Midlife Madness Podcast

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

• Martha Savloff, Master Certified Health Coach

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We dig into why hair thins in perimenopause and menopause and how to slow it with simple, proven steps. From hormone labs to sleep, protein, stress tools, and smart topicals, we share what actually worked for us.

• estrogen and progesterone decline shortening the growth phase 
• androgen shift and female pattern thinning at crown and temples 
• thyroid slowdown making hair brittle and sparse 
• stress, cortisol, and telogen effluvium as reversible loss 
• protein, ferritin, vitamin D, omega-3s and hydration for growth 
• sleep as the top beauty treatment for follicles 
• red light, rosemary oil, peptides and caffeine topicals 
• gentler tools, silk-lined caps and avoiding tight styles 
• personal product wins and practical routines 
• mindset, patience and redefining beauty in midlife

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Disclaimer:
Martha Savloff is not a medical doctor. The information shared in this podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making changes to your health or wellness plan.


SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to Midlife Madness, where we talk about menopause, health and wellness, and faith. If you love our content, subscribe now. And not only that, share it with your friends because we are all in this together, in this midlife madness. So today we're talking about a super frustrating topic, and it's about hair loss during menopause. Guys, if you're watching the YouTube, you can see my hair. It looks like I have a lot of hair, right? Well, before perimenopause, I used to not be able to leave my hair down like this. I always had to have it half and half or in a bun because I had so much hair that I looked like a lion, but not anymore. Every single time I wash my hair, I have a ton of hair, like just a ton of hair coming off, whether in the brush or in the shower drain, or you know, if after I sleep, I can see hair on the pillowcase. So, like, does anybody else experience that now? I have hair thinning out, especially in areas like right up here or here by the temples. Um, that's super common area to start losing hair or the hair thinning, and so we're gonna talk about this because every single woman I know talk we talk about it, like they're experiencing this in their midlife madness, and you know what, guys, there are things that we can do. Um, you're not broken, it's midlife madness, and so let's get right into it. So you're not alone, hair thinning during perimenopause and menopause is incredibly common, it affects nearly 40 to 50 percent of women. But here's the thing: most of women don't talk about it, we quietly panic, we try every single supplement we see on Instagram, and we wonder if we're doing something wrong. This episode is to understand the root cause of why this happening, this is happening, and then also I'm gonna give you some tips that I've used that has helped me with my hair thinning or hair loss. So here we go. Of course, why does this happen? Number one is your hormones, it's always number one. When estrogen and progesterone drops, these hormones keep hair in its growth phase longer. So when they decline, hair grows slower and sheds faster. So once again, we gotta check our hormone levels and make sure that your hormones are balanced. So there's an influence that testosterone has as estrogen drops, the balance shifts toward more androgens, which is some male hormones. That can shrink hair follicles, so your hair follicles can actually shrink, especially in the crown area and in the temples, which is my stubborn areas and I'm losing hair or the hair thinning, that leads to what's called female pattern thinning, and so that has to do with your testosterone levels, your estrogen levels, the progesterone levels. So you gotta check your hormones, guys. Always, always, always. Also, when your thyroid slows down, um, it affects your hair. So menopause and thyroid function are deeply connected. Low thyroid can cause hair to become brittle, dry, or fall out easier. So, does this resonate with anybody? Is this happening with you? It can also have to do with the thyroid. Of course, here we go: stress and cortisol levels, guys. Stress affects our body in so many different ways. So when you have emotional stress, when you see you have sleep loss, or even the stress of going through menopause, itself can trigger shedding. So the fancy medical term for that is telogen effluvium, which is means temporary hair loss. And this is temporary hair loss, so that means that you can do something about it, and so you have to implement things that helps you manage your stress levels, guys. We have other videos about this of how to manage stress levels. This is important, you gotta work on a daily basis on lowering your um cortisol levels, super important, especially in this society that everybody lives stress out, so you gotta create those boundaries and those self-care things that help you lower your stress levels. Number five, which is super important as well, is nutrient deficiencies. So, like if you don't have enough iron or vitamin D, protein, biotin in your body, then you can um shed hair, your hair gets more fragile and slows down growth. This is what's happening with people that are taking GLP1 injections. One of the side effects of the GLP1s is hair falling off and you're losing a ton of hair. Why? Because you're not eating enough protein. It's super important to eat enough protein, guys. Um, you gotta feed your hair, so make sure that your your meals on a daily basis prioritizes protein because um it's important, it's important, and that's what's happening with injections. So, also you can add collagen peptides to your um daily intake, and that's gonna help with that. So, let's get let's get right to that actually. Let's talk about what you can do about it because you can actually help your hair, you don't have to live like that, you just have to do things that's gonna help help uh help with hair growth, and then also to um so your hair doesn't thin, right? So, what can you do about it? Now remember, I'm not a doctor, I'm a master certified health coach, but I also talk about these things out of personal experience, and so you can always talk to your provider about these things. Number one, support your hormones. So go check your hormones, get them balanced, see if you need to do hormone replacement therapy. Um, there are the one that I do is bioidentical hormone replacement. You can also do some adaptogenic herbs like ashrogonda and maca, these can support your stress and hormone balance naturally, so they can support your stress levels and um help balance your hormones naturally. Also, feed your hair from the inside out. What does that mean? Again, prioritize protein. Hair is made out of keratin, a protein that needs amino acids to thrive, and protein um does infuse your body with amino acids. So protein, protein, protein. Anybody in perimenopause or menopause has to prioritize protein. You can also add collagen peptides and omega-3s for stronger strands of hair. Okay, check your