Birth Control and Hair

[complexsimplicity]

So I've done some digging in the old threads but I haven't really found the answer I was looking for. I am currently on birth control but I plan to stop after this week. I really believe that my hair is thin due to my bc. I never really paid that much attention to my hair prior to the hair boards, but I know my hair wasn't as thin as it is. Especially my edges. I'm trying everything and my edges have not budged and it's been 9 months since I started my journey. I've heard that people's hair have thickened up after discontinuing bc but I haven't heard if their growth has increased since discontinuing. I already know that some people say their hair grew faster when they were on bc, but does bc cause slowed growth as well as shedding? Sorry so long...

 

[MizzBrown]

My hair pretty much broke off when i was on Ortho Tri Cyclen....Took me over a year to get it back to normal.

I was too busy paying attention to my weight and skin to think that hair loss was a side effect of BC.

 

[LivingDol1]

i guess it just depends on the person. i've been on 3 or 4 different BC pills and have not noticed any effect on my hair... and i've taken it when i've worn braids and when i've worn my own hair out.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I was just reading as site talking about BCPs and hair loss....

ETA:

http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/oral_contraceptives.asp

 

[complexsimplicity]

bumping...

 

[brebre928]

Hey there...which type are you on? Is it the shot??? I heard that causes hair loss. I was on Ortho lo and Ortho Tri Cyclen and I never experienced hair loss or thinning.

But it veries from person to person. I had a friend whose hair grew extremly long while she was on BC. So in the end I think it just depends on the person.

 

[TheQueenBeeMaya]

hmm, i've never heard of this being a possibility before ! i've been on ortho-tri-cyclen lo for a year, and my hair WAS breaking off really badly, but i blame that on never doing any moisturizing, sealing, dcing, ANYTHING ! now that i've started taking care of my hair it's no longer breaking. so yeah, i definitely don't think being on it has had an impact on my hair.

 

[HeavenlySkies]

While on depo I noticed by hair hardly grew at all...but if you look at most bc side effects hair loss or slow hair growth are there.

 

[danigurl18]

I've been taking BC since 16 and I haven't had any hair growth problems... It was just my dummy self didnt know how to retain length!

 

[morehairplease]

To be honest, I have never really paid any attention. I have been taking bcps since my teens and now that I think about it my hair has never grown past a certain length(shoulder) in all that time.

 

[antisocial]

While on depo I noticed by hair hardly grew at all...but if you look at most bc side effects hair loss or slow hair growth are there.

Me too. I was on depo for about two years and it definitely slowed my hair growth. Even my eyebrows would take forever to grow back after getting them waxed.

 

[The Princess]

I always heard about BC and hair loss. However I haven't had that side effect. Hopefully I never will. If I start losing hair, I would switch to another BC.

 

[trj1922]

You are not crazy, the bc may be the culprit. The beginning of my battle with thinning started in my mid 20s on the Depo shot. I'm 31, off the shot for years, and my hair never came back. The problem as I understand it is that certain types of synthetic progesterone can be converted into male hormones by the body, especially DHT which causes hair loss.

High estrogen pills are less likely to have this effect and in some women, they actually grow hair. It does depend on the formulation, but if what you are using is thinning your hair and it bothers you. STOP. NOW!