Hair Loss and Care

Most of our male customers are asking about hair re-growth solutions or hair loss prevention.

There are many hair loss causes. Some of them result in a temporary hair loss, others produce permanent hair loss, or at least something that is not easily reversed. Temporary hair loss is usually caused by toxicity (often from medications) or an illnesses, high stress, traumatic events or by terrible diet combined with exposure to a variety of toxins. Permanent hair loss is usually caused by hormonal imbalances. Hair is quite important to our personal image, and hair loss treatment is a big business.

We can deal with temporary hair loss by stimulating the dormant hair follicles. The first step is to identify the cause and eliminate it. Hair loss causes include major surgeries, skin disorders, fevers, infections, thyroid disease, lack of iron and protein, high levels of stress, some medications, and traumatic life events.

Thyroid dysfunction usually causes thinning hair all over the scalp. Natural iodine supplementation can help normalize thyroid function. See articles in the Health Education about iodine. Organic Silica is very important for all connective tissue – skin, nails and hair. Remember oats? It makes horses coats shine. That would be oats straw – not too tasty. In human nutrition we rely on horsetail (aha!), stinging nettle, and bamboo sap. We also can get organic silica in liquid form. Women may experience temporary hair loss following pregnancy because of hormonal changes. Because pregnant women have elevated levels of progesterone and reduced levels of estrogen, hair will go dormant too early. After childbirth, new hair will begin to grow, causing the hair that is in its resting phase to shed.

This usually happens three to six months after the birth. Hair will likely return to normal within a year. Permanent hair loss has usually much to do with hormonal imbalances. Elevated levels of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, can cause hair loss. DHT is a male hormone that is also found in women in smaller amounts. Because hair follicles are ultra-sensitive to DHT, an excess of the hormone often causes the hair to fall out. Propecia (a prescription drug) interferes with the production of DHT, so it can only stop further hair loss. Hair transplantation surgery replaces dormant hair follicles with hair follicles from your own head that are not DHT sensitive.

In his book, “Solved: The Riddle of Illness” Stephen Langer, M.D. points to the fact that symptoms of essential fatty acid insufficiency are very similar to hypothyroidism, and recommends evening primrose oil – an excellent source of essential fatty acids – as helpful for people with hypothyroidism. The usefulness of evening primrose oil, particularly in dealing with the issues of excess hair loss with hypothyroidism, was also reinforced by endocrinologist Kenneth Blanchard who wrote: “For hair loss, I routinely recommend multiple vitamins, and especially evening primrose oil. If there’s any sex pattern to it – if a woman is losing hair in partly a male pattern – then, the problem is there is excessive conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone at the level of the hair follicle. Evening primrose oil is an inhibitor of that conversion. So almost anybody with hair loss probably will benefit from evening primrose oil.”