Yes. Both birth control pills and hormone replacements contain estrogen which stimulates hair growth and prolongs the anagen growth phase. Most women say that their hair becomes thicker when first starting birth control or hormone replacement therapy. Some women describe an increased rate of hair sloughing or loss several months after starting the hormonal medications. This is not a reason to stop the hormones; the hair loss will go away with no change in the amount of hair.
Women who start the Pill may not notice the increased hair growth and thickness as much as an older, menopausal woman who has thinner hair to start with, but the gobs of hair in the hair brush several months after starting birth control pills will not go unnoticed. This loss of hair following estrogen stimulation by birth control pills, HRT or even pregnancy is called telogen effluvium. This is not a reason to stop taking your birth control. Both the use of Depo-Provera and Norplant contraceptive implants have about a 10% incidence of increased hair loss.
What can I do to decrease hair loss caused by birth control or hormone replacement?
It is best to continue taking the hormonal medications rather than stopping them. The new growth, resting and sloughing phases eventually come to a stop and your hair growth will start it’s normal course of action. Stopping your birth control or HRT may just prolong the hair loss.
One thing women should look for when hair loss is due to hormone therapy is to make sure that they are not receiving hormones that have too much testosterone-like activity. Some women who are genetically sensitive may develop a male pattern hair loss (balding on the side of the head) if their total androgen hormone level is too high. If this is the case, there should also be excess hair growth on the face, chest and lower abdomen in addition to the balding. The androgen hormone effect may come from the type of progestin in the birth control pills or it may come from a combination of estrogen and testosterone in the menopausal hormone replacement. If there is any suspicion that the hair loss follows a male pattern balding, then any androgenic compounds must be eliminated.
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For more information on types of birth control call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
