AIBU to think HRT can help you look younger for longer?

[birdskirt]

I am currently not on HRT but thinking about it. I am late 40's and when I look around at my friends the ones who have been on HRT since their early 40's seem to still be looking much like they were while those of us who can't take it or haven't yet look older I feel. I've been holding off because I had hopped to have another baby (didn't happen) and also because I was waiting for symptoms to occur which they now have. One of my closest friends went on it pre-emptively in her early 40s mostly due to low energy levels and I think she could still pass for early 30s looks wise. I now have some hot flashes and sleep issues as my holistic approach hasn't been helping I am considering HRT. However I am not sure if I feel some regret that I didn't try it a bit sooner because while I don't think it can reverse aging I do think it seems to slow it down quite a bit and preserve what you have on all sort of levels not just skin and beauty.

Am I unreasonable to think that HRT does make you look better as you age?

What does the word slim mean here, as said slim for me means a healthy weight, likely between 21 - 23 bmi and I do have close friends and female colleagues in this demographic and they look fantastic

for me it is under or over weight that is ageing and the further you go in either direction the worse it gets.

But isn’t that to do with diet, the nutrients we consume, how hair has been treated ie how many harsh chemicals over a lifetime, rather than we take hrt and wake up with fab hair?

im bemused by some of these comments. As for me this is all very basic, and a woman’s hair is down to how her lifestyle is over the years and how she’s treated it,

The OP's question was can HRT help you look younger. The very nature of her question implies that she understands it's a multifactorial issue. And sometimes a woman's hair is down to her hormones, literally nothing to do with what she does or doesn't eat or drink or put on it. Is that hard for you to understand?

So you can have thick hair if you eat the right stuff?

I wish I had known that years ago. There was me thinking that not using heat etc would help me keep my thick hair.

Now it’s thin. What should I have eaten?

Y'know @Wildgoat, many of us could say the very same things about using WLIs...

But we don't, or I don't, anyway, because I recognise that people's bodies and metabolisms and habits and genetics vary greatly, and my experience does not necessarily equate to someone else's.

Some women could bathe their hair under a full moon in angel tears and it would still coarsen and thin with menopause. Others (like me) could subject theirs to keratin smoothing and colour and highlights and frequent blow drying with no repercussions.

Yes if you feed your body the right nutrients, and don’t treat your hair with harsh chemicals repeatedly you have a better chance of less thinning or slowed thinning as we age, clearly genetics play a part and if you were unfortunate enough to always have thin hair, then no amount of good nutrients, reduced alcohol and gentle hair care, or hrt is going to give you a thick head of hair.

surelh this is obvious?

From my and my sisters' experience of taking or not taking HRT I don't think it makes any difference to how you age. I'm early sixties and never took HRT, both my sisters who are 2 and 4 years younger took it from late forties.

I have very good skin, few lines but I am overweight. One sister does long-distance running and is very slim, she looks older than me facially. I had very thick hair which has thinned on top but no one notices apart from me. One sister has great hair, the other always had thin hair which has thinned more so it's more noticeable. But our female relatives for several generations have had female pattern hair thinning.

Our mother took HRT for a few years, she looks younger than her age, 89, but she is fit and healthy, walks miles a day, and always looked younger than her years even before taking HRT.

So I think it's genetics and lifestyle that have the greatest effect on how you look when you age.

@Wildgoat What I am suggesting is that when you get to perimenopause and beyond the drop in estrogen affects the quality of your skin, hair, nails. That isn't woo or made up its a fact. There are even studies showing the negative effect menopausal changes have on hair follicles. Someone may very well still look good and have nice skin or hair after menopause without HRT due to good genes and a healthy lifestyle but chances are if they did use HRT it they would look even better.

I appreciate you are suggesting that aging can be affected by things like diet and lifestyle which is true but aging is also due to intrinsic aging, some of that is genetic but a lot of it is simply due to loss of hormones as we get older. Supplementing these hormones can significantly reduces the rate at which we age and how old we look all things being equal. Again that isn't to say it will make us all look 25 forever or that its a substitute for good habits but to try and suggest it makes no difference is really just showing your ignorance.

