Can Hormone Imbalance Cause Hair Loss

How Can Hair Loss Be Treated

Youve heard the ads and infomercials touting the latest scheme for regrowing hair and ending thinning. Heres the reality. Lets walk through the available options.

• Minoxidil Minoxidil is the only over-the-counter medication for hair loss approved by the FDA for use by both men and women. It wont return hair to areas it has left, but it will slow hair loss. Brand names are Rogaine and Theroxidil. These products, and the generic form, work for about two thirds of men and women. They are most effective when the patient is under age 40 and has just begun to lose his or her hair.
• A Prescription strength pill is also available but it is used for blood pressure.

• Finasteride Finasteride is a prescription oral tablet used to treat male pattern hair loss. Brand name is Propecia. Also prescribed to treat an enlarged prostate, finasteride works by decreasing the amount of the hormone dihydrotestosterone in your body. DHT normally causes the prostate gland to grow larger, but the decrease also leads to increased hair growth and decreased hair loss. Finasteride doesnt affect hair growth on other parts of the body.
• Anti-Androgen Therapy Androgens include testosterone and other male hormones. These can accelerate hair loss in women. Some women who dont respond to minoxidil may benefit from the addition of the anti-androgen drug spironolactone for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia, commonly known as female pattern hair loss.

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What Does Hormonal Hair Loss Look Like

The first thing to think about if you are concerned you might be suffering from a hormonal loss is what the loss might look like. Different types of loss present themselves differently and can give clues as to what the trigger of the loss could be. So what does hormonal hair loss look like in women?

It is important to realize that hormonal hair loss looks very different in women than it does in men. Men will typically get a horseshoe-shaped loss or a bald spot on the back of the head. Women do not get this pattern of loss.

When women experience hormonal hair loss it is more of an overall thinning. The hair all over the scalp becomes thinner due to the hormonal change or imbalance. If you are noticing that your hair is becoming increasingly thin and cant seem to stop it, you may actually be struggling with a hormone-driven loss.

Very Surprising Symptoms Of Hormone Imbalance

Anxiety, feeling of dread, apprehension & doom

We all know about Hot Flashes, Night Sweats & Vaginal dryness but take a look at these rather surprising symptoms. These symptoms can also be helped with natural Progesterone crème. Dont accept these Terrible Twelve as oh, well, Im just getting old. No, no, no.Its hormones!

1. Anxiety, feelings of dread, apprehension & doomThe shifting levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone play a part in the mood swings and ups and downs that accompany PMS and pregnancy. During menopause, those same hormones fluctuate and free fall, often impacting moods and possibly amplifying any anxiety symptoms a woman already feels.

3. Itchy Crawly SkinHormones regulate the moisture levels of your tissues and stimulate the production of collagen. As the levels of hormones in your body fall, so does the amount of collagen and skin-moistening oils produced. Skin to become dry and irritated. You can find yourself scratching at all hours of the day. Progesterone helped me and it can help you, too.

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What Are Some Examples Of What An Imbalance Of These Hormones Can Do To Your Hair

Vitamin D aka cholecalciferol , while termed to be a vitamin, behaves very much like hormone. Vitamin D3 and especially, the Vitamin D Receptor has been studied extensively in hair loss conditions and has been found to be an important factor in the formation of hair follicles in animal studies. Genetically-modified VDR deficient mice were born hairless! It is estimated that 91% of female pattern hair loss sufferers, 90% of chronic telogen effluvium sufferers and 83% of alopecia areata sufferers were found to be Vitamin D deficient. There are academic debates about how much Vitamin D is sufficient for good hair health but there is general consensus that a level of 30ng/mL of Vitamin D3 is a good blood level. In Singapore, it is estimated that 40% of people could be Vitamin D deficient.

Dihydrotestosterone is a more potent form of the male hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is present in both men and women and controls many functions of development, sexual maturity and function, sebaceous activity etc. Testosterone naturally breaks down into dihydrotestosterone and oestrogen in the body. When DHT levels are higher, this potent androgen binds to receptors at the hair follicle, initiating an inflammatory cascade that leads to hair follicle damage and eventual dormancy. Some people will not be susceptible to this type of damage as the hair follicle androgen receptors do not react to DHT.

Hair Loss Happens As We Age

About half of all women will have some element of hair loss by the age of 50, and by the age of 60, approximately 80 percent of women will experience some hair loss, says Glynis Ablon, MD, an associate clinical professor at the University of California in Los Angeles and a dermatologist at Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center in California.

We all know hair loss or balding can happen to men in midlife, but we dont talk about it as much when it comes to women, she says. It usually impacts women in a different way, especially their self-confidence. Someone like Bruce Willis can just shave their head look fine, but it tends to be a bigger deal for women, says Dr. Ablon.

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The good news: Various treatments are available to address hair loss in menopausal women, says Stephanie S. Faubion, MD, the director of the Center for Womens Health at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the medical director of NAMS. There are simple fixes for female pattern hair loss, but we shouldnt assume that is always the reason for hair loss sometimes there are underlying issues causing the condition, says Dr. Faubion.

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What Causes Hair Loss In Women

When most people hear the words hair loss, they think of balding men. However, hair loss can also be a significant problem for women. Female hair loss can occur for several reasons, from a genetic sensitivity to certain androgenic hormones to reactive factors.

Weve listed the most common causes of female hair loss below, as well as the specific ways in which each cause can affect your hairline.

Could Your Hormones Be The Reason Behind Your Premature Hair Loss

Whether you like it or not, your hormones are responsible in a big way for how your skin and hair feel and behave. Breaking out heavily on your jawline? Or are you finding hair growing in places on your face its not supposed to? Or perhaps, you feel like your hair simply doesnt have the volume it used to have? Most likely, its your hormones to blame. While many hormonal changes and imbalances are just a part of getting older, the effect they have can be reduced or aggravated based on your diet and lifestyle. We got Dr Harshna Bijlani, celebrity skin expert and medical head of The AgeLess Clinic, to break it down for us and share everything you should know about how your hormones affect your hair at every stage of your life.

