More hair in the shower. Less volume in your ponytail. A parting that looks wider than it used to. When you're losing hair around the menopause and you haven't changed a thing about your routine, it is genuinely unsettling.

Oestrogen helps regulate the hair growth cycle, and hair follicles carry their own oestrogen receptors — they are a direct target for the hormone, not a bystander (Ohnemus et al., Endocrine Reviews, 2006). As hormone levels change during the menopause, that can contribute to both increased shedding and changes in how hair grows back.

Many women also develop female pattern hair loss, where affected follicles gradually produce finer, shorter hairs. This process is called miniaturisation, and it is why the parting widens over time rather than the hair simply falling out all at once.

Shedding and miniaturisation are different processes, and menopausal hair loss often involves both at the same time. What you're seeing may be about how your hair is growing, not damage to the strands themselves.

Blood tests can help identify contributing factors, such as iron deficiency or thyroid problems. But they don't directly show follicle miniaturisation. That usually requires an examination of your hair and scalp.

So even when your blood results come back normal, the hair loss you're noticing is real and still deserves attention.

Blood tests can come back “normal” while you carry on losing hair. If that sounds familiar, ask your GP what was actually checked and what the results mean for your symptoms.

Iron stores are one piece of the picture. Heavy periods during perimenopause can contribute to iron deficiency, and ferritin is the marker used to assess those stores. A result can sit inside the laboratory’s reference range and still be worth discussing in the context of hair loss — though there is no universally agreed ferritin target for hair growth, and you should not chase a number on your own.

Thyroid function can also affect your hair. TSH is usually the first test, and your GP can decide whether further testing is needed based on your results, symptoms and medical history.

Sleep and stress deserve attention too. Significant stress can trigger increased shedding, although waking at 3 am alone does not establish high cortisol or explain your hair loss.

Here is the practical part. Tell your GP plainly that you are losing your hair — use those words, because they change what gets tested and how the results are read. Ask whether iron levels, thyroid function or another cause could be contributing.

Finding the cause and seeing recovery can take time. Understandably, many women start looking for something to help in the meantime.

The hair you can touch is made of keratin and is no longer living tissue. Products can make it feel softer or look fuller, but improving the strand’s appearance is a different thing from addressing why you are losing hair in the first place.

Thickening shampoos can temporarily add volume. They don’t address the cause.

Biotin may help when a deficiency is present, but true deficiency is uncommon and the evidence for supplementation in people without one is limited (Patel, Swink & Castelo-Soccio, Skin Appendage Disorders, 2017).

Rosemary oil has some preliminary research, including a small 2015 trial in men with androgenetic hair loss (Panahi et al., Skinmed, 2015). One small study in men does not establish it as a proven treatment for menopausal hair loss in women.

Iron supplements may help if iron deficiency is contributing to shedding. They should be guided by a blood test and medical advice.

These options all have their purpose. The disappointment comes from expecting a product that improves how hair looks to solve the reason it is falling out.

To understand what might actually help, we need to look beneath the strand — at the follicle, and at what is affecting its growth.

Here is the part that matters. The follicles behind menopausal hair loss are not gone. A miniaturised follicle is still there, still working, just producing something finer and shorter each cycle. And a follicle that is still there can still receive instructions.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids. Some act as messengers between cells, and certain peptides are being studied for their potential role in supporting hair follicles.

PDRN consists of purified DNA fragments, often derived from salmon. It has been investigated in tissue repair and is now being explored for potential applications in hair growth.

The research is still developing, and it is worth being straight about that. Findings from laboratory studies or injectable treatments do not prove that a topical serum will reverse hair loss. The specific ingredients, their concentration and the finished formula all matter.

There is also a practical question, and it is the one that undoes most serums: how do you get it onto your scalp, through the hair?

Your scalp is a protective barrier, and applying a serum through your hair can make it difficult to reach the skin underneath. Where you apply it matters.

In clinics, microneedling creates tiny channels in the skin to help certain topical ingredients penetrate. It can also cause discomfort, pinpoint bleeding and requires professional care.

For your daily routine, the first step is simpler: getting the serum directly onto your scalp.

Klyver combines PDRN and peptides with a brush applicator designed to part the hair and place the formula at the roots. The formula also contains microscopic mineral spicules, which may cause a tingling sensation during application.

The brush makes targeted application easier, helping you reach the scalp where you want to apply your serum.

Consistency matters, but results vary. Take a clear photo of your parting before you begin, then compare it over the following eight to twelve weeks using the same lighting and angle.