What am I missing, how is it contentious to say the condition of our hair is often due to the nutrients we feed ourselves over a life time and genetics.

im utterly bewildered anyone thinks this is a cunty thing to say,

Because you're saying this

But isn’t that to do with diet, the nutrients we consume, how hair has been treated ie how many harsh chemicals over a lifetime, rather than we take hrt and wake up with fab hair?
im bemused by some of these comments. As for me this is all very basic, and a woman’s hair is down to how her lifestyle is over the years and how she’s treated it,

The answer is that sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it's due to factors completely out of her control. It's not particularly cunty, it's just very often factually wrong.

Surprised at the responses tbh. I would say HRT definitely keeps women looking younger. Of course there's no control group for any individual, but based on my observation of women I know, the ones who didn't take HRT (of which I'm one) definitely look their age compared with those that did. And I'm not sure it can be the symptoms that made the difference, because the whole point of HRT is to alleviate the symptoms. The main reason I didn't take it is because I was lucky to have an easy menopause and didn't need to. But having looked 'young for my age' for most of my life, I now definitely look every year of it.

Ok but then you think takin hrt solves this?

If the causes are hormonal, then yes.

I mean, this is the AI result, so not always the best, but covers the basics

Adding that the androgen dominance is one reason women who take significant amounts of testosterone often continue to see hair loss (similar to male pattern baldness), so if hair loss or thinning is an issue, the prescriber should keep that in mind.

A drop in oestrogen during perimenopause and menopause causes
hair to thin, shed more, and become brittle or dry, as this hormone normally supports growth and keeps hair in the growth phase longer. As oestrogen decreases, androgen hormones (testosterone) become more dominant, causing follicles to shrink.

New Victoria Hospital +2

Common Hair Changes

• Thinning and Loss: Increased shedding (telogen effluvium) and a widening parting are common as follicles shrink and the growth phase (anagen) shortens.
• Texture Changes: Hair often becomes drier, coarser, or more brittle due to reduced sebum production, according to the London Hormone Clinic.
• Texture/Shape Shifts: Some women find their hair changes texture, becoming more wiry or even changing from straight to curly.
• Dr Louise Newson +2

Why it Happens

• Low Oestrogen/Progesterone: Reduced levels mean hair cannot be maintained in the growth phase, causing it to enter the resting/shedding phase faster.
• Androgen Dominance: With less oestrogen, androgen levels are relatively higher, which can cause hair follicles to shrink, often affecting the crown and temples.
• Reduced Circulation/Collagen: Reduced blood flow and collagen production affect scalp health.
• New Victoria Hospital +2

I’ve been on it for decades, because of a very early (health related) hysterectomy. When I came off it, for a while, I felt awful. My GP has prescribed that I now stay on it. For my age, it’s helping me no end. 👍

Fair enough. Yes slim is BMI 21-23.

I think fo me personally that was never a struggle and now I have to be careful. I tried to lose a bit more weight last year and face didn’t look quite so full. I’m approaching 50. Was trying to get a flat stomach for my holidays. Realised it wasn’t worth the effort. The rest of me is fine.

Upshot is I’m slightly more relaxed about what I eat for the sake of my face.

@user58643296 , that’s interesting thanks.

If you think about it, that explains why so many women have such lush hair during pregnancy, it's because we're flooded with oestrogen and progesterone.

Yes I get the logic, but me nor any of the women I know have suddenly got lush hair due to hrt. I’m certainly not walking round and seeing loads of menopausal women with lush thick heads of hair or looking younger.

Among the women I know well enough to know whether they are on HRT or not, there’s an interesting split:

The ones on HRT also tend to be the ones who are or have been on Mounjaro and are also into botox / tweakments. They tend not to be very active and enjoy a glass of wine.

The ones not on HRT tend to be much more active, into good nutrition and are mostly non drinkers.

The second group look noticeably younger than the first.

Interesting, I would say in my group were all active, slim and fairly health conscious only one of us drinks at all and she isn't on HRT. I think all things being equal the ones on HRT look better and as I said I am currently not on HRT. .