What hormone deficiency causes brittle hair?

Author: Celine Nicolas  |  Last update: Saturday, June 28, 2025

Thyroid Hormone Sadly, hair (and skin) typically suffer first [8] In hypothyroidism, hair tends to be dry, brittle, dull, and diffusely thinned out – even eyebrow hair can fall out [9]

Can hormone imbalance cause dry brittle hair?

Lower estrogen levels mean less sebum is produced. Sebum is the oil that lubricates the scalp. The result is dry skin and a flaky scalp. If there is less sebum on your scalp, there is less to infuse itself into your hair, so your hair is also drier, duller, more brittle, and more prone to breakage.

What vitamins are lacking if your hair is brittle?

Try These Essential Nutrients for Thinning, Brittle Hair
  • Iron for Healthy Blood. ...
  • B Vitamins for Hair Follicles. ...
  • Biotin Nutrient for Thinning Hair. ...
  • Zinc for Cell Health. ...
  • Vitamin A for Sebum Production. ...
  • Vitamin C to Produce Collagen. ...
  • Vitamin D3 to Aid the Growth Cycle. ...
  • Omega 3s for Thinning Hair.

What hormone deficiency causes hair breakage?

Thyroid hormones

In most cases, you experience diffuse hair loss (thinning) over the entire scalp. Treating the thyroid disorder should restore normal hair growth, but it could take several months to see the difference, depending on where each follicle was in the growth cycle.

What is dry brittle hair a symptom of?

Brittle hair lacks moisture, resulting in dullness, dryness, and frizziness. Over-styling, washing, chemicals, and heat products often contribute to brittle hair. Sometimes, hormonal imbalances or malnutrition can cause it.

Thinning Hair? 4 Hormone Deficiencies

What are the symptoms of low estrogen levels?

Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin's surface. This can give you a feeling of warmth (hot flash). Your face may look flushed.

How do you fix hormonal hair breakage?

In most cases, treating hormonal hair loss involves a multistep approach since the central goal is restoring hormonal balance. We may use a variety of methods during your treatment, including hormone therapy, medications, lifestyle adjustments, and platelet-rich plasma therapy.

What autoimmune disease causes hair breakage?

Alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.

What are the major signs of hormonal imbalance?

Here are 10 signs of hormonal imbalance to look out for and what you can do about them:
  • Mood swings. ...
  • Heavy or painful periods. ...
  • Low libido. ...
  • Insomnia and poor-quality sleep. ...
  • Unexplained weight gain. ...
  • Skin problems. ...
  • Fertility problems. ...
  • Headaches.

What is the best supplement for brittle hair?

Which supplements and vitamins help with dry and brittle hair?
  1. Healthy hair: Keratin or Cynatine® HNS. ...
  2. Collagen production: LycoBeads Lycopene. ...
  3. Eat a Biotin or Vitamin B rich diet. ...
  4. Create new hair follicles. ...
  5. Vitamin E and a calm scalp. ...
  6. A Vitamin C rich diet to produce collagen.

Which hormone causes hair loss in females?

Androgenic alopecia is generally used to describe female pattern hair loss, it is the most common cause of hair loss in women. It usually occurs after menopause because of an excess of androgens (“male hormones”) such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) caused by rapidly decreasing estrogen.

Can lack of zinc cause brittle hair?

A zinc deficiency can cause diffuse hair shedding and breakage — as well as other symptoms, such as stunted growth and poor immune system function. It is preferable to obtain zinc through your diet, rather than supplements.

What is the best pill to balance hormones?

Taking a high-quality B-complex vitamin supplement is a good idea for those in the throes of hormonal imbalance and elevated stress level. Vitamins B12, B6, and B3 are essential in helping to regulate hormones.

Can low thyroid cause dry brittle hair?

Those with hypothyroidism may also have trichodystrophy, characterized by dry, coarse, brittle, and slow-growing hair that easily falls out.

What are usually the first signs of lupus?

Symptoms
  • Fatigue.
  • Fever.
  • Joint pain, stiffness and swelling.
  • Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose or rashes elsewhere on the body.
  • Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure.
  • Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods.

What diseases cause brittle hair?

Underactive parathyroid (hypoparathyroidism) Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) Other hormone abnormalities. Menkes kinky hair syndrome.

What does thyroid hair loss look like?

Severe and prolonged hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can cause loss of hair. The loss is diffuse and involves the entire scalp rather than discrete areas. The hair appears uniformly sparse.

Does low estrogen cause hair breakage?

Menopause and hair loss often coincide in many women. During menopause, the body goes through significant hormonal changes, particularly a decrease in estrogen levels. This hormonal shift can lead to various symptoms, including hair loss or thinning.

How to reset hormonal imbalance?

How to Naturally Balance Your Hormones
  1. Get enough protein. Proteins provide amino acids that your body cannot make on its own and are needed to produce peptide hormones. ...
  2. Exercise regularly. ...
  3. Maintain a moderate weight. ...
  4. Watch your gut health. ...
  5. Lower sugar intake. ...
  6. Reduce stress. ...
  7. Get enough sleep. ...
  8. Eat healthy fats.

Can you reverse hair breakage?

It's important to remember that fixing hair breakage is a process – you can't mend individually-broken strands. The best thing you can do to stop your hair breaking is go for a trim to get rid of as much damaged hair as you're comfortable with, then follow our advice below.

What does a low estrogen face look like?

Low estrogen skin tends to be thinner, showing more visible blemishes and wrinkles. Low estrogen skin also has lower collagen reserves. Collagen is the naturally occurring protein that keeps your skin looking smooth and full.

What drink increases estrogen?

Red Wine and the Risk of Breast Cancer

Doctors determined long ago that alcohol increases the body's estrogen levels, fostering the growth of cancer cells.

What are signs of low progesterone?

What are the signs of low progesterone?
  • Irregular menstrual periods.
  • Headaches.
  • Difficulty conceiving.
  • Mood changes, anxiety or depression.
  • Trouble sleeping.
  • Hot flashes.
  • Bloating or weight gain.

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