If you have PCOS, hair loss is a common symptom. While it’s not the worst physiological symptom, it can take a serious toll on women’s self-esteem and mental health. As a naturopathic doctor, it’s important that I always treat the whole person.
This means I never ignore the concerns that other medical professionals might dismiss as frivolous. I understand the big impact that symptoms like hair loss can have on my patient’s overall wellness. So today, I’ll explain what you need to know about hair loss and PCOS, including why it happens and how you can treat it naturally.
Why Does PCOS Cause Hair Loss?
PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome. It’s a hormonal disorder in which the ovaries produce more androgens than normal. It’s these androgens, cycling through your system, that can lead to hair loss. It’s a lot like the pattern hair loss that some men experience, and the physiological process behind it is similar, as well.
Androgens are a class of male hormones. It includes testosterone, which you’re probably already familiar with. The real culprit when it comes to hair loss, however, is DHT, which stands for dihydrotestosterone.
DHT is the hormone responsible for secondary sex characteristics like body hair growth and pattern hair loss, as well as for the increased oil production that can lead to acne. Unlike testosterone, DHT doesn’t circulate as much through the body. Instead, its effects tend to be localized to areas like the hair follicle where it either inhibits or encourages hair growth.
How is PCOS Hair Loss Treated?
Traditional medicine usually relies on birth control and other types of hormonal medication (especially spironolactone and finasteride) to treat PCOS in general and hair loss, specifically.
These hormonal treatments help to control or suppress the body’s hormone production, but this isn’t always very balanced. They can come with a whole range of side effects, and they can’t be taken during pregnancy.
Another common prescription is Minoxidil, more commonly known as Rogaine. This topical treatment only helps with hair loss and not other PCOS symptoms. It’s usually prescribed as a complementary treatment since its effects can reverse once you stop using it.
How to Stop PCOS Hair Loss Naturally
If you’d like to avoid hormone-laden medications, the good news is that you do have alternatives. Many women manage their PCOS successfully with natural methods. As a naturopathic doctor, these are the natural treatments I find to be the most effective.
A PCOS-Friendly Diet & Lifestyle
What you eat and your overall body composition has a significant impact on the hormones that your body produces. With PCOS, especially, there’s a feedback loop. Increased androgen production makes it harder for your body to use insulin, which in turn causes the body to produce even more androgens.
A healthy PCOS diet rich in low-glycemic index food goes a long way towards balancing your hormones and reducing androgens as a whole, including DHT.
Outside of diet, ensuring that you lead a healthy lifestyle will also have a balancing effect on the hormones that lead to hair loss. In most cases, this means getting enough sleep, exercising moderately every day, and staying calm through practices like mindfulness, yoga, or meditation.
Hair-Growth Supplements
Supplements are a great way of getting in more hormone-balancing nutrients that are harder to consume through diet. Certain supplements, like zinc and saw palmetto have shown a lot of promise at reducing DHT in the body, naturally, which is important for reducing hair loss.
However, I always encourage patients to be careful with supplements. Without understanding exactly what’s going on inside your body, supplements can do more harm than good. I always recommend speaking to a medical professional and undergoing testing before taking a new supplement.
Natural Hair Products
If you’re also dealing with an itchy scalp or hair follicle inflammation, making the switch to soothing, sulfate-free hair products can help. Using gentler products or hair growth serums won’t cure PCOS hair loss on its own, but it can certainly help make your scalp a little healthier, and help the other processes along.
Get Help From a Naturopathic Doctor
Implementing all of the habits I’ve listed is one of the best ways to deal with PCOS and hair loss. It doesn’t make sense to only address the loss of hair – for best results, it’s important to deal with PCOS at the root, by helping your body find balance.
Doing this alone can be difficult, and you might feel like you’re going in blind. Every person with PCOS is a little different, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to dive deep and gain as much insight as possible into what’s going on inside your body.
When working with a naturopath, the first step of treatment is always to conduct a series of labs. By understanding exactly what kind of imbalance you’re dealing with, I can make very precise, individual recommendations as to exactly what you should eat and which supplements will help you the most.
So book your appointment today, and together, we can redefine PCOS and help you achieve your goals.