Hormonal Hair Loss & Female Alopecia
Get a handle on what’s actually causing your female hair loss
There are few things more stressful than washing or brushing your hair and seeing large amounts of it falling out. When you’re loosing it faster than you can grow it, hair thinning on the crown can become very obvious and cause even the most confident woman to become self conscious and emotionally stressed.
With many of by beautiful female clients telling me they try not to stress but they just can’t help it because they keep seeing their hair falling.
Hair loss in women is definitely on the rise and it’s an issue that I’m hearing about more and more in my naturopathic clinic. It’s something I’ve personally also dealt with before I became a naturopath and so here I want to cover several points on the topic of hair loss in women:
Some of the main causes (you need to get to the bottom of what’s causing it in order to stop it)
What tests can help you uncover what’s going on for you.
What are some of the leading treatments for hair thinning in women.
As a naturopath how I support for hair loss.
Let’s start with the most common types of female hair loss
Telogen Effluvium- This is a diffuse constant shedding and loss of hair.
Alopecia areata- Patches of hair fall out generally no bigger than a 20 cent piece.
Androgenic alopecia- Male pattern baldness or thinning
Tinea capitis- Often referred to as ring worm of the scalp a fungal infection.
Trichotillamania - hair pulling due to emotional stress or anxiety.
As a first step if you’ve been experiencing female alopecia it’s important to identify which it is you’re struggling with, having a health practitioner take a closer look and run relevant testing is key.
Telogen Effluvium - Not all Hair Loss is hormonal!!
Many women initially conclude that their hair loss is due to hormones and don’t get me wrong it may well be, however the cause may be a little more complex and so having a good health care practitioner take a full health history is key.
It may be helpful to note that this form of hair loss can take 3-6 months to kick in post the causative factor! Which is why so many of my patients find it difficult to identify the cause of their hair thinning.
Here are some of the common causes of this particular hair loss:
Chronic acute illness
Hypothyroidism - (Proper exhaustive testing is often overlooked- Check for Hashimoto’s)
Diabetes
Infections
Stress- Trauma
Elevated mast cells
Mould exposure- in homes or workplaces
Pregnancy/ childbirth- due to progesterone drop and post natal depletion
Iron and or zinc deficiencies
Inflammation in the scalp follicles
High prolactin
Eating disorders
Sudden and extreme dietary changes
Major surgery
Certain Medications and illicit drug use.
Believe it or not growing hair is labour intensive and complex for the body, it’s also not considered to be top priority or super essential for your survival.
So if nutrients are limited (yo-yo dieting, excessive fasting, poor eating habits, poorly managed vegan diets, you get the picture) then you’re body is not going to waste limited nutrients on growing hair. What we end up with is other body systems taking priority and hair left limp and struggling.
This is why in-depth nutritional assessments which include functional pathology and a deep dive on what you’re eating daily is essential. Even if this isn’t the primary cause of your hair loos, sub optimum nutrient levels can have significant impacts on hair growth. Get checked!
What medications are known to cause hair loss?
You might be surprised to know that some of the most common medications can be contributing to your female alopecia! Things like…
Acne medications like roaccutane
Antibiotics and anti-fungals
Birth control pills- particularly when coming off them after years.
Antidepressants
Hypothyroid medications
Cholesterol lowering medications
Immune system suppressants
Anti-convulsants
Anti-clotting medications
NSAID’s
Stress and female hair loss
Very well meaning friends and family will tell you you’re loosing hair because you stress too much, but is that true? How do you know if this is a driving factor in your female hair thinning?
Unfortunately stress can play a role in hair loss, and even if it’s not the only cause it’s something that you want to have tested.
Cortisol which is one of the major stress hormones along with cytokines (inflammatory substances secreted by the immune system) both push you into shedding hair.
If you’re stressed and releasing large amounts of cortisol you’re likely to have dry skin on your scalp and poor hair signalling which results in a short anagen phase (this is the phase where your hair grows and can vary from 2-6 years but the shorter this phase is you can see how you’ll end up with less hair over time)
If you’ve undergone any highly stressful life events start addressing this now by implementing a stress management protocol you can find out more about that here.
Chronic Allergies and hair loss is that even a thing?
As briefly mentioned above mast cells are known to contribute to hair thinning in women.
