It's truly awful trying to cope with hair loss as well as menopause, my sympathies to all of those struggling to get by.
In the last 9 or so years I've lost about 60% of my hair - all over but predominantly on the top/scalp - due to Androgenic Alopecia (Female Pattern Hair Loss) plus Telogen Effluvium that flares every so often, particularly on the left side of my head.
The nightmare started when my periods stopped. It is definitely genetic - my mother had hair loss, hers started after a hysterectomy - at the time she didn't know it was AA, there was no diagnosis - she just knew all her female relatives had poor quality hair.
HRT hasn't helped, testosterone is exceptionally low - it's such a mystery as how so little testosterone can convert to DHT in the scalp. I can't face using Minoxidil every day, I just know I wouldn't be able to maintain it for the rest of my life.
Currently experiencing yet another particularly horrid flare of TE (hormone imbalance and auto immune related) with the horrid scalp boosebumps creeping sensation, more so on the left side, and shedding loads of precious hair.
Upped to a higher strength B-complex vitamin, taking lots of fish oil and eating unprocessed food, using Plantur 39 shampoo and tonic - all to no avail. I also think that if I ate a diet of complete cr@p, it wouldn't make any difference to the hair loss or menopause symptoms - it's all in the genes. But I guess you still feel the need to somehow fight it as it's such a confidence destroying experience.
Who would have thought that washing one's hair - something that should be pleasurable can bring on a panic/anxiety attack as hundreds of hairs plug the drain - the hideous sick feeling of trying to cope with losing another aspect of one's femininity.
Thinking about trying Philip Kingsley Tricho 7 Daily Scalp Drops (Tricho 7 Daily Scalp Drops help encourage the optimum environment for healthy hair growth, stimulate the scalp to help extend the anagen (growing phase) of the hair growth cycle, and inhibit 5a reductase activity of converting testosterone to the more damaging DHT, the hormone commonly responsible for thinning hair) - but they are sooo expensive - and do they work.
Also thinking about trying a course of acupuncture, to cope with the stress of it all, if nothing else.
The menopause and resulting health issues can be so expensive!
I have a small, highlighted Balmain clip in hair extension that I sometimes use - clip it in on top, backwards and sweep my front hair over it to blend and clip it - but I really don't like the small clips as they pull on the already fragile hair - plus tere is more grey now the blend is not so good. Also I sometimes use brown scalp powder and Nanogen fibres - they're quite effective but can leave the scalp feeling very dry.
Does anybody use a small top hairpiece with netting (not clips) to pull through your own hair - it could be a faff to get it to look passable but I'd give it a try if I could find one. Maybe I just need to go to a bespoke wig maker.
Sorry that this is all so depressing, just telling it how it is - find it so hard to put any positive spin on hair loss.
I got the idea of the clip-in 'backwards' from this video which I found so helpful. I love June Penny's upbeat attitude - and all of her videos (at 6.33 she adds the clip-in):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6c8MCwcveU