The Relations Between
Estrogen and Hair Loss.

What is Estrogen?

Estrogen is a female sex hormone dominant in females. It can be found in men as well but a lesser amount. It does the opposite of the male hormone Testosterone and DHT. Its main purpose is to

• reduce body hair
• decelerate height growth
• promote breast enlargement
• promote hair growth
• reduce muscle mass and etc

Conclusively speaking, female hormones are the opposite of the male hormones and its main function is to provide female characteristics.

Estrogen and Hair Loss

What Estrogen does to the hair is that it

• promotes hair growth.
• blocks Testosterone that leads to Female Pattern Baldness
• lengthens the hair's growing phase (ANAGEN)

While the male hormone Testosterone converts to DHT to destroy the hair, Estrogen as the opposite of Testosterone helps the hair to grow. If you have normal levels of Estrogen in your body, you can rest assured you won't be facing with Female Pattern Baldness in the early part of your adulthood.

The Loss of Estrogen

As you get older in life, or during menopause, your estrogen levels might drop. This will result in what we call a hormonal imbalance. One of the effects of this imbalance is that with the reduction of Estrogen, it paves way for the male hormone DHT to flood our hair follicles.

However, do keep in mind that not all hormonal imbalances are related to Estrogen, some can be caused by other diseases such as a Thyroid problem. The Hair Loss Disease Page explains more.

Without the adequate presence of Estrogen in your body, you might be facing a hair loss condition as your hair is exposed to the effects of Testosterone. So keep in mind, Estrogen and hair loss in women are directly related to each another.

Do you know how DHT destroys the hair? Learn more.

Can I Increase My Level of Estrogens?

There are many solutions out there such as

• Topical Estrogen products
• Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Estrogen pills
• Food that is high in Estrogen (chicken, eggs and etc

An increase in Estrogen levels are proven to be beneficial for reducing hair loss. Nevertheless, research out there indicates the excess of Estrogen can promote various diseases such as breast cancer as the cancerous cells needs estrogen to grow.

As for men, if you increase your Estrogen levels, you are actually promoting female characteristics into your body. Which I do not recommend! (unless for another purpose though)

The Disadvantages of Estrogen

If you are opting for ways to increase your Estrogen, bear in mind that excessive levels may cause or promote

• gall bladder diseases due to fat saturation
• increased glucose levels which are bad for diabetics
• possible heart diseases

As there is no concrete link that a substantial increase in Estrogen beyond normal can truly benefit hair loss treatment, I have decided not to recommend any Estrogen related treatments for hair loss now until sufficient evidence proves otherwise.

It's best to consult a specialist before wanting to try any hormone related therapy. Unregulated use can cause more harm than good.

You can still use other treatments

There are still other ways to promote hair growth if you are a women suffering from hormonal imbalance. You can use topical hair products like Rogaine which are FDA proven to promote hair growth. There are also enzymes inhibitors that can deflect the creation of DHT.

Learn more from our Female Hair Loss Treatment page.