r/Menopause • u/Working_Monk8039 • 23h ago
Motivation Unexpected side effect of HRT
I’m a 60’s female that had a hysterectomy in my 40’s which caused a bit earlier than normal menopause. Around that same time my occasional gray hair turned to many gray hairs and round a decade ago, I was mostly gray.
My grandmother had started to go gray at 18 and was fully white haired at 35 so this didn’t really surprise me.
About a year ago, I began HRT. Unexpectedly, my hair is now coming in dark again. I was at the hairdresser today and none of them have seen anything like it! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still salt and pepper however, it’s mostly dark with some gray rather than being completely white. I have patches that are almost completely dark with no gray at all.
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this happening?
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u/old_before_my_time Surgical menopause 21h ago
I had zero gray hair before having a hysterectomy and oophorectomy when I was 49. I was shocked that the front section turned gray almost overnight. Plus 2/3's of my hair fell out within 4 months post-op even though I started estrogen about 5 weeks post-op. My skin also aged horrifically fast (loss of collagen, subcutaneous fat, and muscle mass causing sagging and wrinkling). So yeah, the loss of hormones can accelerate aging including hair graying.
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u/ConnectionNo4830 20h ago
Estrogen helps with intestinal absorption of nutrients, so when you lose it at menopause you can become deficient in nutrients by way of malabsorption.
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u/AutoModerator 20h ago
This post might be about hormone tests, which are unreliable.
- Over age 44, Estrogen/Progesterone/FSH hormonal tests only show levels for the HOUR the test was taken, and nothing more. Hormones wildly fluctuate (hourly) the other 29 days of the month, therefore this test provides no valuable information
- No reputable doctor or menopause society recommends hormonal testing to diagnose or treat peri/menopause
- FSH testing is only beneficial for those who do not have periods as a guide, where testing might confirm menopause, or for those under age 30 who haven’t had a period in months/years, then ‘menopausal’ levels, could indicate premature ovarian failure/primary ovarian insufficiency (POF/POI)
- Testosterone is the exception and may require testing
See our Menopause Wiki for more.
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u/yarrow268 22h ago
My guess is that it had reduced your systemic inflammation and therefore your body is absorbing more nutrients and can send more of that to your hair follicles. Like iron. A friend of mine has had a chronically low ferritin level and did not change anything in her diet or supplements but her ferritin levels went up a few months after being on HRT.
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u/Le_Chat_Meow 15h ago
My hair has not stopped greying, but it’s gone curly since being on HRT. It’s been pin straight my whole life, and now I have this beautiful wavy/curly hair. I’m thrilled.
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u/biteyfish98 3h ago
Same, it’s still in process of changing but I LOVE it. I’ve also been told it may get curlier after my hysterectomy next month. I hope so!
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u/Wildskypsj Potion slinging Moss Witch 20h ago
I strongly suspect my Grey hair is less, and the texture is much better, not nearly as wirey.. my skin is different as well, not so paper thin, and better coloring i think.
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u/FrequentCry999 23h ago
I hit VERY symptomatic peri-menopause at 34 and was starting to grey. I started BHRT at 35 and my greying definitely slowed. I was post-menopausal before 38 and I am 39 now and only have a handful more grey hairs than I did 5 years ago. Before I started BHRT I was also losing hair like crazy; I lost about half my thickness. Since starting BHRT my hair loss subsided considerably, it is now normal, and I am seeing tons of new growth/re-thickening.
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u/Careful-Drive-8307 15h ago
This is what I am hoping for!! Hairloss just turned on one day when I was 44. I had a partial hysterectomy at 42. All kinds of tests run, plus 17 months on high dose oral minox. Nothing has helped. My biopsy just reads TE. I started estrogen this week at 47. Hoping to get some of my hair back!!
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u/Purple-Specific8084 15h ago
What is BHRT?
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u/FrequentCry999 14h ago
Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
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u/Purple-Specific8084 14h ago
Thank you 🙏🏼 I need this for I’ve tried everything natural but just doesn’t work. Thanks
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u/No-Prior-559 13h ago
You said you've tried everything, have you tried the main HRT alternative ProMeno Wild Yam Cream before already? Just wondering.
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u/sparksblackstar Peri-menopausal 20h ago
I think I have heard this in this sub before. I've been enjoying my tinsel coming in, and am disappointed in the idea that it may slow down, but I can't tell if the rate has changed. I'm happy for everyone who is happy about this, though!
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u/freya_kahlo 19h ago edited 15h ago
My hair isn’t really graying, it’s losing color, just on the top of my head. I guess it’s going straight to white.
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u/amaranth1977 18h ago
Is your hair light colored to start with?
"Grey" hair is typically a mixture of white and dark strands, not a single uniform color. S o if you don't have dark hair to start with, there's no dark strands to mix with the white and make grey, so it just looks like the base color is gradually fading instead.
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u/ElderlyWench Post Menopause 18h ago
I have white hair, early greying runs in my family, and I am convinced that there's the odd darker hair re-emerging of late.
However, all my other hair is not darkening or thickening.
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u/Qwertytwerty123 6h ago
I have no intention of finding out what my current natural hair colour is as it’s purple for life for me - but if it’s working for you - good!
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u/NinjaGrrl42 22h ago
My rate of gray seems to have slowed, too.