Thyroid Hair: When your hair is falling out
It’s always worrying when you suddenly notice you’re losing more hair than usual. I’ve seen it firsthand — washing my hair, combing through conditioner, and then spotting a clump of hair stuck in the brush. It’s upsetting, and you’re not alone if you’ve felt this way too. But could your thyroid be the reason behind your hair loss?
Some hair loss is natural
First, it is important to understand that there is a natural hair loss cycle.
Hair growth naturally happens in cycles, with periods of growth, rest, and shedding. Human hair growth isn’t synchronized, which is why you’ll always shed some hair.
However, conditions like severe illness or stress can cause a temporary increase in shedding known as telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss often resolves once the underlying issue is addressed. What could those underlying issues be? That is the focus of this post.
Severe and prolonged hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can lead to diffuse hair loss (thinning across the entire scalp). Fortunately, this type of hair loss is often reversible with effective treatment, though regrowth can take several months.
Then there are autoimmune conditions like alopecia areata (causing circular patches of hair loss) which are more common in people with autoimmune thyroid disease. Unfortunately, these conditions may sometimes progress to more significant hair loss. The autoimmune type of hairloss is not the focus for today’s post.
Could My Thyroid Be the Reason I’m Losing My Hair?
It could be! Hair and thyroid hormones are closely linked. Back in 1998, researchers discovered thyroid hormone receptors in the outer sheath of hair follicles. These hormones must be at just the right levels to keep your hair healthy — both low and high levels can lead to hair loss.
Here’s the thing: your hair needs the active thyroid hormone, T3. While your thyroid produces mostly T4 (the inactive form), your body must convert it to T3 for it to work. If this conversion doesn’t happen efficiently, your hair follicles may not get the T3 they need, leading to hair loss.
Let’s explore some thyroid-related causes of hair loss and what you can do about them.
Why You Might Be Losing Hair
Hair loss can happen for many reasons, such as genetics, hormones, or stress. Here are the most common thyroid-related causes:
Your thyroid hormone levels are too low or too high.
Your thyroid medication, or other medications, may be causing hair loss.
You’re not eating enough protein.
You have nutritional deficiencies, such as low zinc, iron, or ferritin.
Stress or trauma is triggering hair loss.
Let’s have a look at each cause in more detail:
1. Your thyroid hormone levels are too low or too high
Your thyroid hormone levels must be optimal (not just within the normal ranges of the lab). This means you must do a complete thyroid lab panel, which will include TSH, free T4, free T3, TG, and TPO antibodies, and if need be, a Reverse T3 test.
Even if your T4 levels are fine, issues can arise if your body isn’t converting T4 to T3. Conversion requires a healthy liver, kidneys, microbiome, and nutrients like selenium. Additionally, T3 needs to enter your cells, which depends on proper blood sugar and cortisol levels.
See how this is so much based on our environment and lifestyle?
Tips:
- Work with your doctor to ensure your thyroid lab results are optimal. I have created an online course to share everything I have learned about thyroid labs and blood tests and interpret the results with you. You can check out the course here if you want to learn more about thyroid blood tests.
- Eat a healthy diet, loaded with fruits and vegetables. This will help your gut microbiome and provide you with the nutrients your body needs to support hormone conversion. It will also help to improve your body’s blood sugar regulation.
Manage blood sugar and stress levels to help T3 reach your cells.
2. Nutritional Deficiencies: Zinc, Iron, and Ferritin
I was intrigued to read a published article that there is a link between zinc, hypothyroidism and hair loss.
Zinc is a powerhouse mineral for both thyroid health and hair growth. It’s essential for producing thyroid hormones, and hypothyroidism itself can impair zinc absorption. You need to have enough zinc, because low zinc levels can also lead to hair thinning. With your hair, zinc is crucial for the growth and maintenance of healthy hair. When a person with hypothyroidism also has a zinc deficiency, it can lead to hair loss.
Iron deficiency is another common cause of hair loss. Ferritin is a storage form of iron, and low levels mean your hair follicles may not get enough oxygen to thrive.
