Four Potential Causes of Hair Loss
Hair loss and excessive hair shedding is a common condition that women face, so much so that it is difficult to tell sometimes when it is cause for concern. The reason for this is that it is completely normal to lose up to 100 strands a day! When you add this to constant heat styling, tight hairstyles, and over processing, we are looking at a comb-full of hair.
This becomes reason for a deeper dive into your health when you notice a sudden change. Seemingly overnight you are losing a mass amount of hair, to the point where it may even be noticeable on your scalp.
We are going to explore in this blog the various reasons this could be happening. Hair is not just aesthetic and superficial. Although there is nothing wrong with caring about appearance and confidence, the health of your hair is actually a powerful indicator of what is going on beneath the skin. Chronic stress, gut issues, deficiencies, and more can all contribute.
What Does Your Hair Loss Look Like?
It is important first to assess what type of hair loss you are experiencing: pattern or diffuse.
Pattern hair loss is indicative of a hormonal issue and will appear as a widening center part.
Diffuse hair loss is more sporadic and will affect the entire head, often more associated with chronic stress.
**If your hair loss is due to an under active thyroid condition, you will see thinning of the hair AND a loss of the outer third of your eyebrow. This affects 1 in 5 women and it is believed that 50% of cases are undiagnosed, let alone mistreated.
PCOS and Hair Loss
PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, can be a big culprit of hair loss. This condition is marked by a high count of androgens causing a surplus of hair where we don’t want it and a shedding of hair that we do want.
This appears as:
Hirsutism- coarse, dark hair on the face, chest, back, abdomen, and arms
Female pattern hair loss- large amount of hair shedding and thinning on the head that is particularly visible on the crown and hairline
Hair on the head feels extremely brittle, breakable, and dry
With that said, you can work with a naturopathic doctor to address the underlying hormone imbalances, deficiencies, and diet changes and can turn this condition around. Treatment is extremely individualized here but there is always hope.
Hormonal Contraception and Hair Loss
Yes, you read that right! Hormonal birth control CAN increase hair loss! How?
Birth control can cause increased gut permeability. Increased gut permeability can contribute to nutrition malabsorption, disruption in gut microbiome, and an increase in inflammation
Pills with high androgen index include medroxyprogesterone acetate, levonorgestrel, norgestrel, and etonogestrel. These can cause a shrinkage of your hair follicles!
Pills with a low androgen context include drospirenone, norgestimate, and cyproterone., These will actually not cause hair loss but there’s a chance you might experience hair loss after stopping them.
Chronic Stress and Hair Loss
Your body needs to feel safe in order to focus on something such as nourishing a hair follicle. If you’re body is in survival mode, you could experience hair loss as a result! Here are some key signs to look out for:
Tellogen Effluvium is a form of post traumatic hair loss which truly shines a light to just how much stored trauma and stress in the body can manifest. This is not permanent however and hair growth will come back.
Carbs, Carbs, Carbs! In one study, within 6 months, 45% of female participants on ketogenic diet lost their periods. The study was related to grand Mal seizures and the period loss was a consequence unrelated…making it all the more fascinating and noteworthy
If the hypothalamus is receiving signals that it is not safe enough to ovulate and make a baby, it is not feeling safe enough to place vital blood flow and nutrients to your hair follicles.
Nutrition and Hair Loss
Nutrition can be both a place of blame and a saving grace when it comes to hair loss. The first thought that enters most people’s minds when they see a shower wall of pillow case filled with strands, is iron deficiency
What should we know about Iron?
Testing just your ferritin can present a false normal range. By looking at your transferrin saturation you can actually assess your bodies iron stores, which is where the real truth lies. Saturation of less than 20% is a deficiency
Without enough iron, your body is lacking in hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is imperative for the oxygen needed for growth and repair of cells in your body-including hair!
Supplemental iron is recommended if ferritin is less than 50 or if transferrin saturation is less than 20
What other supplements and deficiencies should we look out for?
Zinc is essential for protein synthesis and cell division
Alopecia is a frequent clinical finding of Niacin deficiency
Vitamin D3 alongside K2 plays a key role in hair follicle cycling
Fatty acids are crucial for reducing inflammation. A high quality Omega 3 can help!
Vitamin A has been shown to activate follicle stem cells and Vitamin E is potent antioxidant that combats dryness
Amino acids are vital. Aside from adequate protein throughout the day, you need to make sure you are consuming all the essential amino acids. This can be done through pairing if you are a vegan (e.g., whole grain bread with nut butter, beans and a wrap, tofu and tempeh).
Reference this article for the lowdown on what foods to eat for magnesium, zinc, selenium, and more!
Chinese Medicine and Hair Loss
It is always beautiful and intriguing to explore the parallels between Eastern and Western Medicine and how they mesh together when it comes to different conditions.
Regarding hair loss, Chinese medicine boils it all down to how nourished your blood is. In the Eastern lens, blood deficiency can appear as rashes, scanty or missing periods (amennorhea), long cycles, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, cold hands and feet, and more. Coincidentally, this mirrors anemia almost exactly in the Western lens. In order to nourish our blood, we have to focus both on nutrition and lifestyle. Magnesium, leafy greens, goji berries, bone broth, grass fed meats, pasture raised eggs, beets, cinnamon, bee pollen, and more are all praised ways to do this. On the other hand, adding more ease and joy to our life can also nourish the blood. This looks like meditation, stretching on work breaks, quality time with loved ones, and nourishing our passions. This is why a key way to get our periods back is to focus on sleep, slowing down, and eating nourishing meals. It all connects.
Lastly, some fun ways to increase circulation to the scalp, therefore stimulating hair follicles, is to focus on scalp massage, leg muscles, and hair oiling! Your leg muscles are the largest muscles in your body and therefore stimulating them (sprinting hills, squats, deadlifts, etc.) is an excellent way to bring blood to your scalp. A bonus is that this boosts your focus and brain health as well by flowing circulation up to your neurons!
If you work from home, a way to take advantage of this is to oil your scalp in a thick coating of jojoba oil and leave it in all day before washing it out at night. You can use a scalp massager in the shower to double the benefits.
No matter which lens you choose to view it, hair loss is a very emotionally and physically taxing condition that can affect far too many of us. Remember that no matter how long you have been dealing with something or how normal it has become to you, it is always worth looking into if it is disrupting your life and happiness.
As always, if you’re interested in working with Dr. Paria on your health you can click here to schedule a discovery call!
