No matter what color or texture it has as it grows from your scalp, hair is a loaded issue for women (and people of all genders). We associate its thickness and length with youth, beauty and fertility and if youve ever carried a pregnancy , you may have noticed that your mane grew particularly voluminous and lustrous around the time your organs were most compressed (though its worth noting that this is often followed by a period of hair loss postpartum).

We associate thinning hair , on the other hand, with old age and sickness. It evokes thoughts of our mortality.

So its no surprise that a loaded hairbrush, extra strands in your fingers when you take out your ponytail, or the sight of your own scalp in a spot that your hair used to cover causes you alarm, or even shame.

Its not an uncommon experience, however, for women in their 40s. Thinning hair generally doesnt indicate an urgent medical problem, but its something to discuss with your doctor because it can have various causes. Some of these are treatable, as is the symptom of thinning hair itself.

Heres what to know.

What is perimenopause?

Menopause, or the cessation of menses, means that you have stopped getting your period. It is officially diagnosed after you have gone at least 12 months without a menstrual cycle, and usually occurs during a womans 40s or 50s. According to the Mayo Clinic , the average age at which women in the U.S. experience menopause is 51.

Perimenopause refers to the time period months or years preceding menopause.

It basically is a time when theyre losing their estrogen and testosterone slowly, but not quite there. Its a time of transition before you actually completely lose your cycle, Dr. Monica Williams , a family medicine physician who practices functional medicine, told HuffPost.

Symptoms, she noted, vary in intensity and may come on slowly or suddenly. Because youre still having your period, it can be tricky to put together the pieces of whats going on.

During perimenopause, women may experience a range of symptoms related to the hormonal shift that their body is undergoing. These go beyond the classic hot flashes, and can include:

• Irregular periods
• Vaginal dryness
• Chills
• Night sweats
• Difficulty sleeping
• Changes in mood
• Weight gain
• Dry skin
• Loss of breast fullness
• And ... thinning hair

Frustratingly, perimenopause can only be confirmed in hindsight, once youve gone that year without a period and are officially menopausal. Because the range of normal hormone levels is so wide, it is difficult to diagnose perimenopause based on bloodwork.

Like the hormonally-driven states of puberty and pregnancy, menopause and perimenopause is not a disease, Williams said. Its just a cycle. Its a normal process.

While we all understand that our periods will come to an end, theres much less awareness about the many potential symptoms of perimenopause and what can be done to treat them.