Can birth control help with hair loss: Oral Contraceptives as a Hair Loss Treatment – Hair Loss Center

03.07.202311.06.2023 by alexxlab

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Oral Contraceptives as a Hair Loss Treatment – Hair Loss Center

Oral contraceptives can cause some women to experience hair loss. But for others — particularly those who have androgenetic alopecia — birth control pills actually may be an effective hair loss treatment.

By Diana RodriguezMedically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Reviewed: February 8, 2011

Medically Reviewed

Men aren’t the only ones who find more and more hair coming out on their comb or brush each day, or find thinning areas or bald patches on their scalps. Women can also experience hair loss, and struggle with finding an effective hair loss treatment to restore full, thick hair.

A condition called androgenetic alopecia is a common cause; you may also have heard it called female pattern baldness. Women have several choices for treatment, including minoxidil (Rogaine). But the most commonly prescribed hair loss treatment for androgenetic alopecia in women is actually oral contraceptives (in combination with another medication).

Hormone Replacement Therapy for Hair Loss

Hormones and Hair Loss

Hormones can affect nearly every process and part of the body — including your hair. Oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, contain hormones (either estrogen and progestin or just progestin). The pill prevents pregnancy by preventing ovulation, or the monthly release of an egg.

But birth control pills also reduce the level of androgens, the male hormones normally present in very small amounts in women — which are related to hair loss. Abnormally high levels of androgen hormones in the body can cause androgenetic alopecia.

Birth control pills are often used in conjunction with another medication, spironolactone (Aldactone). Spironolactone is usually used to treat high blood pressure, but it also reduces androgen production — and helps to control hair loss.

Pros and Cons of Birth Control Pills

Birth control pills can protect women from unwanted pregnancy, while preventing androgenetic hair loss. But there are some possible side effects that birth control pills may cause in some women, including:

Increased risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack
Small increase in risk of some cancers, including breast cancer
Nausea
Acne
Sore breasts

Birth control pills may not be safe for every woman. Women who are older than age 35 and who smoke are more likely to develop blood clots and the more serious side effects of birth control pills, so they may not be good candidates for this hair loss treatment.

Which Pills Are Effective?

Not all birth control pills can serve as hair loss treatment. In fact, some can worsen the problem and actually cause hair loss. Birth control pills with a low “androgen index” are the only ones that should be used as hair loss treatment; high-androgen-index birth control pills may contribute to hair loss.

Pills with a low androgen index include:

Desogen
Ortho-Cept
Ortho-Cyclen
Ortho Tri-Cyclen
Micronor

Pills with a high androgen index that may worsen hair loss and should be avoided include:

Loestrin
Ovral
Ovrette
Lo/Ovral
Nordette

All About Minoxidil for Women

Paying for Treatment

Many hair loss treatments are not covered by insurance, because they’re considered cosmetic. But if you are also taking birth control pills as your method of contraception, some insurance plans may cover all or a portion of the cost. You should check with your insurer to find out if your particular plan covers birth control pills, and if the reason for taking them affects your coverage.

If you have to pay for your oral contraceptives out of pocket, the cost can vary widely across all brands and generics. If you’re concerned about the cost of oral contraceptives to treat your hair loss, discuss the different types of birth control pills with your doctor to determine which one will be effective and won’t drain your bank account.

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Understanding the Link, Treatment & More

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Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. D., MSN, R.N., IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — By Stephanie Watson — Updated on December 12, 2018

Overview

Nearly all sexually active American women ages 15 to 44 have used birth control at least once. For about 26 percent of these women, the method of choice is the birth control pill.

As with any other medication, the birth control pill can cause side effects. Some women may find that their hair thins or falls out while they’re taking the pill. Other women may lose their hair after they stop taking it.

Keep reading for a look at the connection between birth control pills and hair loss, and learn what you can do if hair loss is affecting you.

Birth control pills prevent pregnancy in a few different ways. Most pills contain man-made forms of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Normally, a rise in estrogen causes a mature egg to leave the ovaries during a woman’s menstrual cycle. This is called ovulation.

