It affects quite a lot of people, more men than women admittedly, but plenty of women suffer with the condition. If you’re reading this because it’s happening to you, you’re not alone- 50% of men and around 30% of women will experience hair loss by the age of 50 years old. It’s the stuff of nightmares, hair falling out in clumps and there is just nothing that can be done to keep it where it’s meant to be. This post is here to help you figure out why it might be happening and if there is anything that can be done to stop the hair loss and bring the hair back. 

I myself have experienced bout of hair loss after my children were born and after 6 months of going no poo, when I experienced a fungal infection in my scalp (I wash my hair with a sulphate free shampoo once a week now). Anecdotaly, I know people who have had hair loss due to stress and once the stresses have gone- the hair came back. There are a lot of triggers and it’s worth figuring out your trigger in order to tailor your treatment.

Hair Loss Treatment- First Steps

We need to firstly figure out why the hair is falling out in order to treat the problem. Hair loss is a symptom of a bigger problem. Once you have the proper name for your type of hair loss you can start googling for more information and support groups.

There are a few common conditions with different causes-

• Telogen Effluvium– This is rapid hair loss three months after a body shock. It could be a sudden reduction in calories, a death in the family, a stressful event, illness, childbirth, a high temperature, extreme diet change… Hair is lost throughout the scalp but you may notice it more at the temples where the hair is already thin. If this sounds like you then try not to worry. The hair loss may continue for around three months, but once the origin of your effluvium is over, it will come back.
• Chronic Telogen Effluvium– When the body shock goes on for more than a short time, the telogen effluvium continues. It could be a long term stressful situation like bullying, a chronic illness or a deficient diet.
• Androgenetic Alopecia– aka AGA. The classic male pattern baldness, which also affects women. Men tend to get balding at the front and the crown leaving hair at the back and sides. Women tend to get hair loss at the top of their head, and the fringe area is left intact. The parting starts to show a ‘Christmas tree’ style thinning. Androgenetic alopecia is caused by male hormones binding to the receptors in the follicles and causing hair ‘miniaturisation’. Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome commonly suffer with androgenetic alopecia.
• Alopecia Areata– aka AA, the classic picture of AA is areas of total hair loss for no apparent reason. Bald patches that just appearing any region of the hair, body hair or beard. The bald patches can be sore and irritated. Then the hair just grows back also for no apparent reason. It is an autoimmune condition, which means that the body’s own immune cells are attacking the follicles. May be brought on by illness or stress but the main cause is likely genetic. In a small amount of cases all the hair is lost, and it may not come back- this is called alopecia totalis.
• Anagen effluvium– The sudden and complete hair loss that occurs after chemotherapy.
• Tinea capitis– Patchy hair loss that mostly occurs in children, caused by a fungal infection.
• Traction alopecia– Caused by tight hair styles or weaves.
• Trichotillomania– Caused by compulsive hair pulling.

So you might be thinking, I don’t know about any of those things, my hair is just falling out, tell me what I can buy to stop it! The diagnosis is important because the treatments are different. This is why a trip to the doctor or a trichologist is useful. You should make sure your testosterone, thyroid hormones and iron levels are good, before you spend good money on treatments.

Hair Care for Thinning Hair

Alopecia caused by autoimmune issues or serious hormone imbalance is unlikely to be solved by the use of a good shampoo. But it won’t hurt to start using hair friendly techniques to make the most of what you’ve got. 

• Shampoo the right way– don’t shampoo too often- it will weaken the hair shaft and make it less resilient. Also don’t shampoo too infrequently- it will cause a build up on the scalp and this is bad for the follicles. Once or twice a week should be fine. Product suggestions– Nanogen Thickening Shampoo (contains peptides and growth factors), Head and Shoulders Itchy Scalp (contains Zinc Pyrithione which may stimulate hair growth), Noughty Pumped Up Shampoo (sulphate free).
• Try a ketoconazole shampoo– there is some evidence that ketoconazole increases hair growth, it also kills fungus which cause hair unfriendly scalp conditions. Product suggestion– Nizoral Shampoo
• Switch to cowashing on non shampoo days– this is a much gentler way of cleansing hair, just use your conditioner like a shampoo and massage it well into the scalp. Use silicone free conditioner, it won’t weigh the hair down as much) Product suggestion– Nanogen Conditioner
• Use coconut oil, apparently this is the only plant oil that can absorb into your hair. Use it either neat or in deep conditioners. Just don’t get it on your face, it clogs the pores. Product suggestions– Elvive Coconut Oil deep conditioner, can be used as a leave in balm
• Try Olaplex– as an in salon treatment or at home, olaplaex rebuilds damaged hair, try Olaplex 3 as an occasional hair boost.
• Don’t put pressure on your scalp by tying up in tight hairstyles or weaves
• Don’t use a towel to dry your hair, towelling material is way too rough and can damage the hair cuticle. Try one of these microfibre caps instead
• Avoid heat styling. Ideally you should be letting the hair air dry or use a cool setting on your drier. Also rinse with warm or cool water when you’re washing

