COLLABORATIVE POST | Every October I notice the same thing. The plughole fills up faster, my ponytail feels a little thinner in my hand, and I start wondering whether this is the year my hair finally gives up on me. For a long time I assumed it was just me. It turns out it’s almost everyone.
Unfortunately, the client’s link has been removed from this article as the scam merchant agent, Boris Makiienko of BacklinkOutreachAgency, has not paid my invoice.
Seasonal shedding is real, hormonal shifts in your forties are real, and the combined effect can feel alarming when you’re not expecting it. The good news is that most of what is happening is normal, and a lot of it responds well to a few small, consistent changes. So, this is my autumn hair care reset: nothing expensive, nothing complicated, just the habits that have made the most difference to my own hair, and that hold up when you look at the research behind them.
Why Hair Changes in Autumn (and After 40)
Hair follicles cycle through phases of growth, rest, and release. At any moment, roughly 85 to 90 percent of the hairs on your head are growing, and the rest are resting before they fall out to make way for new growth. Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is actually standard housekeeping.
What catches people out is that this cycle has a seasonal rhythm. Research published in the British Journal of Dermatology found that more follicles enter the resting phase in late summer, which means the corresponding shedding shows up around October and November. Dermatologists sometimes call it seasonal telogen effluvium. It typically settles on its own within a couple of months.
Layer that on top of the changes that come with your forties, and the picture gets more complicated. Falling oestrogen levels around perimenopause are associated with a shorter growth phase, finer individual strands, and slower regrowth. Hair also produces less natural oil with age, so it can feel drier and more brittle even when you’ve not changed anything about your routine.
None of this means you are powerless though. It just means the approach that worked at 30 may need an update.
Step One: Look at Your Scalp Before Your Strands
Most of us spend our hair care budget on the lengths and ignore the skin they grow from. But that’s backwards. Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp, and autumn is exactly when scalps tend to struggle: central heating dries the air, we shower with hotter water, and product buildup from summer styling can linger.
A Gentle Weekly Clarifying Wash
Once a week, use a clarifying or detox shampoo to lift away residue from dry shampoo, styling creams, and hard water minerals. If your hair feels heavy or your scalp looks dull and flaky, this alone can make a visible difference within a fortnight. Just don’t overdo it. Daily clarifying strips the oils your hair now needs more than ever.
Scalp Massage, Done Properly
There’s a small but interesting study from Japan in which men who performed four minutes of daily scalp massage for 24 weeks showed measurable increases in hair thickness. It’s only one small study, but the mechanism is plausible: massage improves local blood flow and may stimulate cells in the dermal papilla at the base of the follicle.
My version takes three minutes in the shower while my conditioner is on. Fingertips, not nails. Small circles, firm pressure, working from the hairline back to the nape. It is also, frankly, one of the nicer moments of my day.
Step Two: Rethink your Washing Routine for the Season
If you’ve been washing daily to combat summer sweat, autumn is the moment to ease off. Every wash lifts the cuticle and removes sebum, and drier air means that moisture is slower to return.
A few practical adjustments:
- Drop the water temperature. Lukewarm is enough to clean. Very hot water opens the cuticle and can leave hair looking frizzy and dull.
- Condition from the ears down, then work a small amount into the roots only if your scalp feels tight or dry.
- Try a pre-wash oil treatment once a week. A tablespoon of coconut or argan oil worked through the mid-lengths and ends for 20 minutes before shampooing can reduce protein loss during washing. Coconut oil in particular has been shown in laboratory studies to penetrate the hair shaft rather than just coating it.
- Switch to a microfibre towel or an old cotton T-shirt for drying (and curly hair plopping). Terry towelling roughs up the cuticle and encourages breakage, which is often mistaken for hair loss.
Step Three: Feed your Follicles from the Inside
Hair is metabolically demanding tissue, and it’s low on the body’s list of priorities. When intake falls short, the follicles are among the first to notice. This is why crash dieting, illness, and even a stressful few months can show up as thinning three months later.
The Nutrients that Matter Most
Rather than a list of supplements, think of it as a plate. Over the course of a week, aim to include:
- Protein at every meal. Hair is made almost entirely of keratin, a protein. Eggs, fish, lentils, Greek yoghurt, and chicken are easy wins. Many women over 40 fall short without realising it.
