What Can Your Hair Tell You About Your Health?

Your hair has a direct influence on your self-image and when you’re having a bad hair day it can be very frustrating. But research shows that changes in the look and texture of your hair can actually be a sign of underlying health conditions. Your hair is often the first part to suffer when something isn’t quite right health-wise.

What can your hair tell you about your health? Read on…

Poor hair condition symptoms

Brittle hair

Brittle hair is a symptom of Cushing’s syndrome caused by too much cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. Steroids used to treat this illness may need to be adjusted with other treatments for this condition including surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

Grey hair

Changes in hair colour to grey suggests that chronic stress is a factor here. This results in the reduction of pigment-producing cells in the hair follicles. When cell-damaging free radicals inhibit the body’s repair process this is known as oxidative stress and can also play a part in grey hair.

Losing hair

A protein deficiency is often linked to hair thinning and hair loss as protein is essential for hair health and growth. Most hair loss though is due to genetics.

Thinning hair

Thinning hair can be a sign of thyroid disease known as hypothyroidism. As well as thinning hair this disorder can put you at risk for an autoimmune hair loss condition called alopecia areata which causes round bald patches.

Shedding hair

Anaemia caused by a poor diet can be indicative of low iron stores. A blood test will identify if this is the cause of hair changes. To prevent this from happening you’ll need to eat foods that are high in iron or consider taking an iron supplement to help. Hair shedding can also happen temporarily after pregnancy and due to sudden changes in oestrogen levels.

Poor scalp condition symptoms

Itchy scalp

Hair needs a mix of vitamins and minerals to grow and zinc is an essential trace element. It helps process carbohydrates, fats and proteins all vital for hair and scalp health. Having low levels of zinc results in permanently itchy scalp according to recent studies.

Dandruff

Dandruff can occur if your diet contains too many bad fats which cause excessive oil production. If the dandruff is yellow you have seborrheic dermatitis, caused by a microbe that lives on the scalp. Hormonal changes and stress are common triggers for this condition.

Pattern baldness

Hypertension is strongly associated with baldness with findings suggesting that this may result in high blood pressure and heart disease. Dead hair follicles can no longer grow hair so hair loss treatments are most efficient for delivering fast visible results.

Get specialised hair replacement services

If you’re concerned about hair loss and want a new look to give you confidence a hair replacement system provided by experts from Cochrane & Co will start the process. You’ll be able to book a consultation to discuss your needs and soon be on your way to a life-changing solution.