TikTok can be a place to find many shocking things: people buying DIY facial filler , people attempting “ at-home tooth straightening kits ,” people drinking coffee with breast milk . But a recent viral post, of a women who says she lost nearly all her hair when she stopped taking hormonal birth control, is causing people to rethink their relationship with the pill. Show The video , posted by a 25-year-old user named Chancey Sessions, now has 1.5 million views. She shows video footage of clumps of hair that had apparently fallen out. The culprit, she says, was birth control. Sessions started taking oral birth control when she was 13, starting on a low dose to regulate her menstrual cycle, and gradually increasing the dosage over time, she told BuzzFeed News . ‘I had no idea I would almost go bald’When she eventually decided in her 20s that she wanted to stop taking the pill, “I did my research… and went to the doctor and gyno, but both claimed nothing would happen,” she added. “Since I had taken birth control for so long, I knew I would likely experience some side effects going off it, but I had no idea that I would almost go bald.” When her hair first started falling out, many people told her it must be due to stress, even though she says she didn’t feel stressed at all. She finally got answers at a dermatologists’s office, where she found out that the “hormonal shock” her body experienced after she stopped taking birth control had led to her hair loss in some way. While Sessions’ case is extreme, post-birth control hair loss isn’t uncommon, Dr. Mona Gohara told Shape. “Any physiologic or emotional shift can affect our bodies,” she said. “And an increase or decrease [in hormones from birth control] can certainly shift the hair cycle toward shedding or growth depending on the scenario.” The hormone progestin is one possible reason, since it contains androgens, “which are the hormones that make the hair enter the shedding phase and stay in this phase, ultimately causing birth control hair loss,” obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Jessica Shepherd told Shape. It’s similar to the post-partum hair loss that about half of new moms experience. While pregnant, the body produces higher-than-normal estrogen levels to help the baby develop. But after giving birth, hormone levels re-adjust, and estrogen production goes down, which can often cause hair to fall out. Sessions, for her part, told BuzzFeed that she finally got answers when the dermatologist ordered blood tests and a biopsy. The results showed that the hormonal shock she experienced after stopping the Pill was so extreme than it triggered alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith also has a form of alopecia, a fact just about everyone knows after the 2022 Oscars. She’s spoken about how scary it was when she started losing her hair. “I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, ‘Oh my god, am I going bald?’” Pinkett Smith said on a 2018 episode of her show Red Table Talk. “It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking in fear. That’s why I cut my hair, and why I continue to cut it.” Losing her hair, she said, felt like losing part of her identity. “My hair has been a big part of me,” she said. “Taking care of my hair has been a beautiful ritual and having the choice to have hair or not. And then one day to be like, ‘Oh my god, I might not have that choice anymore.’” Sessions, too, said the impact on her life was significant. “I truly felt like my life was ending,” she told BuzzFeed. I knew something was up before it got bad, but no one around me would take me seriously.” Studies have shown that alopecia can lead to low self-esteem. Most respondents said their hair loss negatively impacted their quality of life, and 40 per cent said they were unhappy with the way their doctors responded to their hair loss. And hair loss isn’t the only debilitating side effect of hormonal birth control. Many women and non-binary people complain they aren’t told about possible side effects including depression, weight gain, moodiness, nausea, acne, headaches and lower sex drive. In some rare cases, side effects can be dangerous, including blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and higher risk of gallbladder disease and liver cancer. Dr. Saru Bala told BuzzFeed that she hasn’t seen a lot of studies about hair loss as a possible result of stopping birth control — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. “My own clinical experience along with the experience of other providers tells me that hair loss after stopping birth control can be quite common,” she said. Nearly all sexually active American women ages 15 to 44 have used birth control at least once. For about26 percentof 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. How birth control pills workBirth 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:
Types of birth control pillsBirth 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. Side effects of the pillBirth 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:
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. How the pill causes hair lossBirth 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:
Risk factors for hair lossWomen 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. Treatment for hair lossHair 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. Takeaway 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:
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. |
Hair loss after getting off birth control
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