Surprising Reasons Your Hair May Be Falling Out

You may think it’s part of Menopause and yes, hormones are involved, but there are also other reasons you may not have considered.

It is always concerning when you start to see more hair in your hairbrush, or coming out when you wash it, so could one of these be behind it?

Medication

Check the side effects of the drugs you’re taking — hair loss may be on the list.

Particularly check for conditions that are common at menopause such as arthritis, depression, high blood pressure, heart problems, or even gout.

Those medications can affect hair loss as can those for acne, supplements high in vitamin A, or anabolic steroids.

You are low in Iron

Iron helps keep your hair healthy and, most importantly,  you need it to make haemoglobin.

Heavy bleeding is the most common cause of iron deficiency anaemia often due to heavy menstruation. When levels drop, so can your hair.

Other clues that low iron is to blame for your hair loss are brittle nails, yellow or pale skin, shortness of breath, weakness, and a fast heartbeat.

Stress

If the stress is severe and ongoing it can sometimes make your body’s immune system turn on itself and attack your hair follicles.

Stress will also affect your hormones and worry and anxiety can also pause your hair growth, which makes hair more likely to fall out when you brush.

Weight loss surgery

You’re more likely to deal with this post-surgery symptom if your zinc levels are low, but it’s common to lose some hair after bariatric surgery.

Your doctor may recommend a zinc supplement to help halt your hair loss but boosting your progesterone levels can increase hair growth.

Low protein levels

A body low on protein finds a way to save it where it can, and unfortunately that includes halting hair growth.

If your levels fall then about 2 to 3 months after that, hair starts to drop out. Adding more protein from meat, eggs, fish, nuts, seeds, and beans to your meals can pack more protein into your diet.

Birth control

At menopause many women use hormonal birth control such as oral contraceptives, implants, injections, vaginal rings and patches to help with heavy bleeding as well as to prevent conception.

However these can trigger hair loss if you have a history of it in your family.

Discuss with your doctor a non-hormonal option such as a copper coil that may help you keep more of your hair.

Stopping hormonal birth control

Not only can starting hormonal birth control kick off hair loss, so can quitting.

You’ll probably notice a change several weeks or months after you stop.

Not being kind to your hair  

Sometimes it’s your styling routine that’s to blame when your hair starts to break or fall out.

Using too much shampoo, brushing or combing your hair when it’s wet, rubbing hair dry with a towel, or brushing too hard or too often can all cause hair to break.

Heat and chemicals  

Daily use of blow-dryers and heated styling appliances can dry out your hair and make it easier for it to break and fall out.

Over use of bleach, hair dye, relaxers, and hair sprays can do the same thing.

Make conditioning a priority each time you wash, and try a deeper nourishing product at least once a month.

Check your overall health

We really don’t tend to think of her loss having anything to do with our overall health, but that just isn’t true.

Hair loss is a symptom of more than 30 diseases, including PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), ringworm on your scalp, thyroid disorders, and autoimmune diseases.

You can also lose hair when you have the flu, a high fever, or an infection.

Smoking

Your hair isn’t immune to the damage smoking can cause to your overall health.

Toxins in cigarette smoke can interfere with your hair follicles and keep hair from growing and staying on your head.

Peri/Menopause

The shifting hormones during this time can speed up shedding but generally it should go away after about 6 months.

However if you notice your parting getting wider, or hair loss at the top and crown of your head, talk to your doctor.

You may have female pattern hair loss, which can be treated.

Eating disorders

Both anorexia (not eating enough) and bulimia (throwing up after you eat) can make your hair fall out because your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs to grow and maintain healthy hair.

These are serious disorders and need to be treated by a team of health professionals, dieticians, and other medical specialists.

Alternative help

Of course hormones do play their part and low progesterone levels can be linked to hair loss, particularly in PCOS and at menopause, so do check this is not a reason.

Scientists from the University of California, Irvine, looked at past research into the effectiveness of more than 20 alternative hair loss remedies.

It found many had little evidence to suggest they worked or had been found to not work at all.

However, some alternative therapies in the test were looked on more favourably by the researchers.

As well as rosemary oil and caffeine, zinc, onion juice, the hormone melatonin, plant extract saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil and marine proteins – supplements made from sharks and molluscs – were all found to have promise.

The scientists wrote: ‘Rosemary oil appeared to be a safe nonprescription alternative for [androgenetic alopecia], and the results of this study merit further investigation.’

They added: ‘Topical caffeine shows potential for hair loss’ and said more studies were needed.

Marine proteins led to ‘significant improvements’ in a trial, onion juice led to ‘full hair regrowth’ in some places and pumpkin seed oil ‘is a promising treatment’ for the top of the head, the study said.

Helpful information: 

I hope this has given you some other factors to consider that might be relevant in your case.

Do make sure your stress levels, nutrition and hormone balance are all functioning optimally to reduce the risk of hair loss.

Women tend to underestimate the effect that stress has on their symptoms, but it affects everything from your hormones to your general health.

Your diet too is important, so here’s some extra help with that.

https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/top-10-foods-for-healthy-hair/