Help ... I think I have “menopause hair”

[FernetBranca]

My hair has over the last 6 months gone literally like straw. It is dull and dry and, as it is astonishingly thick, it is just sitting there like someone has deposited a small raffia hat on my head.

Previously it has not exactly been glossy, but it has had a healthy look to it, a bit like a well kept dog of the not very fancy variety.

It is (fairly expensively) dyed and I take an age appropriate multivitamin (with added marrow bone for healthy teeth and coat type thing) and am on low grade HRT, so suggesting anything around either of those is not going to make a difference. I wash and condition daily, using colour protect stuff.

Any suggestions for a bit of life and shine would be gratefully received.

Maybe wash less, every second day.

Arf at "small raffia hat"! At least you're ready for Easter 🐣

I have much the same problem and I find that L'Oreal extraordinary oil in the gold tub is a great conditioner. Plus Elasticiser beforehand if you can be arsed.

I have to wash it daily, Mrs M - it is short and thick and sort of “bendy”. Every morning when I wake up I look like a cross between the late Ken Dodd and Milton Jones. I have to wash it into submission.

I had straw hair (post menopause) but have recently discovered Macadamia shampoo/conditioner/mask and oil. It was recommended by a colleague and after using it for about a month, both me and dd (was frizzy now falls into perfect curls) have been asked by several people 'what we've done'

It is amazing.

Sounds like product build up to me. Buy a completely different brand of shampoo and rotate between the old and new brands to stop build up. You don't need any special stripping stuff.

I had a bit of a lightbulb moment earlier - well, two.

I have been swimming a bit recently, which is probably not helping. I do rinse/shampoo/condition afterwards in the showers but that is using the stuff that is there, which is a bit thin and “unspecial”

Also - Elasticizer: I have some and have never used it! I got a trial sized tube some time ago which I stuffed in a drawer... will get it out and use it and report back.

Watching with interest. I too have raffia hair and it makes me sad!

The swimming could well be partly to blame. My hairdresser recommends coconut oil left in hair overnight or as long as you can - even half an hour then washing out. I haven't tried it yet.

If you swim, use Ultraswim shampoo (or any other brand that contains a decent amount of sodium thiosulphate).

Chlorine will absolutely have the effect you're describing because it bonds to your hair.

Is it a particular Macadamia shampoo etc that you are using PerfumeIsAMessage ?

Before you swim, make sure your hair is really drenched in the shower beforehand. The hair can only absorb so much water, so by soaking it in tap water, the chlorine can't get such a grip on your hair.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Hair Oil! I use the L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil every time I wash - about twice the suggested dosage - and my hair just soaks it up.

I spent years trying to get extra body into my hair, and avoiding anything "moisturising" that might weigh it down. I wouldn't have dreamt of allowing something with the word "oil" in the name to go anywhere near my clean locks. Then, like you, I had a sudden realisation that my hair had turned to dull, dry straw while I wasn't looking.

My hair has changed a lot since menopause..I have really curly hair now..it took a while to realise ..when I did I had to change the way I wash and style. Pre menopause i had greasy wavy hair

OP maybe you've got curly hair now that needs moisture??

Trepadora stuff is the dog's bollocks for curly hair

I have the macadamia range sold on allbeauty.

I can recommend Elasticiser and also Philip Kingsley Swim Cap, put on wet hair before swimming and wash off afterwards.

How often do you swim and how long is it? I swim 4 times a week and so cut mine into a pixie because my hair was getting really shiny (not in a good way) with the chlorine. With short hair the chlorine is less of an issue.

My DDs swim in a swimming club (so are swimming hours each week) and their hair gets thick and tangly with the chlorine. The hairdresser recommended washing it with washing up liquid once a month to remove the chlorine. It makes such a difference but it feels very strange when it's still wet. I wash with normal shampoo afterwards and then condition and it then looks gorgeous.

My cousin's DDs swim but they don't have such an issue with the chlorine so I think some hair is more affected or maybe the shampoo etc you use makes a bit of a difference as well (beyond using the afterswim stuff).

The dying won't be helping the condition of your hair either but only you will know if you are ready to go grey yet.