Hair Loss: Is What You’re Losing Normal?
Hair; we groom it, we cut it, we color it, we curl it, we straighten it. Hair is a large component of our self-expression and how we present ourselves to the world! So when we begin to experience increased hair loss, it can create some serious panic. Why is my hair falling out more rapidly? Will I be able to grow it back? Is the amount of hair I am losing normal?
Normal hair turnover or shedding is a function of your hair growth cycle. Anyone—women, children, men alike—who brushes, washes, or even runs fingers through his or her hair will notice some hair loss. The average person loses around 100 strands a day! So when does hair loss become too much?
There is no concrete answer to these questions as normal hair loss can be different for every individual. However, if you begin to notice an increased amount of loss, thinning, or brittle hair, this may be related to an underlying health condition. The good news is most reasons for hair loss are temporary or reversible once you are able to determine the cause and treat the underlying issue. The most common reasons for hair loss are related to a combination of hormonal imbalance, genetics, stress and nutritional deficiencies.
Nutritional Deficiencies Can Increase Hair Loss
Hair loss can be due to a lack of nutritional balance or a vitamin or element being deficient in your diet. Some key components include:
- Low levels of iron in your blood—or anemia—can be a huge reason for hair loss. You can ensure you are getting enough iron in your diet by including foods like spinach, pumpkin seeds, grass-fed lean red meat and beans.
- A lack of protein. Proteins are the building blocks of your cells and very important for hair growth. If you are not getting enough proteins or a good variety of proteins, you may notice increased hair loss. This can be particularly important for vegetarians or vegans, who are not eating animal proteins. Females should be getting at least 60 grams of protein per day and males at least 70 grams per day.
- There is also a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential for your hair health. Vitamin E, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and B vitamins all play an important role in hair growth, repairing hair damage and maintaining thickness and shine. If you are deficient in even one of these nutrients, it can lead to a decrease in hair growth.
In general, eating a well-balanced whole foods diet high in essential proteins, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals should help reverse or avoid hair loss.
Emotional or Physical Stress Impact on Hair Loss
Stress is a common cause for hair loss, whether it is severe physical stress like recovering from an illness, high fever, crash diets, major surgery or injury, or extreme emotional stress or anxiety. During these times, your body focuses on essential body functions and shuts down others, hair growth being one. You might not begin to notice the hair loss for almost 3-6 months after the major stressor.
The good news is that this type of hair loss is usually temporary. And, by eliminating or reducing the stressor, hair growth returns. To help with hair regrowth when recovering from an illness or injury, ensure you are getting a well-balanced diet high in protein to help your body rebuild. To help reduce emotional stressors which come with your everyday life, ensure you are spending time on yourself. Activities like Yoga, deep breathing, Pilates, acupuncture or massage can help decrease stress and in turn help with hair regrowth.
Hormonal Imbalance & Your Hair
Hormonal imbalances are probably the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women. Excess androgens, or more specifically testosterone, turnover to a hormone called DHT, which causes rapid hair turnover leading to the well-known “male patterned baldness.” Although more common in men, this can affect both men and women.
However, excess androgens are not the only hormonal imbalance that play a role in hair loss. Large hormonal shifts are another well-known cause. Hair loss can be common during or right after pregnancy and during menopause when hormones can drop rapidly. However, hormones can become unbalanced for many reasons and are all very connected to one another, so it is important to ensure all of your hormones are balanced so that they are not contributing to your hair loss. Other hormonal shifts that can lead to hair loss include:
- Low thyroid hormone
- Low progesterone
- High cortisol
- Excess estrogens
- Excess androgens (DHT)
- Low testosterone
- Insulin resistance
Now It’s Your Turn
Because you’re interested in healthier hair, here’s one more thing you should know.
For years, I struggled with hair loss.
In fact, I was shedding so much hair, so quickly, my doctors told me I’d be bald in my thirties.
As you can imagine, my hair problems made me miserable.
And, like you, I started reading, researching, and trying different things to stop my hair loss.
For example, I discovered that my diet was a driving cause of my hair loss. And that when I added the amino acid l-cysteine and B vitamins into my diet my hair loss slowed… and I even started regrowing thicker, stronger hair.
It didn’t happen overnight. But within a couple of weeks my hair was noticeably thicker and shinier. I wanted to cry from joy!
But I didn’t stop there.
I started testing combinations of additional herbs, vitamins, and nutrients on my quest for healthy hair.
Eventually, I perfected a formula that includes l-cysteine and B vitamins, minerals like iron and magnesium, and potent organic herbal extracts.
I take this formula every day.
Not only did it save my hair (and spare me from the stress and embarrassment of hair loss)… my hair actually looks better now than it did when I was in college!
So what is this formula that’s done so much for my hair? I call it Lush Locks.
Lush Locks is doctor-formulated, all-natural, free from toxic fillers and ingredients, produced in a female-managed facility that observes strict CGMP requirements for purity, potency, and quality, and is the only hair growth supplement I use and recommend to friends, family, and patients.
In fact, Lush Locks is the very same formula I give my patients here at my clinic in Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s helped hundreds of my patients regrow healthy, shiny, luscious hair. And now it’s your turn.