidity and Heat
High humidity and heat are some of the worst enemies for those dealing with menopause frizzy hair. Whether your hair is straight, fine, and tends to fall flat, or it’s curly and high-porosity (common with aging hair), the moist air can make it appear more frizzy and unruly.
To banish frizz, consider using a frizz-fighting spray that also serves as a heat protectant, offering double-duty defense against the humid environment.
Protect Your Tresses from Frizz Overnight
To fight frizzy hair during menopause, protecting your hair while you sleep is crucial. Swap your regular cotton pillowcase for one made of silk or satin, which creates less friction on your tresses as you move at night. This change helps fight daytime frizz.
For extra protection, invest in a satin bonnet that is well-fitted to your head. Ensure the bonnet isn’t too tight—to avoid red marks on your forehead and temples—nor too loose, so it can securely hold your hair.
Consider Low-Tension Hairstyle
To protect your hair from damage and breakage, especially during menopause when hair can become more brittle and prone to frizz and flyaways, it’s wise to try low-tension hairstyles. Styles like loose braids or buns are not only stylish and effortlessly chic but also prevent stress on your strands.
These favorite styles are perfect for transitioning from the gym to the beach to the office during the hot summer months. A loose knot bun is particularly great, working well on both freshly washed and second-day hair.
Use Clean Mascara Brush to Smooth Frizz
A clean mascara wand with its tiny brush heads is great for touching up flyaways throughout the day. The small and dense bristles of the mascara wands work best on thinner spots, such as the temples and hairline. You can use them alone or with a small amount of light-hold hairspray to touch up any stubborn flyaways effectively.
Opt for Heatless Styling
Styling your hair without heat is a strategic move in the frizz-fighting long game. While it may not immediately reduce frizz, consistent heatless styling over time can help reduce breakage and damage. Dry, damaged hair often tends to look frizzy and can feel straw-like.
By avoiding heat, you preserve your hair’s natural texture and integrity, making it look healthier and more manageable.
Use Microfiber Towel
To protect your hair from damage and friction, use a microfiber towel after washing. These towels are especially beneficial for those with fine hair as they absorb water efficiently without rubbing the cuticle layer.
This method reduces the drying time and decreases the likelihood of heat damage from blow drying, helping to control frizzies associated with menopause effectively.
Deep Conditioning
Deep conditioners can transform your hair by adding a lot of moisture, which effectively reduces frizz. For those dealing with dryness associated with menopause, it’s beneficial to use a conditioner specifically designed for dry hair. Applying it once or twice a week yields the best effect, helping to maintain smooth and hydrated locks.
Keep an Eye on the Ingredients
When managing menopause frizzy hair, it’s crucial to understand which ingredients are in your hair care products. Some ingredients, especially certain alcohols like ethanol, propanol, propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and SD alcohols, have quick-drying properties that can further dry out your scalp and hair.
These are often found in products like hairspray and dry shampoo. However, not all alcohols are harmful; long-chain alcohols, including lauryl, cetyl, cetearyl, stearyl, and behenyl alcohol, are fatty acid alcohols that can actually hydrate and help make your hair look shiny.
Silicones, for instance, can be beneficial in adding slip and manageability to your hair, aiding in smoothing strands and adding shine, but they need to be used carefully to prevent build-up. Also, look for soothing ingredients like aloe vera, witch hazel, and allantoin if your scalp is irritated.
To effectively exfoliate the scalp, choose a scrub with sugar-based or salicylic acid formulations. Always prefer hydrating shampoos and conditioners that contain natural oils and butter, and use humectants like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and panthenol to retain moisture.
Lifestyle Modification is Mandatory
Managing menopause frizzy hair effectively requires crucial lifestyle modifications, particularly in your diet. Good nutrition is essential for attaining healthy hair. It’s important to consume a balanced diet with all food groups daily, including proteins like meat, fish, eggs, pulses, and lentils, and complex carbohydrates such as rice, sweet potato, and pasta in moderation.
Staying hydrated is vital, especially if you are experiencing hot flashes or night sweats; drinking enough fluids prevents dehydration, which can significantly impact hair health., Multivitamins and mineral supplements can be beneficial, especially for vegetarians and vegans.
Moreover, for those considering HRT, while hair symptoms alone aren’t a direct indication of its use, some women have anecdotally noticed improvements in hair health, particularly regarding hair loss.
Final Words
Dealing with frizzy hair during menopause is tough, but with the right care and treatments, you can make your hair look beautiful again. Use tips and hints, including natural remedies, to handle frizz effectively and keep your hair healthy. Remember, you are not the only one facing this issue; with a right approach, you can love your hair and feel great about your style during this time.
FAQs
How Do I Stop My Hair from Frizzing During Menopause?
To reduce frizzing during menopause, Use a Deep Conditioning Mask to fuel your hair with moisture, Increase your Omega-3 Fatty Acids Intake, and Incorporate more protein. Also, Limit the use of heat styling tools and Work with your hairstylist for tailored advice.
Will My Hair Go Back to Normal After Menopause?
Menopausal hair loss isn’t usually permanent; with lifestyle adjustments and a proper Hair Care Routine, there is a chance to prevent further damage and restore hair health.
How to Thicken Menopausal Hair?
To thicken menopausal hair, Use supplements like biotin, collagen, and vitamin C to nourish hair strands. Incorporate thickening shampoos and keratin masks for added bulk, and Avoid too much heat styling or brushing that causes breakage.
Why is My Hair So Frizzy in My 50s?
As you grow older, your hair tends to become drier, coarser, and thinner because the oils your scalp relies on for nourishment decrease, resulting in frizzier hair.
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