What your hair says about your health

You probably think about your hair on a daily basis— whether you’re having a good or a bad hair day or maybe wondering whether you should try a new style from the pages of your favourite magazine. But you might be missing clues that your hair is revealing about your health. Changes in your hair’s look, texture, or thickness can be signs of underlying health conditions. Here’s how you can tell whether your hair changes are due to a health problem or genetics, starting with clue number one: Sudden changes, such as a lot of hair loss, are more likely linked to a treatable health problem than are gradual changes, such as thinning. The next time you look in the mirror, look out for these hair symptoms. Grey hair Stress turns hair grey. Oxidative stress may affect pigment producing cells, and dermatologists do not know exactly why trauma and stress turn hair grey for some individuals and not others, but when your hair greys is dictated in part by your genes. Brittle hair Brittle hair is one symptom of Cushing’s Syndrome but there are many other more obvious symptoms of this rare condition caused by excess cortisol, including high blood pressure, fatigue, and back pain. Treatment for Cushing’s syndrome may include changing the dose of medications that could be causing the condition. Hair shedding If you are suddenly noticing a lot more hair in your hairbrush or on your shower floor, this could be a sign that your body has low iron stores, or anaemia, and may warrant testing. Iron supplements or a change in diet to include more iron-rich foods can help you keep your hair. Hair shedding can also happen (temporarily) with sudden changes in estrogen levels and is often noticed after pregnancy or stopping birth control pills. Hair thinning Protein is essential to building your hair, so if you don’t get enough, you may notice hair loss or thinning. Most hair thinning, even in women, is likely due to genetics. Yellow flakes Yellow or white flakes in your hair, on your shoulders, and even in your eyebrows are a sign of seborrhoic dermatitis or dandruff. Over-the-counter specialty hair shampoos and prescription cortisones can help manage this condition. Dandruff, which can be caused by yeast on the skin or an inflammation of the skin, is usually worse in cold weather. Damaged hair Although hair can tattle on your health conditions, people more commonly complain about the damage done by colouring and heat-treating hair to within an inch of its life. Both heat and colour leave you with brittle, dry hair that’s hard to maintain. But perhaps most importantly, highly treated hair just can’t tell you what you need to know about your health.

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