Just seen this on Hair...

[LindaC]

Seen a few comments on here regarding hair [age is one thing, thyroid quite another] so wonder if this might be worth a try? Hope it works, give a shout if it doesn't.

theheartysoul.com/what-hair...

[shaws Administrator]

Thanks. You have to read quickly before it asks for your email address.

One sentence did catch my eye:

"'What are you other symptoms? Weight gain, irregular periods, acne and hair growth on the face can indicate PCOS, which also can cause loss of scalp hair due to higher-than-normal testosterone levels.

These are all identical as well to hypothyroidism which is interesting.

[LindaC in reply to shaws]

I know shaws, more and more are doing that now - I'll see if I can capture more and post it below. It is interesting. Hair is the one thing we all either worry about or fear for... I had a mane, still a reasonable covering but... hey, sometimes we have to be thankful that we can just about manage.

[LindaC in reply to LindaC]

Some condensing:

We all know the importance of having a good hair day. Sometimes seemingly shallow, trivial health concerns act as gateways to lifestyle changes and a journey to health and wellbeing. It therefore becomes an important initial warning sign that things have gone array with our health.

Hair loss is often a concern for many women and men. It’s normal to notice a few strands of hair in the shower—the average woman loses about 50 to 100 strands of hair per day. However, when patches of hair seem to be missing, areas of thinning are present or a reduction in overall hair volume (usually indicated by a decrease in thickness of the pony tail), this can point to possible pathological hair loss.

History and Labs:

When coming in to see your naturopathic doctor, he or she may ask you the following questions:

Do you notice any itchiness or flaking of the scalp? These symptoms could indicate a number of skin conditions of the scalp that contribute to hair loss: seborrheic dermatitis, infection by a fungus called Malassezia furfur that causes dandruff, or psoriasis of the scalp, an autoimmune condition. The ND may diagnose via trial-and-error or perform skin-scraping to rule out a fungal infection. A skin biopsy may be indicated to provide a definitive diagnosis, however this test is invasive.

What do you labs look like? Comprehensive lab work is necessary in patients with hair loss. It’s important to see what iron status is, as well as thyroid health. Low iron or under-functioning thyroid can be the root cause of hair loss as can high androgens, the male sex hormones.

Which medications are you taking? Oral contraceptives can cause a deficiency in vitamins and minerals, such as zinc and B vitamins, that can cause hair loss. Other medications that can cause hair loss include, and or not limited to, blood pressure medications, antidepressants, antibiotics, acne medications, chemotherapeutics agents, immunosuppressants and pain medications. An ND can work with your doctor to decrease your list of medications by addressing the root cause of concerns, if possible, or collaborate in switching medications. This, of course, will only be done in collaboration with the prescribing doctor.

What’s bugging you? Stress can contribute significantly to hair loss. The mechanism of action is varied, but a decrease in circulation to the scalp, protein deficiency and depletion of vitamins used by the adrenal glands, can be possible causes of hair loss. Telogen effluvium is a condition where the body pushes the hair follicles into a “resting phase” so that they no longer grow and produce hair. This is done because when under stress, the body enters survival mode and does not dedicate precious resources to non-survival entities such as hair health. Alopecia areata an autoimmune condition in which the immune system of the body attacks the hair’s follicles, causing large patches of hair to fall out. This is said to be cause or aggravated by severe stress. Trichotillomania is a mental health condition in which the individual plucks out hair as a self-soothing mechanism.

What are you other symptoms? Weight gain, irregular periods, acne and hair growth on the face can indicate PCOS, which also can cause loss of scalp hair due to higher-than-normal testosterone levels. Men with high testosterone will also experience more hair loss. Digestive symptoms can indicate malabsorption of important fat-soluble vitamins or iron, which can contribute to hair loss if resulting in deficiency.

What hair products do you use? A sensitivity to sulphates and/or other chemical additives to hair products can contribute to hair loss or a decrease in the lustre and overall health of hair follicles.

Treatment:

The naturopathic treatment for hair loss, involves identifying and treating the root cause of symptoms, not the hair loss itself. A potential treatment plan might consist of the following:

Restoring health by replenishing depleted or deficient vitamins and minerals.

Eliminating infection or scalp fungus if necessary.

Managing stress in healthy, constructive ways.

Balancing hormones and the immune system via herbs, supplements and dietary changes.

Nourishing the hair by adding in vitamins that support hair health, such as fish oil. This also involves changing shampoos and conditioners to more natural, sulphate-free forms.

Castor oil hair mask:

Once a week, when my hair starts looking drier and duller, I do a castor oil hair mask and scalp massage. Castor oil is an anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory oil. It has the added benefit of increasing blood flow to the area it is applied to, in this case the scalp, which can increase hair growth. It is also a wonderful moisturizer and nutrient-rich hair supplement. It can help fuse together and moisturize split ends. Performing a self-scalp massage is a great way to increase body love by performing self care and has a grounding effect on the body, which reduces mental-emotional stress.

Apply a liberal amount of castor oil to palms. Rub oil into palms to warm it. Starting at the scalp, work oil into the hair follicles, applying a firm pressure and moving the fingertips in circles. Massage for 5 minutes, moving the oil through the shaft of the hair to the ends. After performing massage, leave oil in hair for at least an hour or overnight. Finally, shampoo and condition hair as usual to remove oil. Warning: castor oil can stain fabrics so sleep with an old pillowcase and wear an old t-shirt while performing castor oil scalp massages.

