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By Vanessa Lyn Gonzales | 7 min read
I am not someone who gives up easily. Which is why, by the time I turned 51, I had tried more hair loss solutions than I care to count, and was beginning to wonder if the problem was simply not solvable.
I tried the expensive volumising shampoos. I tried collagen supplements.
I tried scalp massages with rosemary oil, because someone on a forum had sworn by it. I tried washing my hair less, then more.
I tried a derma-roller, a silk pillowcase, and a stint of not heat-styling that left me looking, frankly, like I was going through something much worse.
None of it moved the needle. My parting was still visibly wider than it had been three years earlier.
The crown of my head, under certain lighting, was a source of genuine distress. I had stopped styling my hair up because of what was visible at the temples.
What eventually helped was not a miracle product. It was understanding — properly — what was actually driving the problem.
And then finding a routine designed specifically for that mechanism.
Here is what the research actually shows.
Why most of what I tried did not work
Looking back, the pattern is obvious. Almost everything I tried was addressing the wrong thing.
Volumising shampoos make hair look and feel temporarily thicker — but they work on the hair shaft, which is dead protein. They do not change what is happening at the follicle.
Collagen supplements support skin and joint health; there is limited direct evidence that they reverse hormonally-driven hair loss. Scalp massage may improve circulation, but it is not going to modulate DHT.
DHT — dihydrotestosterone — is the hormone I had barely heard of before I started researching properly. It is produced when an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone.
In women, oestrogen normally suppresses DHT's influence on hair follicles. But when oestrogen declines during perimenopause and menopause, DHT has less resistance.
It binds to follicle receptors and causes them to miniaturise over time, producing progressively finer, shorter strands with each growth cycle.
Understanding this did two things. It made clear why the things I had tried were not working — they were not addressing DHT.
And it pointed me towards what might.
The ingredients with actual clinical research behind them
I want to be honest about expectations here. There is no topical product that will restore menopausal hair to what it was at 30.
What clinical research does suggest is that certain botanical ingredients can meaningfully support the follicular environment during hormonal change — slowing the miniaturisation process, extending the growth phase, and improving density over time.
Saw palmetto extract is probably the best-researched natural option for DHT modulation. It inhibits 5-alpha-reductase — the same enzyme that produces DHT — and has been studied in multiple clinical trials.
A systematic review found improvements in hair quality, hair count, and density among participants using it, with a notably low incidence of side effects.
Topical caffeine has an increasingly robust evidence base. Research suggests it may help extend the anagen (growth) phase of the hair cycle and has been shown to penetrate the follicle even from a brief shampoo application.
One open-label clinical study compared a caffeine-based topical to 5% minoxidil and found it to be non-inferior over six months. That is a meaningful result, and it explained why caffeine in a targeted shampoo formulation is not a gimmick.
Red clover extract — which contains compounds that may help modulate DHT activity — has also been the subject of positive clinical research, including a randomised trial that showed significant improvements in hair parameters in post-menopausal women over 90 days.
If you recognise what's described above, ThickTails has built a detailed guide to perimenopause and menopause hair changes — covering the hormonal science and how to build a consistent routine around it. Read the full guide here →
What "consistent" actually means
I had given up on two separate approaches at around the six-week mark, having seen no visible change. What I did not understand is that the hair growth cycle does not work on a six-week timeline.
It works on a three-to-six-month timeline. Changes to the follicular environment take time to manifest as visible changes in the hair you can see and feel.
Research consistently points to 90 days as the minimum period before results should be assessed. Some studies see the clearest outcomes at the six-month mark.
This is not a reason for pessimism — it is simply a feature of how hair biology works. A routine needs to be consistent enough, and sustained for long enough, to allow the hair cycle to reflect what is happening at the follicle.
“Understanding the mechanism made it clear why the things I had tried were not working — they were not addressing DHT at all.”
What I do differently now
I use a routine built around the ingredients that have clinical support for the specific mechanism I am dealing with: DHT modulation, scalp health, and follicle nourishment. I treat the scalp, not just the hair shaft.
And I do not assess whether it is working until I have given it at least three months.
My hair is not what it was at 40. I do not expect it to be.
But the decline has stopped being the dominant narrative. I can wear my hair up again.
The parting is not getting wider. That is enough — more than enough, actually — to make the approach feel worth maintaining.
A routine designed for what your hair is actually going through.
ThickTails has built a hormone-aware system specifically for women going through perimenopause and menopause — formulated around the ingredients that have published clinical support for hormonal hair change. Use code HORMONEAWARE15 for 15% off your first order.
Build Your Hormone-Aware Routine →
Clinical references
1. Dhurat R, et al. "An Open-Label Randomized Multicenter Study Assessing the Noninferiority of a Caffeine-Based Topical Liquid 0.2% versus Minoxidil 5% Solution in Male Androgenetic Alopecia." Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2018. View on PubMed →
2. Evron E, et al. "Natural Hair Supplement: Friend or Foe? Saw Palmetto, a Systematic Review in Alopecia." Skin Appendage Disorders, 2020. View on PubMed →
3. Lueangarun S, Panchaprateep R. "An Herbal Extract Combination (Biochanin A, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, and Ginseng Extracts) versus 3% Minoxidil Solution for the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia." Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2020. View on PubMed Central →
Vanessa Lyn Gonzales writes about women's health, hormonal transitions, and midlife wellbeing. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your GP or a qualified trichologist regarding any health concerns.
