As estrogen falls the relative effect of androgens on hair follicles rises, producing thinning at the crown and parting. It is worth checking ferritin, thyroid function and vitamin D first, because all three cause hair loss and all three are common and treatable at this age.
What changes
Austin symptom relief: collagen, and the androgen balance
Skin changes get dismissed as cosmetic, but the mechanism behind them is the same estrogen decline driving every other symptom a Austin patient describes. Estrogen supports collagen production, skin thickness and the skin's ability to hold water. As it falls, skin becomes thinner and drier and fine lines deepen. The steepest decline is in the first five years after the last period.
Hair follows a different mechanism. Estrogen and androgens both act on hair follicles, and as estrogen falls the relative androgen effect rises. Scalp hair thins at the crown and parting while facial hair sometimes coarsens, which feels like an unfair combination.
Not all of it is hormonal. Thyroid disease, iron deficiency and low vitamin D all cause hair loss and all are common at this age, which is why those are checked before anything is attributed to menopause. Related reading: menopause symptoms, common questions and non hormonal options go further into it. Photograph your part in the same light each month, because a Austin clinician can judge a series of pictures better than a description.
