Why hormones cause hair loss

Let’s be honest. Hair thinning or hair loss feels pretty awful.

Many of our patients come to us as a last result because the doctor has told them that it’s just part of ageing growing old.

There are a several primary drivers for hair loss, here are the most common ones we see in the clinic:

– Hypothyroidism
– PCOS
– Low Iron
– Nutritional Deficiencies

Today I wanted to take a moment to talk further about the reasons for hair loss.

1. Hypothyroidism
Many patients that are diagnosed with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s can be on medication to stimulate their TSH, such as thyroxine; however, despite taking it, still experience hair loss.

Most of the patients we see in the clinic are experiencing subclinical hypothyroidism. Their blood tests don’t reveal a dangerous enough TSH, Free T3, or Free T4 reading to be put on thyroid medication.
Both kinds of patients can still present issues with hair loss.

They often say that their hair seems to be coming out more when they brush or wash it or thinning in the front of their head.

We find that may women suffering from thyroid-related hair loss need gut support and hormone balancing nutrients to enable to the body to support itself to come back into balance and bring healthy thyroid function.

2. PCOS
Conventional medicine often treats patients that are suffering from PCOS with birth control medication.

Patients suffering from PCOS often experience hair loss and may suffer from excessive hair growth on their face, arms, or legs.

The challenge many of our patients face with PCOS is self confidence and infertility. We’ve helped many women with PCOS fall pregnant. It takes time as the body needs to resume normal function after coming off the pill.

But, PCOS often is a hormonal issue that points to hormone imbalance and nutrient deficiencies.

Once we get to the hormones in balance, the body is a stronger vessel for implantation.

3. Low Iron
Iron is a big reason for hair loss.

We had a 24 year old patient come in and her iron count was within 3% of normal range. That’s 3% out of 100%. She came in thinking that her hair loss was because of her thyroid, as her mum suffers from hypothyroidism.

She was on a vegetarian diet for years, with her favourite foods being cheese, bread, and pasta. She consumed very little foods high in iron.

She only weighed 45 kilos, so the diet seemed to be working, but her she had incredible hair loss.

Her hair was starting to thin so much you could see her scalp at the front of her head.

She was very upset sad and couldn’t understand how her diet could possibly be a bad thing.

Few women realise how important iron is in our diet and it often gets missed as a factor for hair loss.

4. Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies are common in nearly every patient with hair loss.

Every body absorbs nutrients differently. The modern Australian diet has changed over the last fifty years, and as such, what our bodies receive and what our mums passed to us in utero consequentially effect our bodies.

Hair and weight are two great indications that there is some kind of nutrient deficiency in the body. Many women come into the clinic after taking some supplements to help support hair growth, yet haven’t had much of an effect on it.

Taking something to support hair growth doesn’t always mean it’ll work for you if there are other factors going on.

In fact, most of the patients that experience hair loss have a combination of two or all four of the above factors.

Conventional medicine is fantastic at helping us with various conditions, but sometimes our external self-conscious challenges, like hair loss or weight, are not supported by the medication.

This is why we love naturopathic treatment.

Our goal is to deal with the root cause behind the hair loss, so that we remove the problem and nourish the body with the nutrients it needs to thrive.

If you’d like to get help with your hair growth or hormones, we’d love to support you.

Simply book a free introductory consultation here: https://calendly.com/sutherlandshirenaturopath/introductory-naturopathic-health-assessment