Recently I came across an article, “The Year America’s Hair Fell Out” in The Atlantic. Why? Well, for many, the past two years have been immensely stressful – either dealing with politics, pandemic and the actual illness directly related to Covid-19 itself, this isn’t even addressing the “usual” hair loss culprits.

If you had Covid-19, there is a likelihood that you could have hair loss later, as it can trigger Telogen Effluvium.

Honestly, Teolgen Effluvium wasn’t part of my normal vocab as a doctor. Basically, it’s from a stressor-emotionally or physically, that can put your hair into the “telogen” phase of the growth cycle, which basically starves the hair follicle and it then falls out.

But even if you didn’t have “the vid” as Kevin Hart calls it, the stress of our nation since March 2020 could have done it alone!

The timeline of hair loss following a stressor is usually 2-4 months.  The good news is that your hair will grow back-it just requires patience! I wish we could buy patience in pill form! 🙂

So if you are suffering, please have hope – our hair will come back! If you’re like me though, you want to “do something” about it here is a good checklist:

  1. Get good blood work: full thyroid panel, thyroid antibodies, iron, ferritin, copper, vitamin d, hormones: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, inflammation marker: hsCRP and possibly heavy metals.

Also, if you have gut health issues, you may want to test your microbiome by doing a stool analysis or check for SIBO.

  1. Get on Collagen Elixir! This collagen is like no other and has helped immensely with my hair growth. Here is a link to a video about the Elixir and below are some before and after pics of people’s hair growth. This collagen is great for skin, hair and nails, yet it is also wonderful for your gut lining and your tendons and ligaments; really it is utilized by all of your connective tissue. Try it today.

I have recently added in Hair Revival and am loving the results.  Get both the Collagen Elixir and the Hair Revival.

  1. Take this quiz: this is a cool tool and it told me potential causes of my hair loss

Be aware they do sell products, and I don’t necessarily feel that that is the answer. You can use the results to help guide you, not necessarily to buy products, unless you want to.

  1. Biotin isn’t always the answer: while this can help some, I have found it hasn’t fixed the problem with many, probably because many aren’t deficient in biotin.

Of course I don’t know if someone is or isn’t deficient, until I run a test like the micronutrient testing from Vibrant America to help tell me about someone’s nutrients and biochemistry.

  1. Shampoo: I think some on the market that block DHT can be helpful, but I’m not certain yet. Limit hair washing to 1-2x/week if possible.
  2. Serums: you can apply it 1-2x/week at night, and wash in the morning. I think it’s worthwhile to consider helping stimulate the scalp, but not always a must

If you are experiencing hair loss, we’d love to help, schedule a new patient appointment today by calling 970-963-6500.