4 Hormones that Cause Hair Loss + 5 Steps to Restore Your Hair

Your hormones being out of balance can lead to a whole host of symptoms, including hair loss. Here are 4 hormones that can cause your hair to fall out:

1. Estrogen

Estrogen stabilizes your mood, helps you feel energized and vital, and contributes to your libido. But too much estrogen can cause your hair to thin.

Causes of too much estrogen include environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors, excess body fat, high stress, poor gut health and a sluggish liver.

2.  Thyroid

Hypothyroidism (low thyroid) can cause many symptoms, including hair loss, cold intolerance, excessive weight gain or difficulty losing weight. Since the majority of cases of hypothyroidism are due to autoimmunity, I recommend working with an experienced health care practitioner to treat the root cause, while also helping you to restore your hair growth.

3. Testosterone

When you think testosterone, you may be think hair growth. However, too much of the wrong kind of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can lead to hair loss. In women, excess testosterone can cause hair growth on the chin, upper lip, chest and abdomen, in addition to thinning on the scalp.

4. Insulin

Insulin is responsible for more than just regulating your blood sugar. It also has a pivotal role to play in fat storage. Increased body fat leads to excess estrogen, which can cause hair loss. Early hair loss in life has been associated with insulin resistance. In fact, hair loss can be an early sign that your body is struggling to keep blood sugar in balance.

5 Steps to Restoring Your Hair               

Because it can take several months to regrow your hair, I recommend intervening early and finding the root cause to stop hair loss and restore your hair. Here are the 5 steps I have all my patients take when they are experiencing hair loss.  

1. Test Don’t Guess.

I recommend comprehensive testing that explores common causes of hair loss and that takes your individual story into account.

I recommend the following tests as a starting point to understanding your hair loss: complete blood count, ferritin, thyroid panel, estrogen, testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, progesterone, insulin, hemoglobin A1C.

Depending on your individual symptoms and history, you may require additional testing.

2. Eat Your Vegetables.

Eating a diet that is rich in vegetables increases essential nutrients, fiber and can aid in better blood sugar control. The fiber in vegetables also maintains a healthy gut and allows your body to move out any unnecessary or excess estrogen.

3. Include Seeds in Your Diet.

Specifically, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. Pumpkin seeds prevent testosterone from being converted to DHT and provide the body with zinc, which supports hormones and gut health. Flax seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids and beneficial fiber to move out excess estrogen. Flax seeds also help increase sex hormone binding globulin, a protein that binds excess hormones.

4. Fix Your Gut.

I’ve yet to see a case of hormone imbalance that doesn’t have some level of gut dysfunction. If your gut is unhealthy you will not be able to absorb important hair building nutrients, remove unnecessary hormones from your system or reduce inflammation in your body.

5. Manage Your Stress.

Stress is exhausting for the body to handle. One mechanism it has is to shut down your progesterone production and promote cortisol. When progesterone drops, estrogen is left unopposed and can cause you to shed excess hair. By practice stress reducing techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, exercise, yoga and biofeedback, you can reduce your stress and encourage your body to grow back those beautiful locks.

There’s no quick fix for hair loss, but by addressing the underlying cause and working to restore hormonal health, you can prevent yourself from losing more hair down the drain.

If you haven’t yet, please download my free guide, Top 10 Supplements to Support Your Hormones. QUESTION: Have you ever struggled with thinning hair? What other tips have you tried for healthy hair? Please let us know if the comments section below!]]>