Hair Loss

Have you noticed hair loss or feel like your hair is thinner than it used to be? Are you struggling to get your hair back to where it was when you were younger? Before pregnancy, kids, and so much extra stress? Hair loss is incredibly common these days and people are often asking why their hair is thinning, falling out, or not as full as it used to be. If you’ve been told it’s normal or “just a part of aging,” you weren’t told the whole story. While hair may naturally thin over time, you shouldn’t be noticing extreme hair loss, bald spots, or excessive hair loss in a short amount of time.

If you’ve been noticing hair loss, taking all of the hair supplements you can find and still not noticing a difference, here’s why. There are so many different factors that can contribute to hair thinning and hair loss.

Here’s what to check out to figure out what is contributing to your hair loss and how to stop it. The sooner you can identify what’s causing your hair loss, the sooner you can stop the hair loss, and the easier it is to reverse it. Don’t let it get so bad that you’re fighting an uphill battle to get your hair back.

  1. Thyroid - both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can lead to thinning hair and hair loss. Any dysfunction in the thyroid will affect metabolism and hair growth. Make sure to get a full thyroid panel —just a TSH is not enough, especially if your TSH is in the “normal” range but you still have all of thy thyroid symptoms. Ideally your TSH should be between 1 and 2.5.

    1. What to check: Get a full thyroid panel blood test including TSH, free T4, free T3, and antibodies, anti-TPO and anti-TgAb.

  2. Nutrition deficiencies - if you’re low in Iron, B12, or vitamin D, you may notice your hair start to thin or fall out. Deficiencies can occur if you’re not eating enough of these in your diet, but also if you’re not absorbing them from what you eat. Stomach acid and digestive enzymes are essential to breaking down your food so that your body can actually absorb the nutrients from it. Nutrient deficiencies are a common side effect of antacids and any drugs which decrease stomach acid, such as omeprazole/Prilosec. In blocking stomach acid, these actually block the break down of protein and absorption of B vitamins. If you can’t break down your food and you can’t absorb the nutrients from it, you’ll end up with nutrient deficiencies.

    1. What to check: Check your iron and ferritin (iron storage) in addition to a CBC (complete blood count), vitamin D, and vitamin B12 - all of which can be done with a blood test. Check your medication list too for any prescriptions or over the counter meds that could be impacting your ability to breakdown food and absorb nutrients.

  3. Hormones: hello perimenopause and menopause! While hormonal imbalances can happen at any age, perimenopause and menopause are times when hormones are guaranteed to change and the effects of decreased estrogen and other hormones can lead to exaggerated hair loss and thinning. Hair follicles are estrogen sensitive and so when estrogen decreases, such as during peri- and menopause, hair growth is altered. These changes can be seen in both the hair follicle itself and in the hair growth cycle, creating noticeable changes in hair growth and density.

    1. What to check: get your hormones checked including estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and SHBG.

  4. Medical disorders and events. Major illness and surgery is stressful on the body leading hair follicles to enter into the resting phase of growth and then later shed. Childbirth is a large stress on the body and also creates hormonal changes and fluctuations that affect hair growth. The hormones during pregnancy often keep hair in the growth phase longer and so when hormones shift after childbirth and hair returns to its normal cycle, the excess growth during pregnancy is lost. The stress of childbirth and the hormone changes also lead to increased hair loss after childbirth once the hair follicles are out of the growth phase and the extended follicular rest phase ends. Heavy metal exposure is toxic to the whole body, including hair follicles. Heavy metal exposure disrupts the hair growth processes in the body. Heavy metals can also directly damage the hair shaft leaving it more prone to breakage and shedding.

    1. What to check: Check your stress levels and stress management. You can also check your hormone levels and heavy metal levels in your body to see what’s impacting your hair loss.

  5. Stress is a huge factor in the functioning of all of our body systems. When under chronic stress, body systems begin to fail. Your metabolism takes a hit which is why fatigue and weight gain are so common with stress, your hair starts to thin or fall out, your digestion changes, and your adrenals, your stress glands, can no longer keep up.

    1. What to check: Stress management. Check out the Adrenal ABC’s to figure out the best way to help support your body’s stress response.

  6. Medications: the list of medications with hair loss as a side effect is a long one.

    1. What to check: If you’re on any of these medications and currently experiencing hair loss, you need to re-evaluate your need for the medication, any available alternatives, and how to support your hair loss if it’s a medication you can’t change.

      1. Acne medications (such as retinoids)

      2. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

      3. Antibiotics and antifungal drugs

      4. Antidepressants and mood stabilizers

      5. Birth control pills

      6. Weight loss drugs including GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, Semaglutide, Wegovy, and others in this category

      7. Cholesterol-lowering drugs

      8. Drugs that suppress the immune system

      9. High blood pressure medications (anti-hypertensives), such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics

      10. Steroids

What to do to help stop hair loss and promote hair growth:

  • Replenish nutrient deficiencies including iron, B12, and vitamin D. Add in digestive enzymes to make sure you can break down and absorb the nutrients from food. Treat the gut so you don’t need the acid blockers and medications for heartburn and reflux.

  • Treat the thyroid if necessary. While medication may be needed, other thyroid support includes iodine, selenium, zinc, and tyrosine.

  • Balance hormones. Make sure you’re eating enough protein, eating plenty of fats, lifting weights, and drinking enough water. Support your hormones by supporting your adrenal glands, liver, and thyroid too. You can also directly support hormone levels with hormone replacement therapy when indicated.

  • Stress management and adrenal support. This can also help digestion, blood pressure, immune function, and so many other things.

  • Hair specific supplements such as collagen, biotin, selenium, and multi vitamins can be very helpful to not only directly support hair growth but also fill in any nutrient gaps and deficiencies.

Christina Sahni