If you’ve had a chronic stimulation of mast cells in your body similarly to cortisol and cytokines you will have a shorter anagen phase of hair growth and over a period of years you may find that you end up with finer less dense scalp hair.
If you’ve got underlying allergies that haven’t been addressed there’s a lot you can do to help get this part of your immune system back under control. Consider speaking to your naturopath about it.
Mast cells will also cause inflammation directly on your scalp and this may result in you feeling itchy and sore. For many women it can also be simply hair thinning that they notice.
Alopecia Areata & Totalis
This is most commonly seen with women who have an autoimmune reaction at the hair follicle itself.
There may be a genetic component, however please don’t subscribe to the “my genes have me doomed” rabbit hole! There are still lots of things you can do to support you through this.
There is often an environmental trigger for this form of hair loss, things like viruses including the Epstein Bar Virus. Mould, bacteria, celiac, Rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, graves disease, Hashimoto’s, lupus and scleroderma.
This is one area that naturopathic medicine can also help through herbal medicine and the application of dietary modifications and immune support, you can certainly help to reduce the impact on the entire body including the hair follicles.
Hormonal hair loss in women
This is often referred to as androgenic alopecia- as a naturopath I have seen a few women come to see me who are convinced that this is their primary cause of hair loss and then post testing we see that it’s in fact some other cause.
One of the main hallmarks of this particular form of hair loss in females is what we refer to as a miniaturisation of the hair follicle over time.
This results in a change to the feel and quality of your hair, so you may find it’s not just a loss in actual follicles but that the hair itself is much thinner or more wiry or just smaller.
Okay but what are androgens? Why are they a problem? How did I end up with them?
Androgens are often referred to as the male hormones, like testosterone. These can be elevated systemically but also only at the hair follicle. So even if you’ve had the blood test show negative for excess androgens it’s possible this is still a factor.
There can be a genetic component so have a look at both parents and grandparents and know that prolactin another hormone can cause the same type of hair loss so having this checked is essential.
What types of other things can contribute to hormonal hair thinning?
Inflammation
Elevated insulin
PCOS- One of the most common in my clinic.
Obesity
Excessive triglycerides
Hormonal withdrawals from coming off the pill
Post natal hormonal shifts
Menopause Hair loss…periods aren’t the only thing you loose.
Yes this transition in second puberty can and does contribute to hair loss and thinning in women.
As hormone levels shift and you see drops in progesterone it’s not uncommon to find that hair starts thinning and falling out in larger quantities.
With many women reporting a change in their hair quality around this time also.
The good news is there are plenty of things you can do to help bolster your hair growth and decrease the amount of hair falling out. Topical as well as internal nutraceuticals.
When you’re next in to see your naturopath mention this as a concern so that they can help guide you to the right testing and options for you.
To find out more about how a naturopath can help with this transition to menopause head over here.
Testing for hair loss in women
Having experienced hair loss myself I know how much stress and anxiety it can cause especially socially. For me being chronically ill with chronic fatigue syndrome and having had years of antibiotic interventions I found myself with less than half the amount of hair than was normal for me.
While I knew the main cause was the chronic illness and medications I had been on for over two years, I still had to take a deep dive into my nutritional status and of course found multiple deficiencies.
There are so many tests you can have done both through your GP, and functional pathology labs however the key thing here is a good case history of your health problems should direct your health practitioner to which tests are most essential for you.
As a baseline you might want to start discussing these with your health practitioner:
Thyroid panel- TSH, T3 & T4 as well as thyroid antibodies
Iron studies & B12
Testosterone, Prolactin & Progesterone
Zinc and copper
CRP
White blood cells and any relevant auto-immune panels for you.
Vitamin D
Viral assessments if your hair loss was preceded with an infection
Functional Pathology Testing For Female Hair Loss
Beyond this initial basic list there are a whole host of functional pathology tests that can be done in order to help identify what’s most likely causing your hair loss including:
The DUTCH hormone test- This is a comprehensive hormone test that is very useful if androgenic or stress related hair loss is suspected.
Hair tissue mineral analysis- Key for helping to identify potential heavy metal toxicity or issues with sub-optimal mineral levels.
Cortisol profile- Assessing your cortisol response throughout the day to see if this is a significant contributing factor. Many clients claim they’re not stressed however when we’ve looked at their bodies stress response we get a very different answer.
IgG & IgA- Sensitivity testing, this is particularly useful for women who may have a long standing allergy or sensitivity which may be contributing to the hair loss.
