Hair Restoration Blog

Does my hair loss mean I have a thyroid condition?

Does my hair loss mean I have a thyroid condition?

“According to the Academy of Dermatology, almost half of the American population experiences thinning hair by the age of 40, but people with certain thyroid conditions may start to lose their hair even earlier and more quickly,” reported Foxnews.com.Hair Loss and Thyroid condition

What’s interesting, the type of hair loss, and area of the body in which you have been losing your hair can be a clue as to what may be going on inside, due to thyroid issues.

A unique identifier of hypothyroidism is hair loss on the outside of the eyebrows, according to Mary Shomon, a nationally known advocate for thyroid patients.

Mary explains on the American Hair Loss Association’s website that other hair loss clues such as hair loss from other places of the body like the underarms and legs, hair that changes in texture and becomes thinner, as well as hair that no longer will take a perm or curl, may be an indicator of a thyroid hormone imbalance.

The other possible cause for the problem of hair loss is that even if you are receiving hormone treatment for hypothyroidism, you may not be on the best type of medication for you.

According to Dr. Jennifer Landa, chief medical officer for BodyLogicMD, “Most medication that we get for thyroid is T4 (thyroxine), and most patients do very well on that,”

hair loss“But there are many patients that would benefit from the addition of some T3 into their thyroid hormone regimen to help them grow back hair longer and stronger.”

She suggests that if a patient has been on a T4, such as Synthyroid, without seeing improvement, to ask to have their T3 level tested as well.

Even after you have gotten your thyroid hormones checked, you might still want to pursue other avenues to determine if your hair loss might be due to other problems.

An evaluation by a hair loss specialist may help uncover whether there are immune, or genetic reasons to cause you lose your hair.

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