We’ve all heard of hormones, but what you might not realize is that these chemical messengers have a major impact on your overall physical, emotional, and mental health. From weight, to appetite, to mood and beyond, hormones rule it all—and that includes your hair health.
There are a host of habits that can impact your hormone levels, and if they suffer, so will your strands. Here’s everything you need to know about hormones and hair growth, and the changes you can make to encourage a more hormone healthy environment for your hair.
The Hormones that Shape Your Hair Health
Your hair’s growth cycle and follicle structure are impacted by hormones. Testosterone and other “male” hormones are deeply connected with hair growth. If they’re too high, you’ll experience excessive hair growth on your face and body. Too low, and your hair growth may slow, or even stop entirely.
Estrogen and other “female” hormones may also impact hair growth, since they control the anagen phase of hair growth. They help strands stay on your head for longer, and if estrogen levels are too low you may experience excessive shedding and loss.
Last but not least, prolonged or severe thyroid disorders can cause diffuse loss of hair from all over your scalp. Instead of looking patchy, hair might begin to look thin and lackluster, with noticeable patches of thinness and visible scalp all over your head.
If you’ve been noticing increased hair loss, these hormonal factors may be to blame.
The Key to Hormonal Balance
Hormonal balance is your body’s natural state, so you should usually produce the exact amount of each hormone you need to stay healthy, including those that regulate hair growth cycles, although hormone production may decline with age.
However, lifestyle factors such as living a sedentary lifestyle and consuming a Western diet may impact your hormonal balance. Reversing these factors may help your hormones bounce back, and your hair growth recover.
Eat a Hormone Healthy Diet
The ultimate hormone healthy diet is packed with protein, fiber, healthy fats, and probiotics, with very little added sugar. Your body needs protein to create peptide hormones, which are derived from protein. Healthy fats and fibers keep you satiated, and nourish your holistic health.
A healthy gut is essential to healthy hair, which means consuming probiotics from sources like kefir, sourdough, kimchi, and other fermented foods. Consuming sugar can disrupt your gut health, so try to keep it to a minimum. These small changes will set your strands up for success.
Get Your Exercise
Physical activity and hormonal health are strongly linked. Exercise increases your hormone receptor sensitivity, making it easier for your body to deliver nutrients and hormone signals. It also decreases insulin resistance, which is vital to hormonal health.
Staying active can also help increase levels of muscle maintaining hormones which tend to decline as you age, including testosterone. Adding in a simple daily exercise practice such as a yoga session or brisk walk can help keep your hormone health on track.
Self-Care is Key
Stress is a major factor in hormone health—and if you’re experiencing chronic health, your hormone levels are likely suffering. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, impacts the feedback mechanisms responsible for getting your hormones back to normal once the source of stress has vanished, leaving you unbalanced.
Daily stress reducing activities such as regular nature walks, meditation, journaling, or even simply listening to music, can help reduce cortisol levels and keep your hormones healthy.
Adopt a Healthier Hair Care Routine
To help boost scalp health and get hair growth back on track, experts recommend you switch to a hair care routine that centers the health and wellness of your strands. We’re big fans of VEGAMOUR’s cult favorite hair serum for helping hair bounce back, and we’re not the only ones. In fact, it’s so popular that a bottle is sold every fifteen seconds!
User reviews speak for themselves, and with a formulation based on vegan bioactives and created without the use of animal testing, it’s a product you can feel good about using. It’s a great way to help nourish your scalp, and set your newly hormone healthy hair up for a successful growth journey.
So there you have it—the secret to unlocking your hair’s growth potential by understanding hormonal balance. By switching to a healthier daily routine, you’re sure to enjoy more balanced hormones, and a more balanced body and hair growth rate.
