Which Hormones Promote Hair Growth and Hair Loss?

Urshit ‐ 10/03/2016

Hormones That Affect Hair Growth and Hair Loss

The female cycle, in Biological terms, or her entire life in the common-man’s term, is hugely effected by the hormones alone. Be it her puberty, the delay or onset of it; her pregnancy, the frequency or lack of it; her Menopause, its late or early arrival; is all controlled and monitored by the good old hormones. Good locks of healthy hair are as important to a woman as her heritage jewels. However, sometimes, despite the very best of care and treatments, you find yourself suffering from hair fall and hair loss. Well, blame the female hormone imbalance. So, which of these ‘little invisible demons-of-hormones’ are we talking about? Let’s locate them and catch them to help your hair growth, shall we?

A woman’s overall health is a play of hormones; maybe that is why they are often known to be rather unpredictable. It is the hormones that are responsible for the ‘fire and ice’ likeness of a female mood; sometimes credited to the lack of judgment that she can be a victim to or the mysterious sensuality that she can exude. However, the striking part is that, aside from just her psych, it is also a woman’s physical attributes that often fall on the not-so-friendly-side of the hormonal imbalance. One such physical aspect is her precious head of hair (and you thought it was the ‘oil’ that your mother applied when she was carrying you!).

Hair Fall And Hormones

Gonadotropins

Derived from the ‘Gonads’ which imply the testes or the ovaries, Gonadotropins are our little wonders of hormonal magicians which indirectly effect the hair growth. Gonadotropins are Partner-in-crime with other set of hormones called the ‘Progesterones’ and together they manage to create a havoc to the overall growth of your hair. However, when behaving rather well, the hair hormone rewards you with envious mane of thick, luscious hair.

The Gonadotropins are responsible for boosting hair growth, as they produce the FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormones) and the Luteinizing hormones. These hormones are in turn directly responsible for your hair fall or hair growth.

Hair Growth Hormones in Men

Androgens

These are the male sex hormones and are responsible for the secondary sexual characteristics in men, like their body and facial hair growth. However, this particular hormone is also present in females in trace-amounts. While the excessive production of Androgens leads to increased facial and body hair, they are also singly responsible for the Pattern-baldness in both males and Females. So, if any of you girls have recently spotted patchy-baldness, get hold of a nice Endocrinologist and get to the root of the problem.

Hair Growth Hormones in Women

Estrogen

Our very own female hormone is the Estrogen. This particular hormone is responsible for you to be ‘catty’ at times and a complete ‘lamb’ at the other times. A well-balanced Estrogen level in females is responsible for boosting hair growth. However, any amount of dip or high can lead to thinning of your hair. Now, the main reasons for the Estrogen levels to play ping-pong can be plenty. Rapid weight loss or gain, certain medication, or the Estrogen-receptors that are present in the hair follicles that get directly influenced due to the hormonal fluctuations.

Pregnancy has also a huge role to play when it comes to Estrogen behaving like a spoilt brat, as both post and pre-pregnancy conditions are reported to witness large amounts of hair loss and hair fall.

Cortisol Boosts Hair Regrowth

Do you find yourself ‘tearing your hair out and sawing-off your nails’ when tensed? (For girls, it could be a simple situation like a lost ‘lucky pen’ before exams!) Well, it is our good-guy Cortisol helping you deal with it, so that you do not end up cutting your veins altogether! (God…Am I evil or what?). Well, I am trying to translate that, when under a threat or a stressful situation, our body produces a hormone named Cortisol, which in turn convert the body Proteins into energy and releases Glycogen.

This finally helps counteract inflammations, which means you are now ready for ‘flight or fight’ situation in order to deal with the problem in hand. While our little hero-hormone Cortisol is saving you from danger, however on a repeated scenario your body finally wears-down, thus the hair fall. So, in order to boost hair regrowth, be sure to keep your Cortisol calm as well.

Insulin Stops Hair Fall

No, I am not necessarily discussing Diabetes. But did you know that Insulin is one such hormone which is directly responsible in boosting hair growth as well? If the Human body was ‘Bollywood’, Insulin surely is ShahRukh Khan. It is that famous, thanks to the PR skills of the disease known as ‘Sugar’! The well-known Insulin is produced in the Pancreas of the Human Body. While it is commonly known that Insulin regulates the Blood sugar, however, this hormone is also responsible for various other processes like fat-accumulation, overall working of the Heart and the Hair fall. So, it is recommended to keep your Insulin levels under check in order to boost hair growth and stop thinning of existing hair.

Thyroid Hormones

Thyroxin is a vital hormone secreted by the Thyroid Glands. Hypothyroidism or the active Thyroid production leads to rapid hair-loss, along with substantial weight-gain and weakness. Therefore it is a good idea to get your Thyroids checked within a certain period of time, if you happen to notice rapid hair-loss and weight gain. However, it is also to be noted that under the condition of Hyper-thyrodism too, hair loss is evident along with rapid loss of weight as well. So, Thyroxin is one such hormone that needs to be at the right balance in order to boost hair growth.

Other Reasons for Hair Fall and Hair Loss:

Since we have the hormones responsible for boosting hair growth or stimulating hair fall covered, there are however, a few other medical situations you need to know:

In case of women, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is one such condition, where it is found to have increased growth of Facial hair and a subsequent loss of scalp hair.
Hirautism is a term given to the Male-patterned-Baldness found in women. This is mainly due to the over production of the Male hormones in women.
A good well balanced diet goes a long way in ensuring you nice long locks of hair. This is mainly because, if you do not have nice nutrition, your stomach is not able to secret the right amount of Hydrochloric Acid under stressful state. With lowered Acid levels, the stomach is unable to lower the PH in order to digest the Proteins, thus, this finally results in rapid hair loss. So, be sure to eat well to maintain a sound stomach-working condition.

How To Treat Hair Fall Due To Hormonal Imbalance?

Now that you know about the various aspects of hormones affecting hair loss, let us take a look at some of the dietary options that can help you maintain the right balance of these hormones in order to boost hair growth.

Soaking of Nuts and Legumes over night with a few teaspoons of a good quality Apple Cider Vinegar goes a long way in reducing hair fall in females.
Silica rich food should be an essential part of your daily dietary portions. Some of the best known Silica-rich food items are Bell Pepper, Celery and Sprouts.
Simply avoiding a few un-healthy food items like Diary, White Sugar and various forms of processed food is quite effective in helping you restore your crowning glory.
In the age of Organics, it is high-time you went ‘organic’ as well by including Hemp Proteins, organic eggs, fresh Berries and milk in your kitchen.

Lastly, ‘in order to get healthy tresses, get rid of stress’. Learn life-management and how to deal with tricky situations without having to go overboard on your health-systems. Being a woman is a gift, as you are a natural born ‘superhuman’ who knows multi-tasking and how to look gorgeous while you are at it!(Ultravoilet? Catwoman?anyone?) Never neglect yourself in the name of ‘sacrifice’, as such a thing simply does not exist.

Remember, your family and kids need you, so it is important to be there for them and for that, you need to look after yourself first. So, woman, treat your hormones well and you will be rewarded with thick and long hair with a nice, healthy life for a long time.