Hair loss: 60+

[Abeona]

My hair — fine but always loads of it, wavy, stylable, a hairdresser's delight — started to change with menopause. It went a bit finer and drier, the colour went mousy and I have some grey, but not enough for it to look good. I'm now, at 61, the owner of a head of straggly, dry, slightly frizzy hair with clear thinning at the centre parting and now I'm losing it at the temples and getting a widow's peak look. I try not to be vain, but it's only in the last few years I realised how incredibly lucky I'd been with my hair and I'm finding this part of the ageing process difficult to adjust to. From everything I've seen online, I have absolutely classic androgenic female pattern hair loss.

I've been on Evorel Conti HRT patches for nearly a year but it hasn't helped. Annoyingly the hair on my arms and legs and chin keeps coming.

A couple of friends have chivvied me into doing something, but they are all people who are into fringe medicine — and I don't see any evidence that acupuncture or putting rosemary oil on my scalp is likely to help. I'm finding all the well-meaning remarks about vitamins and iron and supplements increasingly difficult to deal with.

So I need to see an expert so that I can tell them I've seen an expert. But who do I go to? The three trichologists within a 30-mile radius of me have really dodgy websites that are clearly all about selling shampoo and hair transplants. They don't encourage me to think I'll get expert, objective advice. There's a dermatologist at the local private hospital. Is it worth spending £400 to have it confirmed that I have classic female pattern androgenic hair loss and should try Minoxidil. Or should I invest that money in some psychotherapy and a selection of hats and scarves and try to learn to love the new, very changed-looking, me?

Hi, I can't really help much, but was diagnosed with alopecia a couple of years back. I felt very lost and alone with it for a long time. I eventually came across a hairdressers about 15 miles away from where I live - she specialises in hair loss and is also a qualified trichologist. She has helped me find a solution that disguises my hair loss, and this has helped me feel a little less upset about the whole hair loss thing. Good luck, it's not an easy thing to come to terms with.

Thank you, @EdithCavell Thanks for your kind words. Since lockdown I've got by with my partner cutting my hair to a chin-length bob, but I need to find a good hairdresser who can take it shorter and work out whether a fringe is likely to help — if there's enough hair to do that. Perhaps that hairdresser will be able to recommend an expert. I took my hair so much for granted. It was very easy to look after. It's going to take time to get used to having to check it several times a day — and to remember to avoid overhead lighting!

Hello,

I am a professional acupuncture. In my opinion, I don't think acupuncture can make a substantial difference to this problem but you might get some improvement with Chinese herbal medicine.

Or this is outside my scope of expertise but I understand Minoxidil does achieve good results.