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Thread: hair and hormonal imbalance

  1. #1

    Default hair and hormonal imbalance

    Hi all,
    I've done a bit of searching on these boards about hair damge and found threads on mechanical, chemical damage etc. but not about from hormone troubles. I thought maybe somebody might have had the same problems or could give me some suggestions to get my hair back in shape.

    I had a hormone imbalance due to stress a while back and lost sooo much hair. The hair that didn't fall out and that I had left....probobly over half of it broke off to about 2 inches long.

    I've been tested for diet deficincies...nothing there and my hormones were tested recently and seemed back in place but my hair won't bounch back!

    It is growing in though, and there are new hairs sprouting up. Some of it is new hair, some of it is 6 inches long (from the parts that broke off) and other parts are longer that didn't fall out). It is dry and just so 'fried' looking. It isn't actually fried from heat though.

    I've stayed away from heat and used oil treatments and treated it like a newborn, but it still looks like hell. I've taken the right vitamins and feel like I've tried it all so to speak. Aloe, eggs, herbal treatments, vinegar. The list goes on and on.

    Has anybody had this happen...if so how did you get shiny, healthy hair again.

    Thank you!

  2. #2
    Member turtlelover's Avatar
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    My own hormonal issues were caused by polycystic ovaries. I can tell you things I have done to help w/ that if you are interested, but I am not sure how relevant it would be to you -- it depends on what hormones were out of whack.


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    Member Scarlet_Heart's Avatar
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Quote Originally Posted by turtlelover View Post
    My own hormonal issues were caused by polycystic ovaries. I can tell you things I have done to help w/ that if you are interested, but I am not sure how relevant it would be to you -- it depends on what hormones were out of whack.
    I would like to hear more about this, if you don't mind. I have lost a lot of hair due to a combo of vitamin d deficiency and what my doc suspects is PCOS. I am going to get tested for it. So any info you could relate would be very much appreciated.
    Lady Scarlet of the Whispering Philosophes in the Order of the Long Haired Knights



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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    I also would love to hear what can be done to help. I've had a lot of hair loss from a combination of health issues, stress and then trying to hide the damage with highlights was the worst thing I could have done.

    My sister has similar problems caused from the meds she has to take.
    Growing... to see how far I can go!
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    Member amantha's Avatar
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    I would like to hear more about this too. I lost about 1/3 of my hair due to iron deficiency and PCOS flare ups. Even though it's growing back in, the hair that is left is very prone to splitting and breakage and I don't use heat on it. I never had a split end in my life until about a year ago, and that is when my shedding got really terrible. Nothing else in my regimen has changed, except to baby my hair even more. I used to have hair this long before with no problems, so it shouldn't be this fragile.

  6. #6

    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Hi Turtlelover,

    Mine was in combination with adrenal failure and this went on over years so sometimes it was high testosterone sometimes high estrogen. I was all over the map. I'd love to hear a little bit about what worked for you when you have the time.

    I had also got melasma and other problems, but they all dispersed in time.

    That is kind of like me Amantha. I used to be able to grow nice hair and the hair coming in is decent, but it honestly looks like I have two totally different types of hair. The bottom half of it is just so dry and fragile and the top half is much nicer, but I don't want to have to cut off such a large chunk of hair. Maybe it is inevitable....I hope not.

  7. #7
    Member amantha's Avatar
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Quote Originally Posted by yelda View Post
    Hi Turtlelover,

    Mine was in combination with adrenal failure and this went on over years so sometimes it was high testosterone sometimes high estrogen. I was all over the map. I'd love to hear a little bit about what worked for you when you have the time.

    I had also got melasma and other problems, but they all dispersed in time.

    That is kind of like me Amantha. I used to be able to grow nice hair and the hair coming in is decent, but it honestly looks like I have two totally different types of hair. The bottom half of it is just so dry and fragile and the top half is much nicer, but I don't want to have to cut off such a large chunk of hair. Maybe it is inevitable....I hope not.
    Yeah my hair is quite different too. The new hairs that are growing in are fairly course and very curly. They do seem rather strong though. I can get my hair to look nice throughout the length, but it requires a lot of leave-in conditioner or oils. Otherwise it looks very dry and kind of crummy. I used to be able to skip leave-in conditioner and my hair would still be very shiny and soft and had no splits.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Quote Originally Posted by yelda View Post
    Hi Turtlelover,

    Mine was in combination with adrenal failure and this went on over years so sometimes it was high testosterone sometimes high estrogen. I was all over the map. I'd love to hear a little bit about what worked for you when you have the time.