Birth control pills stop the surge in estrogen that causes an egg to be released. They thicken the mucus around the cervix, making it harder for sperm to swim up to the egg.

Birth control pills also change the lining of the uterus. If an egg does get fertilized, it usually can’t implant and grow due to this change.

The following forms of birth control also release hormones into your body to stop ovulation and prevent a pregnancy:

shots
patches
implants
vaginal rings

Birth control pills come in two different forms, which are based on the hormones that they contain.

Minipills only contain progestin, a synthetic form of progesterone. Combination birth control pills contain both progestin and synthetic forms of estrogen. Minipills may not prevent pregnancy as effectively as combination pills.

The pills can also differ by hormone dose. In monophasic birth control, the pills all contain the same hormone dose. Multiphasic birth control contains pills with different amounts of hormones.

Birth control pills don’t generally cause any problems for women who take them. Some women do experience mild side effects other than hair loss. These side effects can include:

breast soreness
breast tenderness
headaches
a lower sex drive
moodiness
nausea
spotting between periods
irregular periods
weight gain
weight loss

More serious side effects are rare. These can include high blood pressure and a slightly increased risk of breast, cervical, or liver cancer.

Another serious side effect is an increased risk of a blood clot in your leg or lung. If you smoke, you’re at an even greater risk of this.

Birth control pills can cause hair loss in women who are especially sensitive to the hormones in the pill or who have a family history of hormone-related hair loss.

Hair normally grows in cycles. Anagen is the active phase. During this phase, your hair grows from its follicle. This period can last for two to seven years.

Catagen is the transitional stage when your hair growth stops. It lasts for about 10 to 20 days.

Telogen is the resting phase. During this phase, your hair doesn’t grow. Between 25 and 100 hairs are shed daily in this phase, which can last for up to 100 days.

Birth control pills cause the hair to move from the growing phase to the resting phase too soon and for too long. This form of hair loss is called telogen effluvium. Large amounts of hair can fall out during this process.

If baldness runs in your family, birth control pills can speed up the hair loss process.

Other hormonal birth control methods can also cause or worsen hair loss. These methods include:

hormone injections, such as Depo-Provera
skin patches, such as Xulane
progestin implants, such as Nexplanon
vaginal rings, such as NuvaRing

Women who have a family history of hormone-related hair loss may lose hair while on the pill or just after they discontinue it. Some women lose a little bit of hair. Other women lose large clumps of hair or experience a lot of thinning. Hair loss in pregnancy is also hormonally related to hair being in the resting phase for longer periods.

Hair loss can also happen when you switch from one type of pill to another.

Hair loss caused by birth control pills is usually temporary. It should stop within a few months after your body gets used to the pill. Hair loss should also stop after you’ve been off of the pill for a while.

If the hair loss doesn’t stop and you don’t see regrowth, ask your doctor about Minoxidil 2%. It’s the only medicine that’s approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hair loss in women.

Minoxidil works by moving hair follicles into the growth phase more quickly. It may take a few months of use before you can see results.

As you consider birth control methods, think about your family history.

If hair loss runs in your family, look for pills that contain more estrogen than progestin. These pills are low on the androgen index, and they can actually stimulate hair growth by keeping your hair in the anagen phase longer.

Low-androgen birth control pills include:

desogestrel-ethinyl estradiol (Desogen, Reclipsen)
norethindrone (Ortho Micronor, Nor-QD, Aygestin, Lyza)
norethindrone-ethinyl estradiol (Ovcon-35, Brevicon, Modicon, Ortho Novum 7/7/7, Tri-Norinyl)
norgestimate-ethinyl estradiol (Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho Tri-Cyclen)

Because these pills can have other side effects, talk about the risks and the benefits with your doctor. If you have a strong family history of hair loss, a nonhormonal form of birth control may be a better choice.

