Hot Flashes and Hair Coloring

Uneven hair color at the roots — Photo: Nikkimeel/Getty Images via Canva

Q: Since entering menopause, my hair doesn't look as good as it used to when freshly dyed. I often notice a color difference at the roots. Someone told me that hot flashes could be the cause of this. Is this true?

A: Yes, it is true. Hot flashes are one of the symptoms of menopause and can have several effects on a woman's body. They can occur multiple times a day, making a woman feel warm and uncomfortable. One of the lesser known effects of menopause is that it can affect hair coloring results, particularly at the roots, due to the heat generated by hot flashes.

Before explaining how hot flashes can affect hair coloring, it is important that you understand how hair coloring works. The amount and type of pigment called melanin in our hair determines our natural hair color. When we dye our hair, we use a chemical process to change the pigment in the hair follicles.

During the coloring process, the outermost layer of the hair, the cuticle layer, is opened using chemicals. This enables the color to penetrate the hair shaft. Once the hair is colored, the cuticle closes. During a hot flash, the body's temperature rises quickly, and this can cause the temperature of the scalp to rise too. This can affect hair coloring results due to changes in the temperature of the scalp.

At high temperatures, chemical reactions can occur faster than at lower temperatures. This means that the chemical reactions involved in the hair coloring process can occur faster at the roots of the hair during hot flashes. This can result in the color of the hair at the roots being darker or lighter than the rest of the hair.

When the cuticle is closed too quickly, the pigment may not be able to get into the hair shaft as much, which could lead to a lighter hair color. On the other hand, if the cuticle is left open for too long, the hair coloring pigment can penetrate the hair shaft more deeply, potentially leading to a darker hair color.

A compromised chemical process can lead to uneven hair color results, especially at the roots where the hair is closest to the scalp, and the heat generated by hot flashes is most intense.

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See also:

How to color hair

Menopausal changes in hair