hormones and hair loss: what you should know.

Your thinning hair or hair loss may be due to a hormonal imbalance. Your hair can tell you a lot about your overall health. Sometimes your hair growth is stunted, when the body goes into crisis mode, while it redirects energy to other cells in the body. Hair loss is oftentimes the first sign of trouble! While age is definitely a factor of hair loss, many people experiencing thinning hair are attributing it to hormonal imbalances. It is estimated that 1 in 5 women experience some form of hair loss. Women are affected less than men as they have more estrogen, which helps to balance the affects of androgens or dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT_Blocking_hair.png What is Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)? Simply put, it is dried up testosterone. When the DHT bonds to the hair follices, it blocks the hair from being able to grow normally or even sprout through the follicle. In order to restimulate that hair growth, DHT needs to be broken down and then continually blocked from attaching to the follicle again to maintain hair growth. What are some of the cases in which hormones can be the culprit of thinning hair? 1.Thyroid problems Thyroid_gland.jpg Hair growth depends on proper function of the thyroid. Too much of the thyroid hormone can result in thin hair and too little of it can result in hair loss on the scalp and body. 2. Emotional Stress – When the adrenal gland becomes overworked it produces a stress hormone called “cortisol”. This hormone causes the body to produce more adrenaline, testosterone, and subsequently DHT. 3. Post-Pregnancy After pregnancy, a woman’s hormones are in dissaray. Here’s what’s going on. Normally, about 85 to 95 percent of the hair on your head is growing and the other 5 to 15 percent is in a resting stage. After the resting period, this hair falls out — often while you’re brushing or shampooing it — and is replaced by new growth. An average woman sheds about 100 hairs a day. During pregnancy, increased levels of estrogen prolong the growing stage. There are fewer hairs in the resting stage and fewer falling out each day, so you have thicker hair! After you give birth, your estrogen levels drop and a lot more hair follicles enter the resting stage. Soon you’ll have more hair coming out in the shower or on the brush. This unusual shedding will taper off and your hair will be back to its pre-pregnancy thickness about six to 12 months after you give birth. 4. Medications A variety of medications can result in hair loss in women. The most common is birth control. According to the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA), it’s recommended that women should consider using a low-androgen index birth control pill to avoid the effects of DHT, especially women with a predisposition to hair loss. The AHLA adds that women should be cautious with any hormonal medication or therapy, as they can all trigger hair loss. hormonalimbalance_chart.jpg SOLUTION: Testing your female hormones: estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones and cortisol, is essential to determine if your hair loss is hormonal or genetic. If it is a hormonal imbalance, your doctor or nurse practitioner can prescribe bioidentical hormones made by a compounding pharmacy to help balance your hormone levels. To restimulate your hair loss, contact HPIHair to find the right treatment for you! Call us TODAY at 615-662-8722 for a complimentary consultation. The sooner we see you, the sooner we can resolve your hair thinning or hair loss issues.