Last medically reviewed on December 12, 2018

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Birth control pills (BCPs). (n. d.).
brown.edu/campus-life/health/services/promotion/sexual-health-contraception/birth-control-pills
Birth control pills: General information (2018).
youngwomenshealth.org/2013/07/25/birth-control-pills
Daniels K, et al. (2015). Current contraceptive use and variation by selected characteristics among women aged 15–44: United States, 2011–2013.
cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr086.pdf
How do birth control pills work? (2018).
goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/how-do-birth-control-pills-work-0
How to effectively use your birth control pills. (n.d.).
healthywomen.org/content/article/how-effectively-use-your-birth-control-pills
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2018). Choosing a birth control pill.
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/birth-control/in-depth/best-birth-control-pill/art-20044807
Oral contraceptives. (n.d.).
americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/oral_contraceptives. asp

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Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — By Stephanie Watson — Updated on December 12, 2018

Hair loss after discontinuation of oral contraceptives

dermatologist-trichologist, specialist in anti-aging medicine at the BioMi Vita clinic Natalya Grigorievna Barunova:

“Active prolapse after the abolition of oral contraceptives is quite common in trichological practice.

I would like to point out right away that prescription of contraceptives for hair treatment is not as effective as it might seem. OK work best in the presence of true hyperandrogenism – that is, a true increase in the woman’s body of “male” sex hormones, in particular, testosterone. Both in our and in international practice, the percentage of such patients is not large, no more than 8-10%.

Hyperandrogenism can be either of tumor origin, for example, androgen-secreting tumors of the adrenal glands or ovaries, or of non-tumor origin, for example, PCOS – polycystic ovary syndrome, CPH – congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Such patients are shown the appointment of contraceptives with an antiandrogenic effect, and in the presence of androgen-secreting formations, surgical removal of tumors is performed (according to indications).

In patients without hyperandrogenism, but with increased (local) sensitivity of hair follicles to androgens (DHT-dihydrotestosterone), which is observed in androgenetic alopecia, OC administration will not always give the desired effect.

However, additional administration of estrogens and gestagens as part of OK in some cases has a beneficial effect on hair, while patients note an improvement in their growth, a decrease in hair loss. Many compare the condition of the hair when taking contraceptives with the condition of the hair during pregnancy, when most women have up to 90% of the hair may be in the growth phase (i.e., almost no hair loss is observed).

However, it must be remembered that if the patient was prescribed an OC for the purpose of hair treatment, and at the same time she experienced an improvement while taking the drug, then
when the drug is discontinued, there will be a withdrawal effect – that is, at the end of the drug (as and after the end of pregnancy, after childbirth) everything returns “to normal”. The prolapse often increases, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) continues to progress.

So it is worth considering whether taking drugs is justified, after the withdrawal of which the situation may become even worse than it was before taking it.

Moreover, in most cases, patients with both hyperandrogenism and hypersensitivity of hair follicles to DHT, for successful treatment of thinning hair, local therapy is necessary (both rubbing in preparations to stimulate hair growth, and conducting procedures – apparatus therapy, injection techniques ).

Thus, before taking contraceptives “for hair loss”, you should visit a gynecologist (in case there are problems with the menstrual cycle, excessive body hair growth, problems with conception), and a dermatologist-trichologist, who will conduct the necessary examination, make a trichoscopy and a phototrichogram – procedures that allow you to assess the condition of the hair, make a diagnosis and select the necessary set of procedures and drugs to reduce hair loss and stimulate hair growth.

Hair loss and hormones – how to deal with birth control pill hair loss?

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Hormonal contraceptives and hair health

Oral hormonal contraceptives can provide up to 99% protection against unwanted pregnancy. However, not all women use this method of contraception. What causes hair loss when taking oral contraceptives, how dangerous are the side effects and how to stop hair loss?

The use of any medication can lead to certain side effects. It happens that after the abolition of OK (oral contraceptives), a woman is faced with hair loss. To understand why this happens, it is necessary to consider the principle of action of these drugs.

Any OK, first of all, is a hormonal medication. It directly affects the balance of hormones in the female body, which means that its use can provoke hormonal failure, which, in turn, can lead to hair loss. When taking such drugs, you should carefully monitor the maintenance of hormonal balance at a certain level, since their effect on hair is similar to the effect of minerals and vitamins – growth is activated.