    I had also got melasma and other problems, but they all dispersed in time.

    That is kind of like me Amantha. I used to be able to grow nice hair and the hair coming in is decent, but it honestly looks like I have two totally different types of hair. The bottom half of it is just so dry and fragile and the top half is much nicer, but I don't want to have to cut off such a large chunk of hair. Maybe it is inevitable....I hope not.
    Ouch, that sound awful to go through. It must have been really hard on you.

    Most hormonal hair loss threads that I've seen are due to thyroid hormone imbalance, PCOS, or some forms of testosterone overproduction. In terms of hair, they don't look a whole lot different on the outside, but the biological details are often rather different from what happened to you. Pretty much any hormone imbalance will cause hair loss tho, so... your experience is (very unfortunately) not unique.

    Hair doesn't grow well if your body is in bad shape, and it takes a long time to grow. Most people get 1/2" per month on average... so some months might be zero growth, and other months might have quite a lot. But over the long haul, for most people 1/2" is what they get. So what you're experiencing is also pretty normal... which doesn't do a bit to make it less unpleasant!

    You'll know best whether you should trim off the hair that feels damaged. It's your head, and we're not the ones who have to take care of it. For some people, it's more comfortable to pamper the hair they have. For others (like me) it's not really fun to have long hair if it's hard to take care of. And for still others, the length is the most important thing, and they'll do whatever it takes. And it's reasonable to shift your position around some based on how your life is... don't feel bad or beat yourself up for thinking different things at different times. It's your body and your head.

  9. #9
    Member Shesta's Avatar
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    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Similar story here. Stress and hormonally imposed eating disorder are putting me back for the last several months. I see no growth whatsoever and I'm shedding like crazy. The only good thing is that it is still there on my back and not breaking off.

    Oh, well..I subscribe to this thread.
    No trims in 2012
    No more shedding..No more shedding..

  10. #10

    Default Re: hair and hormonal imbalance

    Quote Originally Posted by yelda View Post
    Hi all,
    I've done a bit of searching on these boards about hair damge and found threads on mechanical, chemical damage etc. but not about from hormone troubles. I thought maybe somebody might have had the same problems or could give me some suggestions to get my hair back in shape.

    I had a hormone imbalance due to stress a while back and lost sooo much hair. The hair that didn't fall out and that I had left....probobly over half of it broke off to about 2 inches long.

    I've been tested for diet deficincies...nothing there and my hormones were tested recently and seemed back in place but my hair won't bounch back!

    It is growing in though, and there are new hairs sprouting up. Some of it is new hair, some of it is 6 inches long (from the parts that broke off) and other parts are longer that didn't fall out). It is dry and just so 'fried' looking. It isn't actually fried from heat though.

    I've stayed away from heat and used oil treatments and treated it like a newborn, but it still looks like hell. I've taken the right vitamins and feel like I've tried it all so to speak. Aloe, eggs, herbal treatments, vinegar. The list goes on and on.

    Has anybody had this happen...if so how did you get shiny, healthy hair again.

    Thank you!
    Most post somewhat specifically such as PCOS, or Thyroid condition. There's actually a fair amount of posts covering these topics. The key is to know what to look under.

    You sound as though you may have Hypothyroidism, maybe. Did you have that checked? A symptom of this condition is that hair and nails become fairly brittle and break off easily. It can be confused with a protein condition.

    I wonder that perhaps a clarifying hair wash might be beneficial?

    For things to show in your hair, it is not an immediate experience. If one has a problem, it can actually take a while as in 3 months, to show in the hair. Once resolved, the following week it won't show in the hair. It can take as long as 3 months between cause and effect. It won't improve days or a week later. Takes longer than that.

    It'll happen. Be patient.

    heidi w.

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