How To Slow Hormonal Hair Loss, Naturally
Do you think you may be experiencing hormonal hair loss? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of women experience hair thinning and hair loss as they get older. But don’t worry, there are plenty of things you can do to stop and reverse the problem. In this post, we’ll discuss the causes of hair loss in women after 40, and we’ll also share some natural solutions that might help. So keep reading to learn more!
It is very distressing for women as we get into our forties to fifties and beyond to have to deal with hair thinning. I work with so many women that have their hair falling out in clumps. They would run their hands through their hair in the shower and see their fingers are just full of hair Some will find that they’re shedding throughout the day.
They sometimes feel like their hair is thinning more and they wonder if all of their hair will eventually fall out. We will then wonder why is this happening and why is it more common for women as they enter into their late thirties, early forties, and then into their fifties.
Shifting hormone levels
There are some things happening in this time of life with our female sex hormones. They’re definitely shifting and changing. There’s no doubt that when we have healthy levels of female sex hormones, our skin, our hair, and our nail health will be more optimal. As we get older, our hormone production slows down. This can mean that our hair quality might not be as good as it was when we were younger.
This doesn’t happen for everyone. We want to think of if this is happening to you and it can’t just be about the sex hormones. This is because if it was, then every single woman would have this happening and they don’t.
What I find is also prevalent for women in this age group, when they have hair thinning, is that they also often have some dysfunction or disruption to their thyroid gland. Many women don’t know that this is happening. If you don’t have optimal levels of T3 thyroid hormone, which is the usable form of thyroid hormone, it’s very common to have your hair breaking, cracking, being more dry, brittle, and falling out. We want to make sure if you haven’t already done it, that you have some particular thyroid lab testing done. We need to check all of the levels of your thyroid hormone, to make sure that everything is okay. If there is a problem with your thyroid hormone, we will do something about it.
There are some things you can do naturally to start healing the thyroid gland. A lot of it has to do with deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals. That’s on to my other common cause that women have of their hair starting to thin in this age group. One reason for hair thinning is the lack of absorption of key nutrients that help keep your hair healthy.
Hormonal Hair Loss & nutrient deficiencies.
Why would we have nutrient deficiencies to begin with?
There are a couple of different reasons.
Diet definitely plays a huge role. You may not be eating a healthy, balanced whole foods diet containing fruits and vegetables with lots of different colors and fiber. Or you’re probably eating foods that are high in sugar which causes more inflammation. That can impede or affect the absorption of your nutrients.
For some women, it’s more than this as well. Sometimes we’re not absorbing our nutrients properly because there is something going on at the absorption level in our gut. Nutrients are absorbed in our small intestines. If our small intestines are out of balance, they’re in dysfunction. There could be some inflammation going on in there.
There might be some imbalances in gut bacteria in that area of our digestive tract. We might not be breaking down and absorbing our foods, because we don’t have enough digestive enzyme production. All of these things can be related to why we don’t have our hair being at its optimal health.
Hormonal hair loss | what to do next?
When this is the case, we need to look at lab results. We need to be checking thyroid blood labs. We should check to see if there is anything wrong with our gut. This includes problems with digestion and absorption, as well as bacterial infections. As a functional medicine practitioner, I always make sure that we’re covering all bases with this. I know how distressing it can be to have your hair falling all over.
I also had a point in my life where my thyroid was dysfunctional and I didn’t know it. I was touching my hair and it was coming out in clumps. I didn’t understand at that point that I had an imbalance in my thyroid. For me, that was part of the solution. Even beyond that, we need to figure out why would the thyroid be out of balance.
One of the most common reasons for women is high levels of stress which raises our cortisol levels. This is one of the reasons our thyroid can start to go out of balance. Hair thinning or hair loss is related to high inflammation from eating the wrong types of foods and not eating the right types of foods that have those key vitamins and minerals that allow you to maintain and improve your hair health.
Another possibility is you have some imbalances in your gut that you don’t know about. For example, maybe you have some sort of bacterial overgrowth. Candida overgrowth, which is very common, could be impeding the absorption of these nutrients. Even if you are eating foods righ in these nutrients, are you absorbing them properly?
As mentioned previously, stress levels that are too high will contribute to hair thinning. Stress that is way too out of balance will not allow you to absorb these key nutrients to help you to maintain your hair health.
I know many women who tell me that when they feel the stress, they actually feel that hair loss starts to accelerate. We really need to start thinking of solutions to help you. Not only with nutrient absorption, but also help you manage your stress.
If you’re not sure why you’re losing your hair, and you’ve tried to figure it out but haven’t been successful, please reach out to me. I might be able to help you find the root cause and solve the problem. We could work together to find a solution to help you regain your health both now, and in the long term.
While hair thinning is more commonly seen in women over 40-50, it can start earlier than that. And if left untreated, it can have a significant impact on overall well-being and confidence. We believe that the root causes of hair thinning are multifactorial, and stem from disruptions in sex hormone balance, thyroid function, gut health, and nutrition. Fortunately, these problems can be addressed with functional medicine practices like dietary changes, stress management techniques, and targeted supplementation. If you’re experiencing hair thinning and want to find out how we can help address the root causes, schedule a free discovery call with us today. We would love to chat with you about your concerns and see how we can help!
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DISCLAIMER: The information in this email is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content is for general informational purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional
