Is there anything more distressing as a woman than pulling out clumps of your hair in the shower?
If this is you, I know how you feel, I went through this myself during a period of chronic illness. It felt like an unfair double-whammy to have my outer appearance start to reflect just how poorly I was functioning and feeling on the inside.
Consequently, it’s an area I’ve put a lot of time and energy into researching.
Hair loss can be a symptom of underlying health issues such as chronic stress, thyroid disorders, nutritional deficiencies (iron, protein), hormonal changes (pregnancy/post-partum, PCOS, menopause), autoimmunity, genetics or certain medications.
But today I want to spotlight the role iron has in hair loss – it is the most common deficiency globally and a good first place to look if you notice your hair is thinning.
🩸 Iron and hair health
Iron plays a critical role in hair health and growth. It is essential for the production of haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the hair follicles.
Adequate oxygen supply is crucial for hair growth, as follicles rely on oxygen to support their metabolic activities.
Low iron levels can result in a condition known as telogen effluvium, where hair prematurely enters the shedding phase.
🔎 Telogen effluvium presents as diffuse hair thinning – thinning across the scalp, rather than in distinct patches or patterns, such as a receding hair line, or crown thinning.
Low iron can occur due to poor dietary intake, poor absorption of iron (conditions such as Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease), parasites, and increased losses (for example, heavy menstrual bleeding and gastrointestinal ulcers).
😴 Signs of iron deficiency
Aside from hair thinning/loss, signs of iron deficiency include –
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Breathlessness
- Feeling light-headed on standing
- Headaches
- Cold hands and feet
- Brittle nails, spoon-shaped nails
- Pale skin, pale inner eyelids
🔬 Iron assessment
To get the full story on your iron status, you will need to look beyond ferritin. I recommend a complete blood count (to assess haemoglobin) and full iron studies, which include:
- Serum iron
- Transferrin
- Transferrin saturation, and
- Ferritin
Ferritin is the cellular storage protein for iron. It reveals how much iron is ready and waiting at the depot to be picked up for delivery to the tissues. By assessing transferrin and transferrin saturation at the same time, we can see whether there are enough taxis for pick-up (transferrin), and how many ‘iron passengers’ are on the way out for delivery (transferrin saturation).
Having a C-reactive protein (CRP) taken simultaneously will help rule out whether there is inflammation confounding results (inflammation will falsely elevate ferritin).
Iron studies should be taken after fasting for 5-12 hours. Make sure you avoid iron supplements in the 24 hours prior.
🥩 Correcting a deficiency
If you have determined you are in fact iron deficient, supplementation is only part of the story. You will also need to consider why you were low in the first instance.
This may involve some dietary tweaking, gut work, and hormonal balance, to alleviate heavy menstrual bleeding.
I can help you put a holistic plan in place, please don’t just rely on Ferrograd C – it’s poorly absorbed and tends to constipate.
🌿 Top tip
Finally, rosemary essential oil (topically) has been shown to be just as effective as 2% Minoxidil for the treatment of hair loss, without the nasty side effects [Source]. It works by acting as a potent antioxidant at the level of the hair follicle.
There are a number of products on the market that have safely diluted rosemary oil ready for topical application. I have found Holistic Hair Essential Scalp Spray and Purely Essential Revive & Thrive Hair Spritz to work well, particularly if you use daily and start with a gentle 5-minute scalp massage to increase circulation.
Both these formulas are non-greasy. Instead of oil, they have been diluted in vinegar and aloe vera gel respectively.
This may be a nice adjunct to your protocol while you address the root cause.
Hope that helps, for 1:1 support, you can book a consult with me here.
Much love,
Lauren.
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