Can Birth Control Pills Cause Hair Loss?

Birth control pills bring a lot of changes in the human body. Going on birth control can be rewarding and challenging at the same time as they have some side effects. Weight gain, excessive weight loss, nausea, and headache are some side effects of birth control pills.

However, one more thing that people on birth control experience is hair loss. Hair loss is a serious issue. Therefore, the biggest concern of the people on birth control experiencing hair loss is whether it’s due to birth control pills or not. Let’s find out

Do birth control pills promote hair loss?

Yes, it is observed that birth control pills cause hair loss. However, some birth control pills do cause hair loss and few have happened to promote hair growth as well. Since we are keen to find the side effects of things we consume, hair growth from birth control pills usually goes unnoticed.

Almost all hormonal forms of birth control are observed to cause hair loss. Whether it’s a pill, skin patch, injection, or implant. However,  the side effects of birth control pills differ from person to person. It may also happen that a specific birth control pill causes hair loss to one person and the other does not experience any side effects at all.

The said hair issue can not only be faced by taking or switching to a birth control pill. Hair loss can be experienced from leaving birth control pills as well. Generally, hair loss from taking or leaving birth control pills happens in two conditions;

• The person is sensitive to hormones found in the birth control pill
• The person has a rich family history of losing hair from hormones in the birth control pill

Other than the above-mentioned condition, birth control pills hardly cause hair loss. The hair loss from birth control pills is temporary, leaving the birth control pill would get the person out of this unfavorable hair situation.

Why do birth control pills cause hair loss?

The birth control pills that cause hair loss in women contain progestin. The excessive amount of the androgen receptor in these pills causes hair loss. Human hair passes through different phases. The phases are known as anagen, catagen, and telogen. Anagen is the active hair growth phase, catagen is the period in which hair growth stops for about 10 to 20 days, and telogen is said to be the resting phase, the hair stops growing and begins shedding instead. What these birth control pills do is they move the hair to the resting phase(telogen) and the person begins shedding more and more hair every day which leads to hair loss. 

As stated above, hair loss does not happen from taking birth control only. It can be experienced from leaving it as well. If the birth control pill is consumed for some time, the body gets used to it. Switching or leaving the birth control pill brings some hormonal changes in the human body that leads to hair loss. However, it is less deadly as compared to hair loss that happens due to taking the birth control pill. The hair-shedding period from leaving birth control last a few days to months and usually gets fixed itself.

How to stop hair loss from birth control pills?

If you are experiencing hair loss from being on birth control pills, switching to a pill that contains more estrogen would help. To recover faster, you can take Minoxidil. However, when hair loss is due to leaving the birth control pill, it’s better to wait. It usually remains so for about a month or so. After the said period, the hair loss issues go away. There is no harm in taking Minoxidil 2% in this situation as well.

Summary

Birth control pills cause hair loss. However, there are a few birth control pills that do so, some promote hair growth as well. It usually happens when the birth control pills contain a noticeable amount of progestin. The birth control pills that contain a good amount of progestin move the hair into the telogen phase in which the person sheds hair excessively. Moreover, leaving birth control can also cause hair loss. The reason is usually hormonal changes.