Amino Acid profile- to check for nutritional protein deficiencies which may be contributing.
Gene testing- This can be conducted to confirm presence of genes which may be contributing to the hair thinning.
As tempting as it is to rush out and have all the testing known to man, it’s important to work with a health practitioner who is experienced on this topic and can help guide you.
The proper testing will save you months or years of struggle and potentially loads of money usually spent on the wrong types of treatment. While it is a significant upfront expense the information can be game changing and of course it will help with total health and wellbeing.
You can think of your hair as a little barometer if that’s not healthy and well it’s possible there is a host of other symptoms or health issues just beneath the surface.
Hair loss treatment for women
There are two key goals with hair loss:
Keeping your hair in the growth phase (anagen phase)
Stimulate new and better quality hair growth
Halt excessive hair loss
The following list of potential treatments are general and not meant to be prescriptive in any way please consult with your health practitioner before starting any of the following:
Oral Silica- Is known to improve connective tissue (which your hair is) and in particular will improve the tensile strength and elasticity of hair strands.
Oral Collagen- Provides peptides that stimulate hair production, with the added benefit of improving your skin health.
There have several studies that have shown that micro-needling of the scalp with the application of some different substances topically has helped with hair loss. The needling helping to increase the depth to which the topicals can penetrate.
If androgens are an issue with hormonal hair loss then addressing these with the application of different herbal medicines and nutraceuticals.
Using things like green tea, saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pygeum.
If high cortisol is an issue there is an endless list of high quality herbal medicines that can help balance this out along side stress management protocols we can achieve a calmer and happier nervous system.
Castor oil treatments- something I use in the clinic and send clients home with for further care are very useful for a number of health conditions but with hair specifically because it’s known to decrease inflammation, improve immune system function, help with stress reduction, improve the elimination of wastes in the body and this list goes on.
LED light therapy for hair growth
LED therapy for both skin and hair conditions is becoming more popular now a days with the research supporting its ability to reduce inflammation and increase the circulation of nutrients to the hair shaft.
You can get both at home and in clinic devices to get your LED fix.
Micro needling for hair loss
I started out my career as a skin care therapist, working within a clinic that specialised in targeted skin treatments for problematic skin. This is where my passion for all things health and beauty really started and it was something I’ve continued to obsess over throughout the years.
One of the most interesting areas of research is the application of micro needling in combating the impacts of on ageing on skin and hair.
There are several studies that have supported the use of micro needling for hair loss and I could write an entire article on this topic.
While some clients shy away from this treatment due to a phobia of needles or the pain factor if you’re wanting to improve the growth of your hair this is one treatment that can really have significant impacts.
The use of the micro needles allows us to penetrate deeper with substances that are known to improve the growth of your hair. Using specific peptides which are even more effective and concentrated then PRP (protein rich plasma) this is the treatment which has received most attention in this space.
Some of the useful substances post needling? Quercetin, Reishi mushroom extract, certain pepetides have also been found to improve alopecia like GHK- copper, thymosin beta 4, the herb polygonum multiflorum and others. The application of these are dependant on the type of hair loss.
This is something that you should discuss as treating hair loss from the inside and out will get you thicker and more luscious hair faster.
While my issues with hair loss are well behind me I can say from personal experience if you’ve been bitten by the vanity bug and are just wanting to boost your locks, this treatment will see you improving the health and strength of your hair after 4-6 treatments.
You want to see a practitioner who has experience in this space and has knowledge of using the right substances for promoting hair health.
Naturopath for hair loss
One of the key things to remember is that as obvious as it sounds hair takes time to grow!
The benefits of your treatments can be seen within 4-8 weeks in that you may notice less hair falling out or small new hairs just starting to come through.
Generally speaking depending on the severity, the cause and of course the management plan we put in place for your hair loss you may be working with a naturopath for up to 6 months.
If you’re experiencing alopecia my advice to you is to not simply take the answer “It’s just genetic you’ll have to learn to live with it.” There is still a lot you can do to improve your hair growth. Also it’s important to remember that genes are expressed based on the environment they exist in. So you can carry the gene and have no symptoms.
A naturopath experienced in supporting with hair loss in women, will look at all contributing factors and can make a significant difference long term to helping you keep a healthy head of hair.
If you have any questions or want more information on booking an appointment please head across to this page, or fill out the contact form below.