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Hair fall
Hi B,
My 19 year old daughter is losing chunks of hair since a few weeks. All her blood tests are normal, and the derms are asking to try injections and hair loss serums, which she’s not comfortable with. She is stressing out a lot which is making matters worse. Her food intake is normal. She does use heat styling every week, although she has never had any hair colour or treatments before. Her sadness breaks my heart 🙁 is there any way to help her? Thank you. -
5 Replies
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Hi – I know how alarming it can feel to notice chunks of hair falling out. Is she losing hair all over or in specific spots that are creating bald spots? Can you also better describe how much hair she is losing? Only when she showers/brushes or is she noticing hair shedding everywhere all the time?
Have you seen the “Hair Loss” handout in the Symptom Dictionary yet? In it I share potential root causes to help you rule out possibilities like:
• Hypothyroidism
• Nutrient deficiencies such as iron, B12, biotin, zinc, essential fatty acids
• Hormone imbalances: insulin resistance, androgen dominance, post-partum hormonal shifts
• Stress (pushes hair follicles into a resting phase)
• Post-viral (depletes nutrients like folate/B9 needed for immune support)
• Infections of the skin or hair follicles
• Toxins: mold exposure, heavy metals
• Certain medicationsI also share initial action steps & supplements to consider.
Has anyone tested thyroid function, specific nutrients like iron, zinc and B12, blood sugar status, sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, DHEA), stress (cortisol).
Was she sick or did she go through a strong period of stress before the hair started falling out?
Any medications or exposures to toxins you’re aware of?
Just some initial questions to start ruling out some possibilities.
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Yes I have had a chance to read the hair loss handout, thank you.
She is losing hair all over, and it sheds throughout the day (more in the shower and while combing).
She isn’t on any medications and uses a sulphate free shampoo. There was a period of high stress 2 months ago and she also may have had exposure to mold in a span of 4 months because she was away from home at the time.
I will upload her blood test reports for your perusal. Thank you so much ♥️
[Untitled 1 1.pdf] -
Hey ,
Bernadette gave you lots of options to explore. Thank you for sharing her labs, because there are some pearls we can learn from them!
From this lab, I wouldn’t conclude that all her blood tests are normal. Just out of curiosity: are the doctors who examined her medical or paramedical dermatologists? And what did they diagnose her with?
Do you know if her hair is broken off near the scalp? Or did her hair fall out completely? Do you know if the doctors saw a fungal infection on the skin (mycosis)?
From these labs, I would conclude that a slow thyroid is at play. Her storage form of iron (ferritin) is on the low side indicating a suboptimal iron status. Iron is a necessary nutrient for thyroid hormone production.
Her vitamin D levels are also on the lower end of the reference range. This is important since vitamin D plays a role in thyroid hormone function as well.
Do you know if she was in a fasted state when she drew her blood? Insulin in a fasted state we would like to see between the 2-6. Everything above is indicative of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can elevate in women testosterone which may lead to PCOS. Although her testosterone levels aren’t above the upper limit of the reference range, they are high normal. Because she does show hair loss which could happen with PCOS, I would like to know if she experiences heavy or irregular periods.
From these labs I would be curious about some other nutrients needed for thyroid function like RBC zinc, Iodine and Selenium.
I would also like to see a full thyroid panel (TSH, fT4, fT3, anti-tpo, anti-tg and reverse T3 – certainly if she did experience a lot of stress). I probably would do these tests after correcting her iron.
I hope this helps!
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Thank you for the detailed response.
I believe the doctor is a medical dermatologist. After seeing my daughters reports she stated that she doesn’t seem to have any physical problem, and it may be due to stress (with no infection in the scalp). She just gave a prescription and said scalp injections could also help arrest it.
The hair is falling out from the root and not breaking off anywhere.
And yes she was fasting when the blood was taken for insulin. I noticed the higher than normal insulin too. But that could also happen due to stress?
She does experience periods twice a month occasionally, (heavy only on the first 2 days).
I have noted all the blood tests you have mentioned and will revert.
Have also attached the prescription below.[IMG_6737.jpg]
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Hi ,
I do believe stress for sure could play a role in hair loss. As Bernadette mentioned: stress can push hair follicles into a resting phase. A certain percentage of your hair follicles are always in Telogen. Stress can cause however more follicles to be in this resting phase. Then after a few months, the affected hair falls out. This is called Telogen Effluvium. It can happen that as a result of stressful events a few months hair starts to fall. Do you know if any stressful events occurred during that time?
Stress can lead to insulin resistance for sure. I do see her cortisol was measured. A blood draw of cortisol can be hard to evaluate since cortisol goes up and down during the day. Especially in the morning, we would like cortisol to go up quite quickly after waking up, then go down during the day.
I don’t know exactly when her blood was drawn, but I assume it was in the morning. Having cortisol on the lower end of the reference range makes me wonder if cortisol is optimal. Do you know if she feels tired in the morning? Or is she in need of coffee to get up and running? How does she feel in the evening? Does she feel like she has more energy there?
Could the doctor also explain how these products would help with stress?
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