You won’t have thicker hair by Christmas, but you can stop thinning hair soon. It will take some time to start to see new growth, but thinning hair can be corrected. Understanding why your hair is failing to grow or falling out is the first step.

So many patients come to my office on hair supplements, but I cannot remember a single case that was helped. There are some Chinese herbs that might be effective, but most commercial vitamins, including Biotin, are not. It takes a special understanding of hair and body chemistry to correct the deficiencies that may contribute to hair loss.

First consider your general health picture. Is your skin dry? Are you overweight? Do you live a sedentary lifestyle, sitting all day and rarely exercising? Are you eating junk or processed food or too much sugar? Do you have digestive upset or bloating?

So, Reason Number One for thinning hair is unhealthy lifestyle. Think of hair (and skin) as an end product of what goes on inside your body. You would not expect prize-winning roses to grow in a garbage dump. So don’t expect thick luscious hair if you treat your body like a dump. Doing a cleanse and changing your diet to include plenty of nutrients from whole foods may be the first step. Exercise to get blood circulating and get plenty of sleep.

Reason Number Two is hypo (low or underactive) thyroid. If you went to your doctor and had blood work and were told that your thyroid is “fine,” understand what that means. The interpretation of blood work is geared towards disease that can be medicated or demands surgery.  Your thyroid hormones may not be in balance or sufficient, but if you don’t show a thyroid disease state your hypothyroid condition may be not recognized. Difficulty losing weight, fatigue, mental fog, high cholesterol, constipation and dry skin are all signs of a thyroid that is not functioning well enough. Coarse and falling hair is also a symptom of thyroid issues.

Finding a holistic doctor or nutritionist, who can help balance your thyroid and make sure that your other glands are also working well, is the best solution. The thyroid is the conductor to your hormonal orchestra, and glands never operate without communicating with other glands.

Reason Number Three happens when thyroid medication does not fully address the problem of hypothyroid. Synthroid is prescribed based on a pituitary hormone called TSH-Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Synthroid can cause thinning hair because the thyroid hormones are not well-balanced. Ask your doctor if you can switch to Armour Thyroid or another natural thyroid medicine. Synthroid can be helped to work correctly, with the addition of correct natural medicine or minerals, and that can stop your hair from falling out. Ask your hair stylist about Synthroid and many will tell you that it is one of the major reasons their clients are losing hair.

Reason Number Four is gall bladder/liver congestion. Gall bladder is the organ that performs fat metabolism and the liver is one of the main filters in the body. Find out about doing a liver/gall bladder cleanse and get a dietary evaluation to restore liver health. A healthy liver is vital for healthy hair and skin.

Reason Number Five is insufficient protein, or poorly digested protein. Hair is made up of protein called Keratin. If you are eating a vegan or vegetarian or bread-atarian diet, you may not be getting the protein your body needs to make new hair. Also, if you cannot digest the protein you are eating, you may not get the benefit. If you feel heavy after a protein meal, or have stinky gas, start taking digestive enzymes. You should also consider doing a cleanse to get rid of any build-up of undigested protein. A cleanse is always a good boost to hair and skin.

Reason Number Six is high sugar, carb, or alcohol diet, which depletes vital minerals. Some minerals, like iron, may be lost during the menstrual cycle. Other minerals may be missing from the diet, if whole foods are not eaten. This is another argument for eating organic food whenever possible. Organic produce may have more minerals than commercial produce, and will certainly have less pesticide contamination for the liver to detox.

Drugs of any kind will deplete the body’s supply of nutrients quickly. Coffee and tea may contain anti-oxidants but they also are diuretics, which may pull minerals out of the body.

So, if your hair is thinning, it is a sign that there are some deficiencies or imbalances and it is time for some correction. Not only will you look better, but your over-all health will be improved. You probably have other symptoms that you don’t realize are connected.

Stop counting the number of hairs you see in your brush or on your pillow.

At Well Body Clinic we help identify the causes for hair loss and get them corrected by treating the underlying cause. Call us at 818-562-1400 to book a free 15-minute consultation on hair loss.