TBL+ and beyond, have you ever had anemia/other nutrient deficiencies while growing?

[Fimu]

I have discovered a possible correlation between *naturally* split-end-prone hair and iron deficiency anemia by asking around in forums, but I wonder if there are also cases of people who have (had) anemia yet were still able to gain very long hair without too many splits or thinned out ends or odd gaps in their hemline (like the inverted V).

[shelomit]

Not anemia, but I have nonreactive hypoglycemia. I still don't know the root cause, but am informed it's most likely some kind of thyroid disorder. I got the diagnosis about two years ago. At that point, I changed my diet and eating habits pretty radically and the symptoms have decreased. Before I knew what the heck was happening to me, though, I had constant deficiencies in protein, vitamin D, and magnesium, in addition to the low blood sugar. (I still struggle with the magnesium levels now--my body doesn't seem to retain it as well as it should, and the doctor's still stumped as to what's going on there.)

Throughout all that, I've had hair that waffles between waist and mid-thigh. The ends are thin, and I do have splits, but I wouldn't characterize either as excessive or unusual. No gaps in the hemline.

[MusicalSpoons]

Not *deficiencies* but my haemoglobin is always on the bottom threshold between normal and too low, even with iron supplements, and ferritin suboptimal (~30). My Vitamin D was suboptimal for years so I've taken supplements for that for the past 4? years (not sure where it is now because the lab refused the test last time). My thyroid again is meh but in the 'normal' range (TSH around 4 instead of under 2).

My ends are thin but I wouldn't say excessively so for calf-length, and yes I have splits (including mid-shaft) but again I wouldn't say an excessive amount. I discovered LHC 3 1/2 years ago so all the hair that grew before then was less well-cared for, especially the ends heading for 9yrs old.

Then again I have very hard water (but good quality, and pH not far off 7) and have no obvious issues with it whereas other people have huge issues with hard water, so YMMV indeed!

[Ylva]

Like probably most westerners, I was deficient in a lot of things, most notably vitamin D, for a long, long time. However, my splits have mostly to do with the fact that my ends have been bleached three times and dyed at least once. Now that I am no longer suffering from deficiencies or non-optimal diets, we can eventually see if there is any difference in the quality of my hair, but that I can't tell until years from now.

[Fimu]

Like probably most westerners, I was deficient in a lot of things, most notably vitamin D, for a long, long time. However, my splits have mostly to do with the fact that my ends have been bleached three times and dyed at least once. Now that I am no longer suffering from deficiencies or non-optimal diets, we can eventually see if there is any difference in the quality of my hair, but that I can't tell until years from now.

Triple bleaching is a lot indeed, but I wonder if nutrient-deficient weakened hair is even more sensitive to chemical damage and daily-wear-and-tear damage.

I also have to wait months until I will notice differences in my length now I've addressed my diet and work on slight iron deficiency since a half year.

[hennalonghair]

Recently switched to vegetarian diet and lost sooo much hair. I’m so disappointed with myself cause I’m a nutritionist and should know better. I was lacking protein, B12 and vitamin D. My hair looked terrible so I went back to my regular diet which doesn’t include a lot of meat but has some and my hair looks much better.

[lapushka]

Recently switched to vegetarian diet and lost sooo much hair. I’m so disappointed with myself cause I’m a nutritionist and should know better. I was lacking protein, B12 and vitamin D. My hair looked terrible so I went back to my regular diet which doesn’t include a lot of meat but has some and my hair looks much better.

OT, but we used to eat steak every day when I was growing up, for the "iron". My mom needed it at the time, and so we all ate the same. Now we eat far less meat, but I don't think you need *that* much to be healthy. Or, if going vegan or vegetarian, substitute well. I know people who do this successfully, but it takes dedication and plenty of the right substituters!

[Fimu]

Recently switched to vegetarian diet and lost sooo much hair. I’m so disappointed with myself cause I’m a nutritionist and should know better. I was lacking protein, B12 and vitamin D. My hair looked terrible so I went back to my regular diet which doesn’t include a lot of meat but has some and my hair looks much better.

OT, but we used to eat steak every day when I was growing up, for the "iron". My mom needed it at the time, and so we all ate the same. Now we eat far less meat, but I don't think you need *that* much to be healthy. Or, if going vegan or vegetarian, substitute well. I know people who do this successfully, but it takes dedication and plenty of the right substituters!

I have a vegetarian diet, so maybe that attributes to me being prone to iron deficiency. Having a brown skin while living in a country with lack of sunshine and strong UVB rays in winter, I'm also prone to Vitamin D deficiency so I take supplements for half a year.

Regarding iron deficiency, I understood that dark green vegetables, lentils, dried fruits and teff flour are good examples of vegan iron sources.

[school of fish]

I run low on iron and B12 naturally and was anemic a couple years back - went through some rounds of bloodwork to investigate extremely low energy levels and general immune system issues at the time and the anemia showed up in the results.

The quality of my hair didn't suffer splitwise and I never appeared to lose hair during that time but I have noticed that I have a substantial halo of growth around my edges that currently measures about 2 years' worth of growth - it co-incides with dietary adjustments I made that balanced my levels (in my case my issue seems to be one of absorption - I was technically getting adequate iron but my body doesn't absorb it well in non-heme form).

Other than the dietary accomodation (which produced a massive turnaround in my energy and general immunity) nothing else about my hair care routine has changed from then to now.

I've been at my goal length for some years now so not gaining length by choice - but I continue to work on traveling my thickness down to the ends. I can't say I ever noticed any negative effect on my hair's quality when my levels were lower, only the new growth around the entire hairline since balancing out - hard for me to say if there's a correlation or just coincidence.

[dagny]

I am a bit past TB length and currently going through a major hair shed.

Recent bloodwork showed I was in the normal ferritin range, but actually low for hair growth (hair needs to be around 50-70 and mine was 30). So, while technically not "anemic", it kind of counts as a deficiency. In addition, I have chronically low vitamin D deficiency, low cortisol due to Adrenal Insufficiency (I need to take steroids in order to live), and have chronic digestion issues (microscopic colitis) in which I go through bouts of not being able to eat food for weeks, etc. I did an S&D tonight but didn't really find many splits. My last trim was Dec 31 and my hemline is still quite straight; however, my growth rate has slowed considerably whilst I have been undergoing the shed. My usual rate is 2cm a month, but I have slowed to less than 1cm.

In addition, I started to get a grey streak up the side of my hair right before the shed started, which coincides with a major respiratory illness I had in February. (prior to this, I had almost no grey hairs and certainly not a streak like this one!) This may have been what precipitated my ferritin level being low, especially since I have always eaten a diet that was otherwise high in iron. I had done some research that linked some premature grey hair with low iron, and it is quite possible that when you hear of people going grey "overnight" due to illness/stress it might be due to a drop in their iron levels. Or not.....

HTH