Tips:
- Check if you may have a zinc deficiency. Unfortunately, the blood tests to test for zinc are not reliable, and if you want to have it checked, you may need to do a hair mineral test to check for zinc concentration levels. But is it necessary to have the levels checked? For most of us, I don’t think so. However, it’s important to note that the dosage of zinc intake is crucial. The recommended dose is not more than elemental 30mg per day. Just remember to check the doses of zinc when you are taking a multi-mineral in addition to a zinc supplement. You don’t want to overdo it.
Supplement with zinc, which is especially important for vegetarians and vegans. There are different types of zinc supplements (zinc picolinate, zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate, zinc orotate, zinc citrate and zinc acetate), and there is little evidence to date to show any significant differences between these forms. So take any form and see how it works for you.
You can also eat more food that is naturally high in zinc. Oysters are naturally high in zinc, but that is not practical for most people to eat daily. Other options include beef, liver, pork, lobster and chicken.
Get your iron and ferritin levels checked. Before you start supplementing with iron, it is important to have the levels checked first. If you take too high levels of iron, you can become iron-toxic, which can be detrimental to your health.
- Eat iron-rich foods such as red meat, spinach, and lentils.
3. Protein deficiency
Your hair is made of protein, so getting enough in your diet is essential. Without adequate protein, your body prioritizes other functions over hair growth, leading to thinning hair.
Also, people with hypothyroidism may struggle with digesting protein, as there may not be enough stomach acid and digestive enzymes in the stomach to digest the protein. You may actually eat the protein, but you are not properly breaking down the nutrients from the food you eat!
Tips:
Include lean meats, eggs, dairy, legumes, and nuts in your meals.
4. Thyroid medication may cause hair loss
Isn’t it ironic that hypothyroidism can cause hair loss, but so can thyroid medications? Medications like levothyroxine (synthetic T4) list hair loss as a possible side effect. Often, this happens when starting a new medication and may resolve with time. But sometimes it doesn’t resolve, and you may need to speak with your doctor about other thyroid medication alternatives.
Here is a screenshot from the site Drugs.com that lists the side effects of Eltroxin (which is a synthetic T4 hormone medication, levothyroxine):
Also, if you read the list of side effects on the information leaflet, you will see that hair loss is a possible side effect of Eltroxin. Here is a photo I took from the information leaflet I got from my pharmacist:
What can you do if you suspect that your thyroid medication may be the cause of your hair loss?
Tips:
- First, please don’t stop your thyroid medication. It is hormones, and you should never stop or change your thyroid hormone medication without consulting with your treating doctor first.
- Second, speak to your doctor about possibly changing thyroid medication. Thyroid-medication hair loss may just be temporary if you recently started thyroid medication. However, if hair loss persists, you may need to consider changing to other thyroid hormone medications, such as NDT or T3-only-treatment.
5. Stress or trauma
Stress can trigger telogen effluvium, a common form of temporary hair loss where hair follicles enter the “resting phase” all at once. It can also disrupt thyroid function, indirectly affecting your hair.
Tips:
- Practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing.
- Prioritize quality sleep and regular exercise.
Consider taking biotin and omega-3 supplements
What about biotin, which is well-known for supporting hair and nail growth. It is a general supplement that is widely available, so make sure you get a high quality supplement.
Then, a supplement that is high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants can also be helpful to reduce hair loss. There was a study done in 2015, where 120 women where given an omega-3 and 6 supplement as well as antioxidants for a period of 6 months. What they found was that acted efficiently against hair loss and improved hair density.
While it sounds great, remember to check with your doctor first before you start any supplements.
And a word of warning: biotin is well known to interfere with thyroid lab tests (meaning that you will not get accurate results). So if you are going for any thyroid testing, stop taking biotin 3-5 days before the time.
Emotional support for hair loss
When you are losing more hair than usual, it can be very stressful. What can you do?
- It’s okay to seek support. Talking with friends, family, or a support group.
- Wearing wigs, scarves, or extensions may also boost your confidence during regrowth.
- Focus on your nutrition, and work with a doctor to ensure your thyroid hormone levels are optimal.
Remember: hair loss caused by thyroid conditions is often temporary. Focus on your overall health and work closely with your doctor to ensure your thyroid and nutritional needs are well-managed. With time and care, you’ll likely see improvements.