Could Your Birth Control Be Contributing To Hair Loss?

The Hormone In Your Birth Control To Watch Out For

The culprit in the birth control which causes hair loss is the very hormone that is used to suppress the natural cycle of how the womb functions.

Usually contraceptives have the hormones progestin and estrogen.

These hormones are in your body and help prepare your body to nurture a fertilized egg and support pregnancy, but when you don’t get pregnant they assist the process of menstruation. Hormonal drugs like the contraceptives basically provide an atmosphere to create a constant supply of these hormones to trick the body so you don’t get pregnant.

The problem is that the progestin or progesterone is the very hormone that brings on hair loss and you will be affected if you are genetically predisposed to hair loss.

If you have genetic hair loss and you use a birth control method that has a higher ratio of progesterone to estrogen, that may very well be contributing to your hair thinning or hair loss.

In light of this, the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA) advises that women who know they have a genetic predisposition for hair loss, use non-hormonal forms of birth control or at least seek out the methods that have a low androgen index. In other words, switching to a pill that has higher levels of estrogen to progesterone could help reverse your hair loss.

Thinking It Over

All things considered, it is ideal that your health takes precedence over your need for aesthetic beauty, but it is understandable that you would want to protect yourself from unplanned pregnancies – and the situations that come with that- and have fabulous hair too.

The way to have your cake and eat it in this case, is to either seek out non-hormone methods or try the ones with the lowest or no androgen index. You might even research some of those natural methods I hinted at earlier to see if you find something that works for you or your partner (since natural methods seem to provide options for men as well).

Whatever you decide, consult a qualified medical doctor or naturopath before quitting your birth control. At least now you have the information you need to make the necessary assessment and decide what is right for you.