What do folk take/do to improve the texture of their hair.
My hair has always been thick, dry and brittle but now post menopause and being diagnosed with hypothyroidism in my 50s, I find it’s thinning and looks very lack lustre. I’ll be 65 next month.
Getting your thyroid and vitamin levels optimal
How much Levothyroxine are you currently taking?
Do you have any recent blood test results and ranges you can add?
You are legally entitled to printed copies of your blood test results and ranges
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Low ferritin often affects hair
All thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Do not take Levothyroxine dose in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take immediately after blood draw. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or vitamins
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's.
Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten. So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...
Link about antibodies and Hashimoto's
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
List of hypothyroid symptoms
Thanks so much for all that very helpful information. I take 100 micro grams of Levo thyroxine. My last fasting blood test was April 2018. The results are:
Serum TSH 0.39 mu/L
Free T4 17.1 pmol/L
Free T3 5.5 pmol
Haemoglobin 141 g/L
RBC 4.83 10*9/L
Serium B12 373 ng/L
Folate 12.9
Ferritin 32 ug/L
I should add I’ve been gluten free for about 18 months and take viridian high 5 vit B as well as magnesium supplements
Sorry, we need the ranges for all those results, as ranges vary from lab to lab. But, your ferritin looks very low, and that would adversely affect your hair. 
Thank you. I'll look into how to increase that
Ranges will clarify how low your results are but taking general ranges your b12, folate and ferritin look really low
Quite unusual given you take b vitamins ? Do they contain b12 and folate ?
But we still need the ranges - the numbers in brackets after the results.
Is there anyway of taking a photo of the results and posting that?
There is, but if you're on your phone, I cannot tell you how.
Ranges for B12 963 ng/L 130 - 800.00 ng/L so I think I'm high on this
Serum TSH 0.39 mu/L 0.35 - 5.00 mu/L
Free T4 17.1 pmol/L 7.00 - 20.00 pmol/L
Free T3 5.5 pmol/ L3.80 pmol/L
Haemoglobin 141 g/L 120.00 -160
Serum Folate 12.9 ug/L 4.00-20.00 ug/L
ferritin 32 ug/L 12.00 - 250.00
Ah so your b12 isn't 373 but 963... That makes sense
Your folate seems low- 400mcg folic acid is the RDA I believe
But definitely your ferritin is low. Worth asking doctor to check full iron panel but ferritinnis best over 70.
My results were similar to you and my hair was brittle and falling out lots.
It's not shedding now and a lot stronger
Not quite full health but I have such a lot of dead hair I probably need to cut it first !
Vit E and selenium are important for thyroid and E for skin hair and nails so worth looking into that too
Thanks. My nails are very brittle too. I started eating red meat after being a veggie for over 30 years and I have about three times a week plus lots of green veg. I probably need to get better supplements
As GP for full iron panel
You may need iron supplements, but you can have low ferritin and high iron, so it's important to double check
Low zinc also linked to hair loss, but ferritin is more likely especially if we're vegetarian
Eating liver or liver pate once a week should help improve ferritin, or other iron rich foods plus vitamin C to improve iron absorption
You need vitamin D tested too
Many thanks. I’ll do that. Fed up feeling tired with awful brain fog too.
I found castor oil really helpful, you have to mix it with almond or other light oil and massage into your scalp then cover with a plastic cap and a towel or use heat. Don’t use it neat or it is hard to wash out. Leave as long as you want. The first time I did this my hair was silky and glossy. I have heard it also helps hair growth but I don’t know about that. Just offering this as a quick fix, obviously meds and vitamins have to be ok. Sometimes it is the pampering that helps!
Thanks, very helpful x
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