In some cases, at the beginning of taking OK, their change or cancellation, alopecia may develop. There are cases when a woman successfully used oral contraceptives for a long time, and then after their cancellation she had problems with baldness.

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Relationship between hair loss and hormones

After the end of the use of OK, the possible intensity of the development of alopecia directly depends on the type of oral contraceptives used. There are 3 groups in total:

Estrogen-progestogen combinations are the safest. They are an artificial analogue of natural female hormones. Such medicines contain a small amount of hormones, so the likelihood of baldness when using them is minimized.
Progestin preparations are used for therapy in gynecological diseases. Alopecia when taking them occurs more often than when using combined OK.
Postcoital drugs contain a very large amount of hormones, which inevitably leads to significant hormonal disorders. In this case, the risk of alopecia is quite high.

Therefore, if increased hair loss is detected after the cancellation of OK, it is imperative to conduct a complete diagnosis of the body in order to identify hormonal abnormalities.

Often, after stopping the use of OK, the level of the male hormone testosterone rises, and in women this leads to the appearance of bald spots. Despite this, the main cause of alopecia in this case is an imbalance of dihydrotestosterone. An excess of this hormone, which is inherent in men, in combination with a hereditary predisposition, is one of the main causes of baldness.

You can quote the words of a dermatologist, endocrinologist, candidate of medical sciences Tkachev Vladislav Petrovich about hair loss associated with hormonal imbalance: “Such alopecia is provoked by a sharp withdrawal of hormonal drugs, because many of them create a favorable background for hair. In this case, only a doctor will be able to prescribe the correct substitution therapy” .

To get a consultation

The expert also explains that a similar situation occurs with “hormonal thinning” after abortion or childbirth. In the first case, it often passes after 1.5 months. The second case is easily explained by the fact that during the entire period of pregnancy, the hair grows well (their number increases by 10%), because the placenta, a new hormone-producing organ, appears. After nine months, childbirth occurs, the placenta is removed from the body and the availability of hormones is reduced. Hair loss in this case should not be considered a disease – this is a normal phenomenon for about 8 months after the birth of a child.

Hair loss and hormones – what to do?

Many women note that after stopping oral contraceptives, the hair changes its structure, begins to actively fall out, and quickly becomes dirty. Also, the whole body as a whole becomes more vulnerable: the skin becomes covered with pimples, weight increases, mood swings often occur. The reason for all this lies in the fact that the body has abruptly ceased to receive ready-made hormones that came when taking OK. Doctors recommend not to worry, but simply to be patient and allow the body to get used to the new state.

Get adviceHormone levels often stabilize after six months after these drugs are discontinued. However, you should not let the process go by itself. You should find a good trichologist to get the necessary advice and do research – all this will help speed up the recovery of the body. The right decision would be to do this before stopping the use of contraceptives in order to mitigate the expected consequences. It will be necessary to take blood tests for biochemistry, make a phototrichogram, the results of these studies will be useful in the future if the fight against alopecia drags on.

Is it possible to prevent baldness after canceling OK

This problem is not new, so there are standard recommendations for women using birth control pills:

To study the pedigree. If someone in the family suffered from alopecia, there is a high probability of a genetic predisposition to baldness. In this case, such contraceptives should not be used at all. It is preferable to use other, non-hormonal methods of preventing pregnancy. If genetic causes of alopecia are found, a trichologist can provide professional help.
Do not use OK, which contain a high content of progesterone and other substances similar to it: demulene, minisiston, microgynon and others. In the case when the hair loss was affected by the abolition of oral contraceptives, you can resume taking them or wait until the situation with hormones is resolved and hair growth does not resume on its own.
Taking vitamin and mineral complexes, as well as an active lifestyle, can help the body recover faster. Feasible physical labor will maintain hormonal balance, respectively, the intensity of hair growth is normalized.

It happens that a woman stops taking oral contraceptives when she loses her sexual partner, because she believes that pregnancy will no longer occur. This is the right decision, but it should be borne in mind that if it becomes necessary to start taking OK again, it is necessary to choose therapy together with the gynecologist.