Losing up to 100 strands of hair every day is normal, but if you start to see excessive hair accumulation in your shower drain, it may be a cause for concern. Hair loss is a widespread problem that affects countless people worldwide. Among men between 40 and 49, 53% are estimated to experience male pattern baldness, but women can also be affected. Sometimes, this issue can be vitamin deficiency hair loss. Let’s take a look at the vitamins that affect hair health and how deficiencies can result in hair loss.
What Causes Hair Loss?
Hair loss is a condition where you may notice bald patches or a receding hairline. However, in some cases, people may not immediately notice these symptoms. Instead, they may have to clean their brush more frequently than usual or find that their hair is blocking the drain after washing.
When it comes to hair loss, there are many potential causes. Hypothyroidism, medication, stress, infections, pregnancy, and alopecia areata are all factors that you need to take into consideration when you notice significant hair loss.
The Role of Vitamins in Hair Health
While there are a lot of things that can make you lose hair, something that people often overlook is the fact that nutrients can be one of those.
To better understand this, we need to consider the role that vitamins play in hair health. You have to consider the fact that there are different vitamins (and minerals) and each has its role to play when it comes to the human body.
For hair, vitamins can help improve cell growth and provide protection against oxidative damage. Vitamins also nourish your hair follicles, which can help to stimulate the growth of new hair strands. Vitamins play a role in reducing the risk of premature graying as well.
Vitamin Deficiency Hair Loss: Is There A Link?
Since vitamins are so important for hair health, when you’re deficient of these nutrients, it’s possible that this can contribute to hair loss. In addition to hair loss, sometimes, vitamin deficiencies can also cause your hair to become thin and brittle. This is because your hair follicles won’t be nourished by vitamins. Plus, when you have a deficiency of certain vitamins, it also increases the risk of free radicals, causing oxidative damage to your hair (and follicles).
The Vitamin Deficiencies That May Result In Hair Loss
At this point, you might ask which vitamin deficiency causes hair loss. That’s exactly what we’ll be looking at in this section. We’ll cover each of the vitamins that can have a potential impact on your hair growth separately so that you get a better idea about which ones you should focus on.
Vitamin D: If you ever asked does vitamin D help hair growth - the short answer is yes, it could. However, you first need to know if you have a deficiency, as that’s when this particular vitamin becomes useful. Research has shown that vitamin D is especially important for your hair follicles. Furthermore, studies have also found that people who have conditions like alopecia tend to experience a deficiency of vitamin D.
Vitamin E: This vitamin plays a role in your body’s natural antioxidant capacity. When you increase your intake of vitamin E, the nutrient can help your body fight against free radical damage.
Vitamin B12: A vitamin that plays a critical role in blood cell production. It helps to ensure your hair follicles can get access to oxygen-rich blood, which nourishes the follicles and contributes to your hair health.
Vitamin C: Another helpful antioxidant that fights free radicals and reduces the amount of oxidative stress your hair follicles have to endure.
Zinc: While zinc is actually a mineral, it’s important that we include it in this list. It’s a nutrient that is really important for maintaining the structure of your hair follicles. Plus, zinc plays a role in the synthesis of both RNA and DNA. According to scientific studies, zinc helps to ensure the body’s repair mechanisms work properly and to keep DNA stable inside these hair follicles.
Strategies to Stop Hair Loss
Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the vitamin deficiencies that can lead to hair loss, we should consider a couple of strategies you can use. We’ll share factors related to both your diet and lifestyle that can help to save your hair.
1. Diet changes
First, let’s start by taking a closer look at what dietary changes you should consider. People often don’t realize just how much of an impact their diet can have on hair health. But, you need to remember that what you eat determines how much nutrients you get into your body.
So, let’s take a look at some of these diet changes:
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Aim for a varied diet: Take a closer look at the foods you include in your diet. You need to focus on variety - including vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and other healthy options.
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Choose whole foods: Steer clear of processed foods, as they’re filled with pro-inflammatory chemicals. Instead, choose whole foods when you shop for groceries.
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Drink plenty of water: Hydration plays a key role in the well-being of your entire body - including your hair. That’s why you have to ensure you drink lots of water on a daily basis.
