Hormones exert complex regulatory effects on the hair follicle and local follicular environments. Hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) is recommended to treat vasomotor symptoms in menopausal and post-menopausal women and is also used off-label to manage low sexual function. Given the increasing prevalence of HRTs, there is a growing interest in understanding their impact on hair. This review summarizes the role of key hormones (estrogen and androgen) in hair biology, the types of HRTs and their clinical indications, and current evidence regarding HRT’s effects on hair. HRT such as estrogen-based therapies, testosterone-based therapies, and bioidentical hormones are being utilized to provide relief for undesirable vasomotor and sexual symptoms, although the risks and benefits have been debated over the years. Despite its increasing clinical relevance, HRT’s impact on hair remains poorly understood due to the complex interplay of hormones, hair follicles, and local follicular environment.
Lee et al. (Fri,) studied this question.