Last week, Queen Elizabeth’s personal stylist, Ian Carmichael, said that said that women in their 40s, 50s and beyond are wrong in thinking that cutting their hair shorter will help them turn back the clock or save them from looking like mutton dressed as lamb.
The royal hairstylist added that many celebrities would have lost their sex appeal years ago if they’d chopped their hair short, giving the example of James Bond actress Jane Seymour, 62, as an older woman who has made the long-haired look work for her.
Time to Break the Trend
So why do women often cut their hair shorter as they age? Whilst for some it’s a simple case of preferring a short style due to the appearance of it compared to long hair, or finding short locks easier to maintain, many women feel forced to cut their hair short due to a decline in their hair’s thickness.
Hair loss in women after the menopause is very common, and the condition is known as female pattern hair loss. This type of excess shedding occurs due to a genetic predisposition, whereby we inherit the genes for baldness from our family tree.
Pattern hair loss in women usually occurs diffusely over the top of the scalp. If you’ve noticed your hair thinning in this area (as supposed to all over the scalp, which means you may have telogen effluvium) a hair loss treatment plan is needed to prevent further thinning, as this type of hair loss will not regrow by itself and will gradually worsen.
For women, there is only one medication that has been licensed by the MHRA and approved by the FDA to treat hair loss: minoxidil. This topical treatment is available in a variety of strengths, allowing a hair loss specialist to select the best dosage for the severity of your hair loss, up to a high strength minoxidil cream for stubborn shedding.
Thick Hair Post-Menopause
As well as varying the strength of our minoxidil, Belgravia combine various added ingredients with the formulations, such as azelaic acid and Medroxyprogesterone, which appear to block DHT when applied locally. DHT is an androgen hormone that causes hair loss on account of follicular miniaturisation in those with a genetic disposition, and blocking it gives follicles the change to recover.
Whilst DHT is the culprit behind male pattern hair loss, for women it is usually a combination of DHT sensitivity and other hormones and deficiencies such as low levels of iron. It is also important to undergo blood tests to rule out other causes such as faulty thyroid function.
At Belgravia we combine your ideal formulation of minoxidil with a variety of treatment boosters such as the FDA cleared Laser Comb and nutritional supplement Hair Vitalics to ensure all approaches to treating hair loss and keeping hair healthy are covered. We also offer advice and support seven days a week, in person and by phone or over email.
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The Belgravia Centre—————————————————————————————————–
The Belgravia Centre is the leader in hair loss treatment in the UK, with two clinics based in Central London. We offer clinically proven treatments for hair loss, as part of comprehensive treatment programmes offered by our hair loss specialists. Our in-house pharmacies produce high-strength medications for hair loss that contain medically proven ingredients and are available at no other clinic worldwide. Treatment programmes are available by visiting the centres or for home-use, anywhere in the UK or the rest of the world. View our hair loss success stories, which are the largest collection of such success stories in the world and demonstrate the levels of hair regrowth that so many of Belgravia’s patients achieve. You can also phone 0800 077 6666 for our hair loss helpline or to arrange a free consultation.