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Iron-rich foods: It’s also a good idea to add more foods that are rich in iron to your diet. This includes nuts, seeds, spinach, dried fruit, and legumes.
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Vitamin A foods: You’ll also benefit from vitamin A foods, such as liver, eggs, fish, leafy greens, and yellow vegetables.
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Protein-rich foods: Protein is an important nutrient in your body and can also contribute to hair health. Include more yogurt, nuts, seeds, tofu, chickpeas, beans, and lentils in your diet.
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Zinc-rich foods: While zinc plays a role in your immune system, its effects can also impact your hair. Some of the best foods to add to your diet when you want to increase your intake of zinc include beef, pork, lobster, chickpeas, nuts, oats, crab, and oysters.
2. Lifestyle changes
Now that you know what dietary changes can help, let’s take a look at adjustments you can make to your lifestyle.
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Manage emotional stress: If you want to know how to regain hair loss from stress, then the first step is to actually manage your stress. You need to find healthy ways to cope, such as through meditation and yoga. Journaling also helps a lot of people. Take note of the stressors in your life - awareness can help you understand what strategies you can use to manage your stress.
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Quit smoking: We’re constantly told that smoking is bad for us - and if you haven’t gotten an excuse to quit yet, then now you have one. The toxins that are present in cigarettes can have a negative impact on follicle growth, and this affects your hair health.
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Scalp massage: When you get a scalp massage, it helps to stimulate blood flow. Your hair follicles need access to enough blood (which contains oxygen and nutrients) to function properly.
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Protect hair: It’s also important to protect your hair. Consider wearing a hat when you’re outside, and be careful when you decide to use heated styling tools.
3. Natural supplements
There are also several natural supplements that can help to stop or at least slow down the rate of hair loss. It’s important to consider all of your options and choose one that is right for you, such as Nufolix Hair Growth Essential Nutrients Formula, an all-natural product that focuses on restoring optimal nutrient levels in your body.
Here are a couple of other options that you might also consider:
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Biotin gummies or drops: Biotin is an essential nutrient for hair health and growth. Taking gummies or drops that contain biotin can help to improve absorption and reduce hair loss.
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Fish oil or omega-3 supplements: You should also focus on getting more healthy fats into your body. While you can do so by including more fatty fish and avos in your diet, a supplement can deliver a concentrated form of omega-3 and other fatty acids.
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Gummies with hair-healthy vitamin blends: There are also some gummy supplements that have been formulated with blends of nutrients (minerals and vitamins) specifically to target problems related to hair loss.
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Topical oils: In some cases, topical oils like peppermint, lavender, and rosemary oil can also be helpful. They can be used to stimulate blood flow and improve your overall scalp health.
Vitamin Deficiency Hair Loss FAQs
What foods stop hair loss?
It’s important to include foods that contain essential vitamins and other nutrients for your hair. This includes things like spinach, nuts, avocado, fatty fish, and more.
What triggers hair loss?
There are lots of things that can contribute to hair loss. An unhealthy diet, your genetic makeup, and even medication are things that can trigger this problem.
How long does it take for hair to grow back after nutrient deficiency?
It depends on how severe your nutrient deficiency is. Most people will find that it takes several months for their hair to grow back after correcting this deficiency.
Key Takeaways
Hair loss is a very common problem, and while it mostly affects men, women can also experience it. Getting to the root causes of hair loss can help you address this issue, but there are several things that you’ll need to assess. Vitamin deficiency hair loss is one possibility, in which case you’ll need to increase the amount of certain nutrients you get from your diet, or in the form of supplements.
References
1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9865198/
2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8759975/
3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37787421
4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35531482/
Amna Eltawil
Amna Eltawil is an Egyptian journalist who grew up on the coast of the Mediterranean in Alexandria, Egypt, before moving to Cairo and getting her bachelor's in journalism. From there, she went on to cover new stories and entertainment news for several local and international platforms. Amna enjoys visiting cities on the Mediterranean reminiscent of her childhood city Alexandria, like Barcelona, and she can never have enough of Paris, where she simply likes to walk the streets of the city and enjoy a simple Parisian crepe or have a chill picnic.