Epilogue:

A basic naturopathic approach, which involves taking a thorough history, ordering lab work to find the root cause of symptoms and then treating accordingly using non-invasive therapies that aim to treat the cause, not just the symptoms themselves. Notice how this is vastly different from walking into a supplement store and purchasing a product called “Hair Loss Formula” or some other facsimile. While this formula may replenish some deficient vitamins, it is masking the real cause, which may be PCOS or celiac disease, and delay effective treatment for these conditions. Hopefully this highlights the importance of seeking a professional opinion rather than self-diagnosing and self-prescribing!

[shaws Administrator in reply to LindaC]

I have hypo - undiagnosed for a long time then after about 4 years I developed alopecia areata - for 4 summers I was bald. I had seen a dermatologist and had steroid injections on scalp. I was fortunate that hair began to grow back but this was repeated another three times. Hair loss, completely bald, growing back (still bald patches mind you).

This year (by now being an 'old hand' or maybe old head when first signs began to show I took an anti-histamine if scalp was sensitive/hot/ sore/itchy or whatever - 1 capsule of Turmeric daily plus Nizrol shampoo. Hair loss stopped and I have not gone bald or had patches so far. Hopefully I will hang on to what I have although it's thinner I don't mind. I still take turmeric daily and use Nizrol once about every 2 weeks.

[LindaC in reply to shaws]

Hopefully that remains this way for you shaws - fingers crossed That must have been really distressing for you [and it is way more common than many anticipate] so good luck with preparations.

I take Tumeric too and swear by it for all manner of things because when I have rarely ran out, I know about it. xx

[shaws Administrator in reply to LindaC]

It is said that Turmeric(Curcumin) is good for all autoimmune diseases. I have had 3 up till now and don't want any more if possible.

[LindaC in reply to shaws]

Wahh... I sometimes think one of them then further accumulates and seems to assist another. I know, we keep trying to fix ourselves... I'm sure there must be better people around to deal with all of this? Life gets robbed from many, only to have endos and doctors at very best sneer at people.

We only have ourselves, it would seem, at the end of the day... hypothyroidism and its many variables will surely go down in history as one of the most scurrilous scabs of medicine.

[greygoose in reply to shaws]

Shaws, when that little window pops up asking for your email address, you just click on the black cross in the top right-hand corner, and it will go away.

[Rapunzel]

Essentially a repost from a TPAUK post - it's my post so I presume I have copyright

My mum lost her hair whilst she was having chemotherapy and when it didn't grow back and she was left with very diffuse loss it was pretty awful for her. I know she had an issue with her thyroid but by that time she'd had so much surgery for recurrent cancer she told the medic to eff off when he wanted to leave her with what he described as a 'necklace' scar to 'put it right'. Go, mama. When she died ten years ago, my own hairloss took off. I had an awful couple of months just watching it fall and chasing charlatan after charlatan on line who promised results for hairloss. At that time, only with the benefit of hindsight, my TSH was 2.97 and rose over the ensuing years. I'm now officially hypo, I know I'm Hashis and whilst my GP thinks I take T4 I self medicate NDT and T3.

Not all of us thyroid folk go through this. You may find kindred spirits among the people on heralopecia.com/ sometimes it's good just to know you're not alone. Mine is androgenetic alopecia, a matching pair auto immune disease to go with Hashis, two for the price of one what a lucky bird.

I couldn't wait for my hair to grow and doubted that it would. It was one of the most challenging times of my life to continue working with my hair falling out and my scalp increasingly visible. Again with hindsight, the stress of losing my lovely Ma probably kicked off a Hashi's episode - I thought the constant lump in my throat was grief. I didn't want to wear turbans, seeing them as uniquely for cancer survivors. Now, I wear them often when I'm off duty, but that's a whole other story. At the time I had a turbo charged position involving steering people through professional qualifications. I went to see Chris Watts in Kent. There's an article here about her salon trichocare.co.uk/news/their...

and she is on facebook but that seems more to do with conventional hairdressing. The website gives the stories of many with various types of hairloss including before and after photographs.

I have a hairpiece about the same size as a boy's yarmulke, which I tape on to my shaved head, where the hairloss in worse.It is undetectable and the tape ensures I'm not worried on a windy day. Some might say that I gave up; I say I got my life back and it enabled me to continue in a role I loved until ready to wave it goodbye.

Continuing to work in a role I also love as a public speaker of sorts, I've never looked back. There are many, many mistakes people make when biting the bullet and choosing a wig, from trying to replicate their own hair to not having a wig cut in. They don't have to be majorly expensive to look good. simplywigs.co.uk/ You can buy eyebrows on here and they're good - or have your brows tatooed on. Don't let alopecia win ! Take charge !

What you're going through can only truly be understood by another with significant hairloss. Women advised that they have cancer are more frightened of losing their hair than they are of dying - it's such a brutal thing to lose the hair on your head. Sometimes it's easier on your pysche to deal with it and move on, than fret endlessly, not want to leave the safety of your home, count the hairs on your comb and sit sobbing wretchedly, spending money on rubbish supplements and hair treatments, all of which I've done.

Losing hair is a tough time but hopefully lots to think about. You are not helpless in this, unless you let alopecia win.

[LindaC]

Very thought provoking and thank you Rapunzel. In light of what you and many say, I still have a pretty reasonable head of hair but any thinning or loss is a blow. Your post is inspirational and I'm sure many people will benefit from your motivated words. [As for copyright... I do understand ] Best wishes and be well

[Rapunzel in reply to LindaC]

Copy away LindaC - I meant that I lifted it from my earlier TPAUK post ! Spread the word ! Kick alopecia's ass with me

[LindaC in reply to Rapunzel]

No, I meant me with the other post! I really admire your approach, given how difficult we can all imagine this to be, so thanks again. I am sure your words will help many people. xox

[LindaC]

This is the other one that I tried to post with the first:

livingtraditionally.com/cas...