- Iron-rich foods. Low ferritin (stored iron) is strongly associated with diffuse hair shedding in women, particularly around perimenopause when periods can become heavier. Red meat, dark leafy greens, and pulses help, and pairing them with vitamin C improves absorption.
- Omega-3 fats. Oily fish, walnuts, and flaxseed support scalp health and may help with the dryness that arrives with cooler weather.
- Zinc and biotin. Both are involved in keratin production. Deficiency is uncommon in a varied diet, but pumpkin seeds, oats, and nuts cover you comfortably.
If you suspect a genuine deficiency, ask your GP for a blood test before spending money on supplements. Ferritin, vitamin D, thyroid function, and B12 are the usual suspects, and correcting a real gap will do far more than any shampoo.
What about Newer Approaches?
The hair growth market has expanded well beyond biotin gummies. Alongside established treatments such as minoxidil, which remains the most researched over-the-counter option, there is growing interest in peptide-based ingredients that aim to support the follicle more directly. Some appear in topical serums, others are sold in other forms, and the evidence behind them is still developing, with much of it coming from small or early-stage trials.
If you are curious and want to see what is actually available, retailers selling peptides for hair growth list the main options side by side, which makes it easier to compare what is on offer before you decide whether any of it is for you. As with anything you apply or take, a conversation with a pharmacist or dermatologist is a sensible first step, and a healthy dose of scepticism towards dramatic before-and-after photos never hurts.
Step Four: Protect What You Already Have
Growing new hair takes months. Keeping the hair you have from breaking takes seconds. So this is where the biggest visible gains with any autumn hair care reset often come from.
Heat, But Less of It
Autumn tempts us back to the blow-dryer after a summer of air drying. A few rules make a difference: always use a heat protectant, keep the dryer moving, and finish on the cool setting to close the cuticle. If you can, let hair dry to about 70 percent before using any heat at all.
Loosen Up Your Styling
Tight ponytails, buns, and clip-in extensions put constant tension on the hairline. Over years this can lead to traction alopecia, which is difficult to reverse. Swap elastic bands for silk scrunchies or claw clips, and vary where you tie your hair so the same follicles are not under strain every day.
Sleep on Silk or Satin
A silk pillowcase is not going to grow hair, but it does reduce friction overnight, which means fewer broken strands and less frizz in the morning. For fine or fragile hair, it’s definitely one of the easier upgrades to justify.
Trim Before the Split Travels
Split ends do not repair themselves; they travel upwards. A light trim every 10 to 12 weeks removes damage before it climbs, and your hair will look thicker for it even if it’s fractionally shorter.
Step Five: Manage the Things You Cannot See
Chronic stress raises cortisol, and elevated cortisol is associated with pushing follicles prematurely into the resting phase. Poor sleep does something similar. You cannot always remove the stress, but you can soften its effect.
The habits that seem to help most are unglamorous: a consistent bedtime, a walk outside in daylight before lunch, and some kind of regular movement. (I’m not going to tell you to meditate if that’s not your thing). I will say that the weeks when I sleep properly are the weeks my hair behaves.
It’s also worth knowing when to stop self-treating. If you notice sudden patchy loss, a receding hairline, an itchy or painful scalp, or shedding that continues heavily beyond three months, go and see your GP or a dermatologist. Thyroid problems, iron deficiency, and certain medications are common and treatable causes, and the sooner they’re addressed, the better the outcome.
My Realistic Autumn Hair Care Routine
For anyone who likes a checklist, this is what my reset looks like in practice:
- Wash two to three times a week, lukewarm water, clarifying shampoo once
- Three-minute scalp massage during conditioning
- Pre-wash oil treatment on Sundays
- Microfibre towel, heat protectant, cool shot to finish
- Protein at every meal, oily fish twice a week, a handful of pumpkin seeds most days
- Silk pillowcase, loose styles, trim booked for late November
- Blood test if shedding has not eased by the new year
The Key Takeaway
Autumn shedding is a season, not a verdict. Hair after 40 is different, but different is not the same as worse, and a routine built around scalp health, gentle handling, and good nutrition gives your follicles the best possible conditions to do their job.
Give it 12 weeks before judging the results. Hair works on a slow clock, and the changes you make in October usually show up in the mirror by January. That’s my favourite kind of New Year’s resolution: one you’ve already kept. 🙂
* This is a collaborative post – please see my Disclaimer.
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