Five reasons your hair changed after a big year - and what actually helps

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Written by Anita M · Co-founder, Roots

Life changes · Menopause · London · 2026

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Five reasons my hair changed after 50 - and what actually helped

I went through the menopause and a big year of change at the same time. My hair went with it. I tried everything. Then my son spent six months reading every paper he could find - and built something for me. Here's what he learned.

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I'd had a good year, genuinely. I felt like a different person. Then around month four, I started finding my hair on the pillow. In the shower drain. On every jumper. My ponytail was half what it used to be. I told my GP. She said it was normal.

It's a story I've since heard from hundreds of women: big change, then the hair follows. Whether it's after a big life change, the menopause, or having a baby - the mechanism is the same. Your body deprioritises hair growth during stress or change. Nutrients get redirected.

My son Josh spent six months reading every paper he could find. Then he built something for me. But before I tell you about that - here's what he found out.

A woman looks down, her hand in her hair, revealing thinning gray hair, with text reading 'me then'.

The five root causes - and why most supplements miss them

Your body deprioritised your hair

During periods of change, your hair follicles are the first thing your body deprioritises. They need biotin, zinc, and selenium to function normally. Many women going through change can be running low on all three.

It started months after the trigger - and that's normal

A significant physical stressor pushes more follicles into the resting phase at once. That's why you shed in a wave, usually 3–5 months after the trigger. It has a timeline. It ends.

Your hormones changed the rules

As oestrogen levels drop, the hair growth phase shortens. Selenium contributes to protection of cells from oxidative stress - relevant because hormonal shifts increase oxidative load on follicles.

Your scalp lost its scaffolding

Your scalp's dermis is predominantly collagen. During periods of change or perimenopause, collagen synthesis slows.

The supplement you tried was probably missing the point

Most hair supplements contain biotin at low doses and not much else. Biotin, zinc, and selenium are the three nutrients with authorised UK health claims for normal hair. They need to be properly dosed.

“I wasn’t trying to look younger. I just wanted to stop feeling older every time I looked in the mirror.”

— Anita M, Co-founder, Roots

I'm not going to tell you Roots fixed everything. Biology is biology. But two capsules every morning with my tea - that's it. That's the whole routine.

Hair grows in 90-day cycles. That's not a marketing number - it's how follicles work. So we made the guarantee 90 days. Try one full cycle. If you don't feel the difference, we'll refund every penny. Keep the bottles.

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I'm telling you all of this because nobody told me. My GP didn't. The internet mostly didn't. I found out because my son went looking.

Josh spent months on this. Not because he was trying to build a business - because he was watching his mum stop wanting to be in photographs. He came round one Sunday with a prototype and said try these for 90 days. That was fourteen months ago. I haven't stopped.

This is what he created. Make your own mind up.