Medically reviewed by Stacy Sampson, D.O. —
Written by Jacquelyn Cafasso —
Updated on November 9, 2018 - Healthline

“ Does Mirena cause hair loss?
The product label for Mirena lists alopecia as one of the side effects reported in less than 5 percent of women who received the IUD during clinical trials. Alopecia is the clinical term for hair loss.
While hair loss isn’t very common in Mirena users, the number of women who reported hair loss during clinical trials was noteworthy enough to list it as a relevant adverse reaction on the product’s label.
Following Mirena’s approval, there have only been a few studies done to find out if Mirena is related to hair loss.
One large Finnish study of women using an IUD containing levonorgestrel, like Mirena, noted hair loss rates of nearly 16 percent of participants. This study surveyed women who had a Mirena IUD inserted between April 1990 and December 1993. However, the study didn’t rule out other possible reasons for their hair loss.
A later review of post-marketing data in New Zealand found that hair loss was reported in less than 1 percent of Mirena users, which is in line with the Mirena product label. In 4 out of 5 of these cases, the timeframe in which hair loss occurred was known and started within 10 months of IUD insertion.
Since other possible causes of hair loss were ruled out in some of these women, the researchers believe there’s reasonably strong evidence to suggest that the IUD caused their hair loss.
The researchers also noted how the reduction in estrogen production and activity in menopause can cause associated hair loss by causing testosterone, which then becomes activated to a more active form called dihydrotestosterone, to have a higher bioavailability within the body and leads to hair loss.
Though the exact reason why Mirena may cause hair loss isn’t known, the researchers hypothesized that, for some women, hair loss may result from a lower level of estrogen occurring in the body related to exposure to the progesterone-like hormone in Mirena.”