Your overall bodily health can have a tremendous impact on your hair, including on hair loss. Your emotional and mental health can also play an important role in the long-term health of your hair. Just think, have you ever gotten a zit or a greasy face when you’ve experienced stress or fatigue? This is because the hormones released by your body when you’re stressed can weaken your body’s natural immune defense system. Your body tries to protect itself from the stressful danger, and a by-product of this response is the excessive production of sebum and a general imbalance in your system.

What does this mean for your hair?

Your internal health can lead to hair loss and damaged hair.

Just like your facial skin, your scalp can easily become greasy if there is an excess of sebum production. In addition, inflammation around your hair follicles and roots mixed with a buildup of product can block your capillaries. Often, your skin regeneration cycle will then take off at an increased pace. This ultimately causes flakes such as dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.

What this all means is that your scalp becomes undernourished and experiences an excess greasiness alongside a buildup of the chemical products that you use to clean and fashion your hair every day. While your hair may superficially look and feel soft and nourished, underneath the sheen of product, your natural hair is slowly becoming weaker, drier and more damaged.

Your inflamed roots are being cut-off from the moisture and nutrients that help your hair grow strong, rich and healthy. One of the clearest signs of an unhealthy scalp and root system is when your hair falls out easily during brushing or shampooing. The best way to imagine it is like thinking about a garden. Dead grass is easily pulled away when your rake your lawn, but healthy shoots remain strongly attached to the nutrient-giving earth.

Unhealthy hair is often caused by issues directly at its root, including excess sebum, inflamed follicles and product buildup.

Some issues with hair can be rooted deeper inside your body. For example, imbalances in your hormones can cause hair loss and damage. These imbalances may be caused by menopause, birth control, hypothyroidism and prostate enlargement to name a few. Nutrient deficiencies can also be an important cause of hair loss. We encourage all of our clients to ensure that they have a sufficient daily intake of iron, protein, omega-3, omega-6 and all vital nutrients.

Finally, hair loss can sometimes be driven by genetic factors. Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is triggered by genes that cause inflammation around hair follicles, leading to long-term hair loss and the thinning of existing hair. Such genetic hair loss triggers often require comprehensive medical treatments alongside natural therapy options.

Your hair is more than what you can see on the outside. Damage to your hair begins deep within your body, including through stress and hormone changes. Managing your diet and stress can be important factors in maintaining the strength and health of your hair. Importantly, your scalp requires consistent and natural care to help it remain free of oil, dirt and chemicals. We encourage you to always choose natural hair solutions that work towards rejuvenating your natural hair, instead of covering it up with synthetic short-term solutions.