An Integrative Guide to Hair Growth

We all want thick, vibrant, shiny, growing hair. Why are more and more people experiencing hair loss these days? Thinning hair and balding used to be an acceptable part of aging among men and women, but now we are seeing it with younger folks on a more widespread basis. My first hair loss blogpost that I wrote as a functional medicine health coach was more generalized, laying out the stages of hair growth, different reasons why people may see chronic shedding and thinning and some of the more popular, functional medicine approaches to helping you reboot your hair growth. In this blogpost, I am going to focus more on my own personal journey, offering you detailed nutrients and tests to help you get to the root cause of your unique health issue. While there are many common reasons why people may experience hair shedding and thinning, such as acute and chronic stress, malnutrition, thyroid disease and poor lifestyle factors, there are other deeper root causes that may resonate with you.

Some people rock a bald head - men and women alike. But, for many of us, that’d be a terrifying experience. I love my curls and crazy colics and felt devastated when I turned 50 years old to chronic hair shedding. My stress and anxiety only made it worse. This was the beginning of a long, arduous, and expensive journey back to regain my healthy hair. There are many products on the market to support hair growth: serums, oils, drops, shampoos and conditioners, over-the-counter supplements and more, claiming miracle growth. I suggest you not go down that path (I never did) because many of those products do not contain therapeutic doses of the nutrients you may need, contain other ingredients that may interfere with medications, supplements of genetics that are unique to you, and, quite frankly, have zero supporting clinical trials backing up their claims.

Genetics and Genomics for Hair Growth

We already know that stress, and poor lifestyle and diet can affect hair loss and hair growth, so let’s investigate genetics and genomics and how they relate to hair loss. This is not where I started, but certainly wished that I had, especially being a health coach. Both genetics and genomics play a huge role in overall health and disease. We are born with our passed down genetics from our mom and dad, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they define us. Genomics refers to the study of a person’s genome, or the totality of one’s genes. Genomics focuses on how our genes interact with our environment. You’ve probably heard the term epigenetics before. Epigenetics refers to how our lifestyle choices, the environment we live in, and so forth, affect how our genes are expressed, or turned off or on. For example, I was handed down two copies of the MTHFR C677T genetic variant, making me homozygous for that gene. That means that my MTHFR gene is working at a 30% capacity versus 100% capacity. The way I eat, the way I live, manage stress, exercise and sleep, all matter in regards to supporting this genetic SNP. A SNP, or single nucleotide polymorphism, is a common type of genetic variation among people and occur normally throughout a person’s DNA. There are roughly 4-5 million genetic variants in a person’s genome. These SNP’s act as biological markers for scientists to pinpoint genes that are associated with disease because they affect how the gene functions.

Your genetics play a role in your hair growth, predisposition to hair loss, hair color, hair texture, how long your hair will stay in the growth phase and if your scalp is predisposed to specific dermatological conditions, such as dandruff. Given that genetics plays a large role in your hair and scalp health, wouldn’t you want to know if there were certain topical products that’d work better on your head than others? Wouldn’t you want to know which supplements would work for you better than others? Well, now it’s possible to identify a more personalized approach to support your hair and scalp health by taking a genetic test that will tell you what will work and what will not work. If I only knew this four years ago, I would’ve saved emotional stress, time, and money. Most people visit their dermatologist as a first stop to hair loss. In my opinion, and personal experience, and I am not claiming to be a doctor, it’s not an optimal first step. I would start with a functional medicine doctor and, along with having a comprehensive blood panel taken, looking at lipids, metabolic markers, inflammatory markers, thyroid, sex hormones and more, I would get genetic testing done that correlates with hair loss. You only need this type of genetic testing done once- it’s never going to change.

Micronutrient Deficiencies for Hair Loss

At the same time that you have your comprehensive blood work done, and your genetic testing done, I also highly recommend having a micronutrient test done. You are probably more familiar with the term, macronutrients, which refers to fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Micronutrients refers to the vitamins and minerals your body needs in order to produce enzymes, hormones and other essential substances needed for healthy growth and development.

Four Categories of Micronutrients:

Each of these sub-groups contains very important nutrients that we must obtain through our diet or supplements. The only that our body can make is vitamin D, and not all of us make the proper amount needed.

water-soluble vitamins

vitamin B (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12)

vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

fat-soluble vitamins

vitamin A, D, E, K

microminerals

calcium

phosphorus

magnesium

sodium

chloride

potassium

trace minerals

iron

copper

zinc

selenium

iodine

A micronutrient test will tell you if you have functional and/or borderline deficiency with these nutrients. It is impossible to obtain the proper amount from one’s diet alone. In addition, most of us land somewhere on the spectrum of having a “leaky gut”, prohibiting the proper breakdown and absorption of these nutrients. A “leaky gut” is caused by many factors, including Celiac Disease, SIBO, IBS, IBD, other gastrointestinal issues, poor gut microbes, thyroid disease, poor eating habits, gluten containing foods, sugar, yeast overgrowth, poor glutathione production, cancer, toxins from our food, air and environment in which we may live in, drugs, alcohol, and more. When our cells are not getting the nutrients that they need to do their various jobs, our health diminishes. When our cellular functioning is compromised, you may experience hair loss. You may be eating a healthy, nutrient dense diet, but if your gut is compromised, your cells will not get what they need. As a functional medicine health coach, I choose to eat a nutrient dense diet consisting of mostly animal-based foods. That’s how I feel my best. Your equation may be different. After three years of experiencing chronic hair shedding, my functional medicine doctor suggested that I take a micronutrient test. Low and behold, many of the nutrients readily available in my diet were not getting to my cells. I found many functional deficiencies and borderline deficiencies. No wonder my hair was falling out. My cells were starving of the nutrients they needed to support healthy hair growth. After six months of following the suggested protocol, involving multiple supplements in therapeutic doses, my hair started to turn a corner. A follow-up micronutrient test confirmed that I had erased 100% of my functional micronutrient deficiencies and 80% of my borderline micronutrient deficiencies.

Stacking Hair Growth Protocols:

Comprehensive blood work, genetic testing and micronutrient testing are three tools to use right out of the gate when starting your hair growth journey. You can spend a lot of money buying supplements online because you read somewhere that it supports hair growth. And it may for someone. But, it may not for you. Unfortunately, health insurance providers do not view hair shedding and hair loss as a covered medical condition. The medical condition, itself, may be covered, such as tests for thyroid disease or medications for PCOS, but not the tests or supplements needed to support healthy hair growth. I cover many other protocols in another blogpost I wrote on hair loss where you can learn more about what’s available. I also recorded an informative podcast about hair loss with more alternative options.

This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.