Hair Loss Causes and Solutions

Hair is a layered topic.( Oh snap, I just realized that was punny.) But seriously, a simple hair tonic will not solve it, no matter what the Chinese herbalists or long-tressed influencers say. 

Driven by my own decreased hair density, I delved further into the root causes of hair loss, and came up with what I think is a comprehensive approach. I have that “good Indian hair” and my long locks have been a big part of my identity. So, this was a concern fueled by vanity, and like many, I wanted to minimize damages fast.

Even when you google hair loss, Google AI tells you, “Hair loss can significantly impact self-esteem and quality of life.” No wonder the hair restoration market was valued at 6.5 billion(!) in 2023, and expected to grow by almost 17% in the next five years - mainly due to increasing prevalence of androgenetic alopecia. In other words, people will stay chronically stressed and hormonally imbalanced and hair restoration products will make even more billions.  

I hope this overview helps you slow down your rate of balding, which is really the rate of aging in your scalp/hair follicles. Aging is the rate of degeneration in a tissue. When tissues are depleted, they produce and perform less - just like us. So, to understand what causes hair loss, we look to the factors which would deplete your scalp/hair follicles. To stop it, or more realistically, to slow it down, I have a clear strategy you can customize below.

Root Causes

1. Dysbiosis - this means your gut microbiome isn’t in optimal balance of all the creatures living there. Some trouble causing ones have overgrown, and are impairing your gut from absorbing nutrients well. If you have not balanced your gut, you may not even be absorbing the expensive hair supplements, like shark biotin, well enough to have them work for you. 
2. Anemia - When the body is in a state of not being able to make blood well (usually due to nutrient deficiency, which is often due to 1. above), it backs off on making other nonessentials. Hair, nails, skin are some of the first to be affected by a deficiency state. 
3. Poor circulation - Like any part of the body, we need good circulation to deliver the good stuff (blood) and take away the wastes (lymph). If you have tension in your jaw and forehead, it’s pretty much guaranteed that your scalp muscles are tense, causing fibrosis and poor circulation. All of the natural hair supplements, and even the popular Minoxidil drug, work to improve local circulation to follicles. Mmmm….a daily head massage, neck stretch, gua sha, all feel so good.
4. Stress - Okay, okay. You don’t think you are really stressed. And, you can’t even conceive of how to lower the bar on all you have to do. I get it. But, the hormone cascade from stress causes hair loss, alopecia in some, and pretty much every other chronic condition. 
5. Hormones - So, hair loss begins at puberty, and happens on a cyclical basis. For both men and women, depleted reproductive tissues produce less hormones. That decrease in the regular amounts of sex hormones can cause a relative excess of a form of Testosterone that makes your hair thinner and follicles to wither and die. This is the most common cause of hair loss, and if your hair has been thinning for a while, you probably want to focus more here. 

You probably already see the webs of connection between some of these root causes. If you have regularly high percentage of your time in “productive” mode, your sympathetic nervous system is increasing all of the root causes. This may be grandmother wisdom, but not having good balance in life - productive and recovery modes in equal percentage - means you are aging faster. So, there is no way around the fact that a balanced lifestyle is key to health.

While you are getting there, you can use hair meds and supplements and some basic self care to start the change in your body. Here’s my view on how to really move the dial on your hair loss based on understanding the factors above. 

Integrative Strategy

It’s when we come at a health issue from multiple angles simultaneously that we have the greatest impact.  The best way to have faster results with a lot of symptoms, including hair loss, is to use pharmaceutical supports while doing the natural rejuvenation. Of course, we want to address the topical and internal environments of your body to have a complete approach - reducing symptoms and addressing root causes.

Minoxidil - Easiest to apply and the least added toxic chemicals with dropper bottle liquid form. I like the ones which have no additional chemicals and combine essential oils or natural herbs. This is important because most Minoxidil products have a ton of chemicals and stabilizers (especially the creams and foams) - um, those increase a toxic burden which harms the scalp and follicles. What's the point if it's one step forward and one step backwards? Once you start, likely need to keep using for results. Doing the other steps below helps to actually rejuvenate and improve tissue function so you can step away from the drugs over time. 

Helpful Notes: Don’t use at bedtime if you don’t want this all over your pillow, or with high heat styling. There may be a scary shed before the next cycle of hair growth but just keep on.

Scalp Massage - In literally 30 sec of rubbing your scalp with your own hands, you can feel an increase in circulation. Why aren’t we doing this regularly throughout the day? Massaging the ears and around the ears are key lymphatic drainage points and feels amazing. No tools necessary. If you want to do the traditional Ayurvedic hair/scalp oiling practice, I walk you through all you need to know in my Natural Hair Remedies collection.

Scalp Oiling - Even if you don’t do a traditional Sunday hair oiling like I grew up with, you can put some good quality organic oil on just your scalp the day before you wash your hair, and let it soak in for 30 min. Cover your head to keep it from being messy and to keep your head warm as the oil soaks in. This improves circulation and absorption, as does using warm oil. I also detail which oils to use when and how to prepare, etc in that Natural Hair Remedies collection.

Probiotics - The brand doesn’t matter. Just get 50-100 CFUs in at bedtime.

Address Hormone deficiencies - Phytohormones can help to supplement your hormonal balance, as can bioidentical hormones. I would never recommend synthetic hormones or oral contraceptives. 

Address Anemia - This is case specific. Most people know if they are anemic from a basic CBC, and the majority are due to iron, and B12 deficiency. If you are in this group and have not had improvement taking supplements to correct the deficiency, consider getting an MFTHR genetic test, or simpler, try methylated B12 and methylated Folate supplements. 

Practice Relaxing - That’s not watching a suspenseful show with 30 min spikes of adrenaline. Real talk, this is the most important thing to pay attention to. Instead of thinking of stress, think of your time in productive mode - that’s how much time your body is operating in your sympathetic nervous system. You can start to take a few more moments a day to practice doing nothing and relaxing. It’s a skill we need to relearn for our wellbeing, not something you just do on vacation.

Talk nicely to your body - Seriously. The science on this is too abundant to not do this. Plus, it’s free and as Joe Dispenza says, increases heart-mind coherence. Louise Hays, the pioneering woman behind new thought patterns attributes balding to "Fear, tension. Trying to control everything. Not trusting in the process of life.¨ The new self talk she recommends: I am safe. I love and approve of myself. I trust life.