5 Ways Your Body Changes After 39 That No One Talks About
You know about the stubborn weight gain and the sometimes-painful sex (thanks so much, dryness down there), but here are some other unexpected changes you can expect in your 40s.
By Emma Haak
Hair Loss Is More Widespread Than You've Heard
What you know: Hair often gets thinner with age, and it can become more noticeable starting in your early 40s. Why? In a word (and it's a word you'll hear a lot): perimenopause, which typically starts in your 40s, but for a small percentage of women, it can start as early as the 30s.
What might surprise you: "The hair loss happens everywhere," says Elizabeth Roth, MD, an internist at Women's Health Associates in the department of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. That means potentially less leg hair (three cheers for not having to shave as often!) and less pubic hair, which, depending on how your feel about grooming down there, could be good or bad.
What you can do about it: There are effective options for hair loss on the head (find out more about them here), but if you're worried about other areas of your body, you'll be happy to hear "it's not an overnight change," says Roth. "It starts years before menopause and progresses pretty gradually."
Published 11/29/2016