Hello!
I’ve been in practice now for over 12 years and I have to say that one of the most common symptoms I hear from my female patients is their dreaded hair loss or hair thinning. Small amounts of daily hair loss is normal. Excessive amounts of hair loss over time that surpass the new growth coming in is pretty devastating to say the least.
When this happens over time, the first thing women do is reach out for help, get answers and seek solutions to stop this problem from getting worse. The growth, strength and maintenance of our beloved mane is complex in the sense that there are so many different contributing factors to the health and vitality of our hair and numerous causes for why it falls out in overabundance – when it shouldn’t.
Here are some of the most common reasons for hair loss.
✂️ Hypo-Thyroid: lowered production of T4, T3 hormones or decreased conversion of T4 into T3, insufficient medication, autoimmune disorder leads to hair loss
✂️ Hyper-Thyroid: increased production of T4 and/or T3 related to illness, autoimmune disorder, overmedicated leads to hair loss
✂️ Hashimotos Thyroiditis: Autoimmune Disorder where our immune system overreacts or attacks proteins, enzymes within our gland leading to erratic hypo and/or hyperthyroidism symptoms leads to hair loss
✂️ Chronic Stress: HUGE contributing factor to hair loss, especially during this last 1.5 years during the pandemic. Excess cortisol leads to reduced thyroid hormone and much more – leading to hair loss
✂️ Peri & Post Menopause: This is very common; As Estrogen and Progesterone decline, hair loss accelerates.
✂️ Gastro-Intestinal Conditions: Gut microbiome imbalance (dysbiosis), inflammatory conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, food allergies, SIBO, infections, diarrhea, excess acid production, insufficient acid production – all of which lead to malabsorption of nutrients and therefore hair loss
✂️ Medications: Prescription and/or over the counter; i.e. antacids, antibiotics affect absorption of nutrients, lack of minerals, vitamins, protein leading to hair loss
✂️ Chronic Illnesses & Diseases: Any conditions that lead to excess inflammation, stress on the body and nutrient deficiency leads to hair loss
✂️ Surgery: Any kind of surgery causes major stress to the body; Plus, the anesthesia used with surgery leads to hair loss
✂️ Scalp Dermatitis: Inflammation of the skin/scalp related to fungal, allergic, topical reactions, dandruff and/or gut inflammation leading to hair loss
✂️ Macro & Micro Nutrient Deficiency or Mal-Absorption: Vitamin, Mineral, Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat Mal-Nourishment leading to hair loss
✂️ Postpartum: After childbirth, all hormones rapidly drop leading to usually temporary hair loss
✂️ Underweight: Related to starvation, lack of nourishment, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, excessive exercise, low body fat percentage, lack of thyroid and reproductive hormones – all leads to hair loss
✂️ Androgenic Alopecia: Excessive amounts of the androgenic hormones testosterone and/or DHEA are produced due to insulin resistance, cystic ovaries, unhealthy diet, hormone imbalance leading to hair loss
✂️ Trichotillomania: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder leading to uncontrolled, insatiable need to pull hair out of the follicle – daily.
✂️ Elderly/Increasing Age: Yep, getting older is a bummer for ALL hair growth on the body, especially the scalp; reduced thyroid and hormones leads to hair loss
As you can see, there’s so many possibilities, right? It truly is a whole body perspective when it comes to deciphering why you’re having hair loss.
If you or someone you know is having substantial hair loss (and therefore substantial stress because of it), please reach out for help! You don’t need to figure this out alone. Consulting with a Functional/Naturopathic Medical Doctor like myself can help you get to the root cause of this problem, order and review detailed functional labs and provide you with a personalized treatment plan to get you feeling so much better physically & emotionally!
Not currently a patient but want to hear more information?
Schedule a FREE 30 minute Discovery Call to discuss your symptoms. I’ll review my New Patient Vital Transformation program and hopefully we work together as a team to get your health back in top shape!
Schedule that Discovery Call from my website: https://doctorkristi.com.
To Your Health,
Dr. Kristi