Diet and Hair Loss

Let’s face facts, you’re not going to suddenly grow shitloads of hair by eating some mushrooms or something. That being said, deficiencies do cause hair loss. Here are some pointers based on scientific evidence to make sure your diet is on track for maximum hair growth. Please note before you scan, some of these pointers are most likely not what you expect–

• Companies are trying to sell you supplements, view claims with suspicion. If a supplement claims to ‘promote hair growth’ and costs £££- BE CYNICAL, there’s no evidence a supplement can help, they’re just trying to help you part with cash.
• Taking too much vitamin E, vitamin A and selenium (separately or together) can cause hair LOSS. Lots of hair supplements contain them.
• Iron deficiency may cause hair loss. If you suspect you are deficient in iron- you have gut issues, heavy periods, you feel tired or breathless… then go to the doctor and get checked.
• Zinc deficiency can cause hair loss, a dedicated zinc supplement may help.
• If you worry you are deficient, taking a random supplement may not be the best idea. For example, if you are vegan, you may be deficient in zinc and iron but if you take a supplement containing zinc and iron your body will absorb the zinc but not the iron. It’s complicated, I know, best to do your homework.
• Biotin has no proven effect on hair growth.
• Supplementing with the amino acid L-Lysine may help as it helps the absorbtion of zinc and iron.
• By fair the best thing you can do for your hair, diet wise, is to have a rich, colourful and varied diet.

Medical Treatments for Hair Loss

There are some treatments that have good evidence backing their effectiveness. It helps to have a diagnosis first because some treatments work for one thing but won’t work for another. Here is a summary of the treatments for each condition, I’ll explain them more fully below-

• Minoxidil– This is the gold standard treatment for male and female alopecia and hair thinning, it works by increasing blood supply to the hair follicle. Unfortunately it does have some side effects- skin irritation and temporary hair loss. Minoxidil comes in foam or solution form and should be applied daily to the scalp. It can take several months for effect to be obvious, but sometimes it works really quickly (sometimes it doesn’t work at all). Minoxidil is available from Boots as Regaine, or you can get generic Minoxidil a bit cheaper. It might help to use a dermaroller before application. There are two recommended techniques- a 0.5mm roller daily then apply minoxidil or do a 1.5mm roller weekly and minoxidil every OTHER day.
• Finesteride– This is only licensed for male pattern baldness. Finesteride blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (the version of the hormone that causes hair loss). It has some unpleasant side effects- erectile dysfunction, enlargement of breast tissue, ball pain, depression. These will only affect a small number of patients. Finesteride is only available on prescription in the UK.
• Low level laser therapy– This is quite a handy treatment because it is something you can do at home without the supervision of a doctor. A low level laser therapy device can be purchased online and you use it yourself on a regular basis. The infrared rays stimulate follicle to start growing hair (the anlagen phase). There is good evidence for it, LLLT is FDA approved and there are no known side effects. LLLT devices vary in price- the Hairmax comb is £140, Hairmax Laserband is £400 and the Laser Cap by Grivamax goes from $447-£747 (it’s cool though, looks like a normal cap).
• Platelet rich plasma– This involves taking blood, centrifuging it and taking the growth factor rich plasma. This plasma is then injected back into the scalp. It is an expensive treatment and may not be effective. You could also look into AQ Solutions growth factor treatments.

Other Hair Loss Ideas

The Ordinary’s Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density is explained by Deciem as improving the look of thinning hair. But, I’ve had a read around the active ingredients and they do sound very promising for bringing back lost hair. Redensyl, Capixyl, Baicapil, Procaipil, Anagain and caffeine working together to give the follicles their best start in life. The research into the ingredients is small but impressive. It could be worth a try, but as with all hair returning tactics you are playing the long game. The hair follicle has a cycle of at least 3 months, this is way longer than skin takes to show effects.

Styling it out with wigs, weaves, scarves and by shaving it off is 100% allowed. Make it so you feel comfortable and fabulous in which ever way suits you, so that you own your situation.

Take Home Message

• Seek medical opinion to check for underlying deficiencies or hormonal issues
• Any treatment you try will need a good few months to see if it works
• Minoxidil is the most studied treatment and is shown to be effective
• A varied diet is best
• Look after yourself, stress can cause hair loss. Get the bullies out of your life by fair means or foul.

I have lost a lot of hair recently and it’s an absolutely horrible. If you are experiencing this, you are not alone and there are things we can do. Big hair luck to you!

You better believe, my hair loss post is not sponsored or paid for or anything like that. The links to products are affiliate which means that if you click and spend I get a small percentage. If you have any questions or want to chat- I’m on Instagram and Facebook.