iron, ferritin, and thyroid levels with your provider. That will also give you some intel of how you're doing and how it's affecting your hair. Lower your stress hormones. So red light therapy, meditation, prayer, journaling, nature walks can calm your cortisol levels. Um, cortisol, literally, guys, this is super interesting. Cortisol literally chokes off hair follicles if it stays high. It chokes off hair follicles if it stays high. Deep restorative sleep is the best beauty treatment. Hands down, number one, number one for everything in life. Deep restorative sleep. Make sure you're sleeping deep, make sure you're sleeping for a long period of time, adjust your nighttime routine, adjust what happens in your in your bedroom, make sure it's cold, make sure you're you're you have bed sheets that are are comfy. Make sure you can do grounding sheets, make sure it smells good, you can do arhmatherapy. There's so many things you can do to help you sleep. We have another video that um talks about sleep. Sleep is your number one beauty and health. Period. Period, period. Also, there's like topical support things that you can do. So scalp massage with rosemary oil or peppermint oil can boost circulation in the area. Look for products with peptides, caffeine. You can also use red light, red light caps that stimulate growth in your hair. So that actually does really work. Um, avoid tight hairstyles and harsh chemical treatments that stress the follicles. Now, I want to share with you a couple of things that I personally do to help with support of my hair. Now, I used to use a lot of buns. Um, when I dance, I dance so much. You know, I was I've been a dancer my whole life, so obviously that requires buns. So, like my hairline has gone down. The more you do buns and the more you tightly brush your hair back, the more it affects your hairline. So be careful with that. When I do not feel like doing my hair, I throw it up in a bun. I've been trying to be more intentional about that because not only that I don't want to I don't want my hairline to go more back, but also I don't want to lose hair, so be careful with the tight hairstyles, okay? I used to do like the pineapple on my head before I go to sleep because I do have curly hair and it requires um certain things, and so I don't do that anymore. I actually use one of these guys, I don't know what you call them beanies, I'm not really sure, but it's lined with like silk lining, and that does not hurt my curls, so I use that to go to sleep. Also, um, here's a couple of things that I use. I use this fan brush. Uh, when I brush my hair, I brush my hair in the shower uh because obviously I have this curly hair. I wash my hair, I put I put uh hair treatment in my hair, conditioning treatment in my hair, and I brush it with this fan brush because it doesn't break my my hair, which is super important for me. Um, I also use sis Mary Ruth Liquid Morning Multivitamin with hair growth. This is what it looks like. Now, this is a double-edged sword because it works like this thing works, guys. Again, it's Mary Ruth Liquid Morning Multivitamin with hair growth. It works so well that it's it's brought another problem to my life, and the problem is that now I have to color my hair more often. I have so many grays going down this line here in the crown of my head, and all the grays are like all right here, but when I started taking this, now my hair is growing faster, so that means that now I have to color my hair more. So I don't know, do I focus on hair growth or do I focus on not having to color my hair so often? I got to focus on hair growth because I don't want to lose hair and I want my hair to be strong. So I have to color it every four weeks. I also found this, so I don't know if you can see it. If you're if you um you're watching, you can see that let me let me tell you what it is hair ritual by Sisley. It's called Le Serum Revitalizing Fortifying Serum for the sculpt or the scat, I should say, sculp. Um I found this at Blue Mercury, it's the store Blue Mercury. I paid$250 for this, it's not cheap, but what you do is you what I do is you see, it's like a dropper, and at bedtime I put a couple of drops right here in the crown of my head, and in my temples, right here, where where I'm starting to see like the lines, you see that. Um so I just put a couple of drops here on my crown of my head, a couple of drops in each side in my temples, uh, two days, two days on, two days off, two days on, two days off, and I've seen a difference already. I've only been using this for like two weeks, and this actually works. It's not cheap.$250 is what I pay for this. Um, but it works, it works. So there's things that works that you can do. Red light therapy is really incredible for our for our scalp. So if you come to our office in Pembroke Pines, then you make sure that you use the face mask because it is going to help with the scalp of your hair, okay? Now let's talk about healing mindset, guys. So, hair loss can be deeply emotional. Remember, it's not just about your hair, it's your hormones, your health, your whole system is shifting in midlife, right? Perimenopause, menopause, all the pauses. So give yourself some grace, give yourself some patience, be patient with you. Patience will go a long way. Your body is asking for care, not criticism. And I always say this: we can be our own critics really bad, like we can beat ourselves up really bad. Your body's asking for care, not criticism. So change your mindset from critical to healing. What can I do to help my body through this phase of my life? And so implement, guys, if this is resonating with you, if you're saying, Man, this is happening to me, like I get it. I'm I'm losing hair, my hair thinning, all the things. Then thank God that we have things that we can do about it instead of criticizing or beating ourselves up. So, menopause doesn't mean that you're losing your beauty, it's just about redefining it. What are the things that we have to do? Different, your hair tells a story of what's happening inside your body. I have a friend that's a hairstylist, and she told me a little while back, which is incredible, she knows how her client takes care of her body based on the health of her hair. That is so so incredible. Like, she's like, I can tell if my client eats enough protein or drinks enough water based on the hair. So that's another thing that you can do is make sure you're hydrating and drinking a ton of water because that hydration helps with your hair too and your skin. All these things are connected together, guys. When you nourish your hormones, reduce your stress, feed yourself well. That's that story can change. You can change your story, and your confidence will grow right along with your hair. So let's work on these things, guys. You don't have to just take it at face value and just say, you know what, this is what it is. There's things that you can do every single day to help with your confidence, with your hair, and with life in general. So I hope this was helpful. Again, remember, subscribe to our channel every single week. We're gonna drop a new video that gives you tips on how to live this midlife madness. I'm Coach Martha, and I'll see you soon.