Perimenopause Hair Care Tips: Managing Thinning, Texture Changes, and Loss
Hair thinning during perimenopause is common and driven by hormones. These practical hair care tips can help you manage changes and feel better about your hair.
What Happens to Hair During Perimenopause
Hair thinning, texture changes, and increased shedding affect many women during perimenopause. Oestrogen and progesterone support the hair growth cycle. As they decline, the growing phase of each hair follicle shortens, more hairs shift into the resting phase, and shedding increases relative to new growth. Some women also notice hair becoming coarser or drier, or the texture changing in ways that make previous styling routines less effective. This is hormonal hair change, and it is real, common, and manageable.
Nutrition and Hair Health
Hair follicles are among the most metabolically active structures in the body, meaning they respond quickly to nutritional deficiencies. Iron, ferritin, zinc, B12, and protein are the most commonly implicated in hair loss. Getting blood tests to rule out deficiencies is worth doing before spending money on supplements. If ferritin is low-normal, optimising it may be enough to see improvement. Eating adequate protein is particularly important, as hair is made of keratin and a low-protein diet will affect both growth rate and hair strength.
Adjusting How You Wash and Condition
If hair has become drier or more brittle, washing less frequently can help by allowing natural scalp oils to condition the hair. When you do wash, a moisturising conditioner or a weekly deep conditioning treatment adds back hydration. Avoid applying conditioner to the scalp if you are experiencing volume loss, as this can weigh hair down. Gentle, sulphate-free shampoos are less stripping for hair that is already stressed. Patting hair dry rather than rubbing, and avoiding tight hairstyles that pull on roots, reduces breakage.
Heat, Styling, and Protecting What You Have
Heat styling puts mechanical stress on already-fragile hair. Using a heat protectant spray before any heat tool is a simple protective step. Lowering the temperature on hairdryers and straighteners to the minimum needed, rather than the maximum available, reduces damage. Air drying when you can gives hair a break. Silk or satin pillowcases reduce friction overnight compared to cotton, which is a small but consistent difference for hair that is prone to breakage.
Treatments and When to See a Professional
Topical minoxidil is the most evidence-supported over-the-counter treatment for female pattern hair loss, which is one of the types that can worsen during perimenopause. It requires consistent use and typically takes several months to show effect. HRT can also help with hormonal hair thinning for some women, particularly if other symptoms are present that make it clinically appropriate. A dermatologist or trichologist can assess whether your hair loss is androgenic, nutritional, or related to thyroid function, which matters for getting the right treatment.
Working With Your Hair as It Is Now
Sometimes the most practical thing is adapting your style to suit your hair in its current state rather than trying to restore it to exactly how it was. Shorter cuts can add the appearance of fullness. Scalp-tinting products, root cover sprays, and volumising products can all help with visible thinning or scalp show-through. These are not giving up; they are pragmatic solutions that let you feel good about your hair today while addressing the root causes over time.
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