Can a Hormonal IUD or Implant Cause Hair Loss?What Studies Show

Some women report hair shedding after getting a hormonal IUD or a contraceptive implant. Here is what the research can and can’t say.

Hormonal IUDs

In New Zealand, a national medicines-monitoring program followed women after they had a levonorgestrel IUD fitted.¹

• Five cases of hair loss were reported in the program, and the estimated rate was about 0.33%, roughly 1 in 300 users.¹
• A World Health Organization database held 68 more reports.¹
• The researchers said women should be told hair loss is possible before insertion.¹

The confidence range ran from 0.07% to 0.95%, so the true rate is uncertain, but either way it’s uncommon.¹ Monitoring programs rely on reports, so they show a possible link, not proof.

Implants

A review of contraceptive implant trials found the side effects most likely linked to implants were headaches and acne.² Hair loss was among the possible side effects reported much less often, alongside lower libido and fatigue.² The reviewers noted it’s hard to tell whether common symptoms are caused by the method or would have happened anyway.²

Stopping the pill

Shedding can also follow stopping birth control pills, one of the triggers US dermatologists list for excessive shedding.³ It usually shows up a few months after the trigger, and hair tends to regain its fullness within 6 to 9 months.³ For scale, losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal.³

What to do if you notice shedding

1. Write down the dates: when the device went in or the pill stopped, and when shedding started.
2. Look for other triggers in the months before, such as illness, weight loss, stress or a birth. See why your hair is shedding so much.
3. Ask about iron and thyroid tests, especially if shedding lasts. See iron and ferritin tests for hair loss.
4. Talk about options with your prescriber before removing a device, so you aren’t left without contraception.

Try: “My hair started shedding a couple of months after I had a hormonal IUD fitted. Could the two be linked, and what should we check before I decide whether to keep it?”

Hair, Everywhere covers shedding triggers in Chapter 5, “The Shed,” in a section called “What Sets It Off,” which lists stopping the pill among them. Its Hair Log notes anything big from the three months before a shed, including starting or stopping a medicine or the pill, so the timing is on paper. See the book.