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Waning estrogen exacerbates the situation. In youth, \u201cestrogen is your hair\u2019s best friend\u2014it keeps hair in the growth phase longer, it supports a healthy follicle, and it acts as a natural counterbalance to androgens within the follicles,\u201d Dr. Idriss says. \u201cBut as estrogen declines in menopause, that protective effect fades and you\u2019re left with a state of relative<\/em> androgen dominance.\u201d Again, it\u2019s not that your androgen levels are high; there\u2019s just less estrogen around to offset them. Contributing to the imbalance is aromatase, yet another wizardly enzyme in our hair follicles. This one transforms androgens into beneficial estrogens, but \u201cit seems to be decreased in the affected scalps of women with pattern hair loss,\u201d notes Dr. Hausauer. But presumably if you\u2019re on menopausal hormone therapy, that estrogen will prevent a lot of this potential hair loss, right? Unfortunately wrong: “MHT may help soften the hormonal drop that can contribute to shedding, but it does not reliably prevent or treat female pattern hair loss,” says Dr. Idriss.<\/p>\n Long story short: \u201cWhen helpful hormones bottom out and androgens go unchecked, genetic hair loss gets unmasked,\u201d Dr. Finney says. But it\u2019s a gradual process, so you may not notice it right away. \u201cIt’s not: \u2018My hair just fell out,\u2019\u201d notes Dr. Idriss. \u201cIt’s: \u2018My ponytail feels thinner.\u2019 \u2018I can see my scalp more.\u2019 \u2018My hair isn’t what it used to be.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Marci can relate. \u201cI never paid much attention to how much hair was in the brush or going down the drain,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat made me nervous was how much I could see my scalp.\u201d For others, the loss may not register until even later. When Melissa Coleman, the 47-year-old beauty consultant better known as @mrs.derm, started taking oral minoxidil in advance of her tummy tuck, she was simply hoping to stave off post-op shedding. \u201cI didn\u2019t even notice that I had been losing my hair until I saw all this new growth coming in,\u201d she says. \u201cMushroom head,\u201d she calls it. \u201cI suddenly had two inches of new hair sprouting all over my scalp.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly every woman I spoke to for this story has experienced the minor side effects of oral minoxidil\u2014most commonly, excess hair on the face or body. \u201cWhile studies suggest that maybe 35 to 50 percent of people get hair on their face, in my office, it\u2019s 90 percent,\u201d says Dr. Gendler. Still, she says, \u201cit\u2019s rare for a woman to tell me, \u2018I can\u2019t deal with the facial hair; I\u2019m going off of minoxidil.\u2019\u201d Dr. Gendler\u2019s experience aligns with the findings of a 2026 study of patient-reported side effects. In women taking low-dose oral minoxidil, 71.6 percent reported unwanted hair growth, mostly on the face, arms, and legs; 93.2 percent continued to take the drug.<\/p>\n For some, this side effect is subtle: a little extra peach fuzz along the jawline. For others, not so subtle: Dr. Idriss didn\u2019t realize the magnitude of her facial hair until she saw a photo of herself, blown up and unretouched, in a Sephora storefront. (Her skin-care line, Dr. Idriss, is sold there.) \u201cI was like, \u2018Uh, why do I have a beard?\u2019\u201d Other women shared similar (albeit less cinematic) stories of hair erupting in unexpected places. Melissa and Marci, for instance, discovered newfound knuckle hairs. \u201cSo, I guess we\u2019re shaving our fingers now,\u201d Melissa jokes. Polly noticed dark fur blooming on her temples. It looked very \u201cwoodland creature,\u201d she says, particularly in her lighted magnifying mirror. She now routinely dermaplanes her face and plucks any rogue hairs. \u201cIt\u2019s been ongoing but manageable,\u201d she says; \u201cworth the tradeoff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat are the side effects of oral minoxidil?<\/strong><\/h2>\n