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Can Hormone Imbalance Cause Hair Loss

A2020 studypublished in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences reveals thatboth the hair cycle and hair follicle structure are highly affected by hormone levels.

Can hormone imbalance cause hair loss?

Definitely.

In fact, an imbalance of hormones is the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women.

And in both sexes, the incidence of hair loss increases with age.

If you are concerned about current or future hair loss,Nutrition Response Testingat HealthierU can identify any hormonal imbalance you may have and determine the exact lifestyle and dietary changes you need to make to restore your hair growth.

Hormonal Imbalance And Weight Gain

Hormones play an integral role in metabolism and your bodys ability to use energy. Hormone disorders, such as Cushing syndrome, can cause you to become overweight or develop obesity.

People with Cushing syndrome have high levels of cortisol in their blood. This leads to an increase in appetite and fat storage.

Hypothyroidism, if the condition is severe, can also lead to weight gain.

During menopause, many women gain weight because the metabolism slows down. You may find that even though youre eating and exercising like normal, you still gain weight.

The only way to treat weight gain from a hormone disorder is to treat the underlying condition.

During a normal, healthy pregnancy, your body goes through major hormonal changes. This is different than a hormonal imbalance.

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Which Hormone Increases Hair Growth

Androgens, which include a reasonable amount of testosterone, are responsible for stimulating hair growth on the face, body, and head. Women also have adrenal glands, but the androgen produced is of a very small amount. It is important to understand that moth male and female hormones are responsible for hair growth.

Extreme Hair Care And Hair Loss

Lets face it: women take pride in their hair. They clean it, color it, cut it, style it, wear it up, down and off to the side. While it may look good now, women should consider the potential damage theyre doing to their hair. In addition to brushing, blow-drying and styling, women also use a variety of aerosol sprays, styling gels, chemical straighteners and dyes that not only damage the hair follicles, but also cause irritation of the scalp. If youre experiencing hair loss as result of extreme hair care, your first order of business is to ditch the products that are damaging your hair. If hair growth is not restored within a few months, treatment may be necessary.

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What Hormones Cause Hair Loss In Males

If you are a man, the stats for maintaining a full head of hair can look grim.

Approximately 35 million men in the United States will suffer some type of hair loss during their lifetime.

And roughly 25 percent of men with hereditary male pattern baldness begin losing their hair before their 21st birthday.

By the time they reach 35, around66 percent of all menwill have some degree of hair loss.

While genetics play a major role in hair loss, hormones are also a huge piece of the hair loss puzzle.

Ultimately,testosterone and thyroid levels are to blamefor hormonal imbalance hair loss in men.

Solutions For Low Estrogen And Hair Loss

If your doctor suspects that your hair loss is caused by a lack of estrogen then he may offer you supplementary estrogen known as Hormone Replacement Therapy either taken orally or applied topically as a gel or patch.

Some women are given the birth control pill to boost their estrogen levels.

That being said, estrogen supplementation is still somewhat controversial, with some sources pointing out that there are no controlled medical studies supporting its effectiveness, whilst others stating that

estrogen deficiency as a cause of hair loss has not found its way into medical textbooks, but this does not stop it from happening.

Some women report seeing a big improvement in their hair loss once their estrogen levels are supplemented, others not so much.

But its worth bearing in mind that different people react in different ways to supplementation based on all sorts of factors.

Its best not to decide upon YOUR plan of action by comparing yourself to others rather, we recommend discussing the situation with your doctor or even better endocrinologist.

We also recommend ensuring that it really IS low estrogen thats causing your hair loss.

Later in this article well look at other ways in which estrogen and hair loss are connected ways that may explain why supplementary estrogen doesnt work for everyone and may even make hair loss worse.

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Hormonal Changes In Women

There are several times in life when the hormones of a woman can shift significantly. Some of these instances can actually go back to normal once the event is over. However, there are some that will not go back to normal because it is a permanent natural shift. But there are situations when the hormones should have evened out but stay in a state of imbalance and could cause hair loss or other issues until it is resolved.

What Hormone Causes Hair Loss In Women

It is a common question when it comes to hair loss in women. What hormone actually causes the loss? Is there only one particular hormone or can different hormones that can cause it?

For men and women, there is one hormone that is lurking behind the hormonal hair loss that they are experiencing. It is a hormone that is present at some level in both women and men.

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Can Hair Loss Due To Hormone Imbalance Be Reversed

Our hormones do a lot of work for us beyond making teenagers moody and distracted. Throughout our lives, hormones continue to perform vital functions for our overall health and well-being. But our bodies are imperfect machines and can either produce too many or too few of the hormones we need. These imbalances can throw normal processes out of whack, including the natural hair growth cycle.

Many cases of hair loss can be traced, in whole or in part, to hormone imbalances. Fortunately, medication and other treatments are available to restore balance to hormones and restore hair lost because of overactive or underactive hormone production.

How Do Hormones Affect Hair Growth and Loss?

Multiple hormones can impact the growth, strength, and health of our hair. The most common problems with hormone imbalances that can contribute to hair shedding and loss include:

Medication and Other Treatments to Restore Balance and Restart Hair Growth

If you are experiencing hair loss and want to address the issue, the first step is identifying the causes behind the problem. Your physician plays an indispensable role in that process, including testing you for hormone and glucose imbalances. If you are indeed having trouble with hormone production, your doctor can prescribe medication which can help restore balance. Lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet, exercise, and stress reduction will also help you get your hormone levels back on track.