DO Listen First:
Every woman’s journey is different. Hormonal hair can become a wide variety of things, including dry, brittle and thinner.
DO Prioritise Moisture and Strength:
Think gentle colour, heat protection and bond-building treatments. DOSupport With At-Home Care: Getting clients to look after their scalp health in between appointments is crucial. DON’TOverload With Protein: This can make the already-delicate hair feel worse.
DON’T Ignore the Emotional Side:
Confidence takes a hit when the hair changes, and we, as stylists, are in a position to help rebuild that.
Hair changes during menopause are often linked to hormonal fluctuations that can lead to thinning, reduced density and changes in texture. For many women, this can have a profound emotional impact, affecting not just how they look, but how they feel about themselves.
Extensions, when applied with the right method and care, can be a supportive cosmetic solution to help restore volume and confidence. Just as non-invasive face treatments are now commonplace, hair ‘tweakments’ are the future. Small, targeted changes – such as filling in sparse areas or balancing asymmetrical thinning – can make a visible difference without putting additional stress on the scalp or natural hair.
When it comes to hair extensions, education is key – clients should understand that not all extension methods are suitable for thinning hair, and regular maintenance appointments are vital to monitor scalp health, adjust tension and ensure comfort. Most importantly, clients need to be set up with realistic expectations. Extensions are not a cure for hair loss, but they can provide a meaningful confidence boost when managed professionally.
By offering menopause-conscious products and tailoring the service to individual needs, salons can provide not just a treatment, but a wellbeing-focused experience. This will help clients feel supported, understood and in control of their hair at every stage of life.
Is Menopause Really Destigmatised in Salons? – Nancy Stripe, Stripe Colour Studio, Handforth
The Menopause – or ‘The Change’ as my mother used to call it – is now an openly discussed topic behind the chair. However, I do wonder whether this is because it’s become something not to be ashamed about in the public forum or whether we have just fostered an environment at Stripe in which clients feel at ease to talk?
With the hair market now waking up to the fact that mid-life clients are big spenders, and trend reports are citing ‘grey blending’ as one of the main trends for 2025, it’s no wonder that social media is now embracing menopause posts and catering far more than we have seen before.
Where we have to be careful is making sure we are not just monetising this delicate period of life, but truly understanding the feelings of these clients. We need to be getting to the core of their insecurities around body image and self-confidence, and elevating them with positive conversation.
While menopause does not directly cause grey hair, the hormonal changes can speed up pigment loss. I will not allow clients to see their greying hair as a negative thing. This doesn’t mean they have to necessarily embrace it; it just means we encourage choice in how our clients want to colour. It means us paving the way for feeling beautiful in any era of your life.
This kind of change in salons will make for happier clients – both now and in years to come when they start to recognise the beauty in what they have naturally. We have seen this in recent years with encouraging natural curls, and yet I still hear hairdressers speaking negatively about white hair – that attitude needs to change. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we’ve still got a long way to go…
