Hair thinning is a very common complaint. It is usually associated with excessive stress and/or hormonal changes. It is also the result of poor digestion and absorption of minerals, fats, and other nutrients.
Thinning Hair in Women
While male hair loss tends to be linked to genetic pattern baldness or excess testosterone, women most often experience hair thinning in association with peri-menopause and menopause
Peri-menopause tends to begin in the mid-30’s and involves a natural decrease in the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone tends to decrease about 120 times faster than estrogen, so as a woman proceeds towards menopause, she becomes more and more estrogen dominant.
Estrogens bind with bile, produced by the liver. Bile is supposed to be thin like water. Combined with estrogen, it becomes thicker, even sludgy, causing liver and gall-bladder congestion. This is why so many women lose their gall-bladders, especially in their 40’s. One of bile’s primary functions is to act like a detergent on fats; reducing them to tiny little, absorbable bubbles called “micelles”.
These fats are then transported to the tissues, including the skin and scalp. When your liver is congested with excess estrogens, important fatty acids necessary for skin and hair integrity don’t make it out. Since minerals travel around with fats, this means your minerals aren’t getting where they need to go, either.
Dry skin, thinning hair, and weak fingernails are important signs of excessive estrogen dominance and liver/gall-bladder congestion.
Hormone Balance and Nutrient Delivery
The first, important step towards reversing hair loss is detoxing the liver and gall-bladder, thereby improving hormone balance and nutrient delivery.
At Chico Creek Wellness, we have easy, rewarding Detox Programs that accomplish liver detox very effectively. One of the first thing many women notice is that their skin gets soft and velvety! Healthier skin and scalp means healthier hair, not to mention more energy, more stable emotions, and a happier you!
Give us a call to get started on your own “YOU-TURN”!
It’s much easier than you think.
Next week we’ll talk about the role of the adrenals (your stress handlers) in hair loss and regrowth.
Part II: Nutrition for Your Adrenal Glands — Your Stress Handlers!
Image © Retna Ltd.
