Ferritin and Hair Loss: How Its Related to Hair Growth

Table Of Content

• Iron Deficiency and Hair Loss
• Men's Health
• Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Anemia
• Vitamins, minerals, and hair loss: Is there a connection?
• When to see a doctor

Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that helps transport oxygen around your body. In iron deficiency, low hemoglobin levels mean the heart has to work extra hard to carry oxygen. Weimann tells us that no large studies have linked the two yet—but that doesn't mean there isn't a link. "Smaller studies have emerged revealing that low iron may be linked to female-pattern hair loss, telogen effluvium (stress-induced hair loss), and alopecia areata," she tells us. Research has determined that there is not enough evidence to say for sure that iron deficiency anemia can cause hair loss in men or women. While some studies have found that people experiencing hair loss were deficient in iron, there is little evidence to suggest that an iron deficiency is the cause.

Iron Deficiency and Hair Loss

A sore, swollen, or strangely smooth tongue may be a sign of iron deficiency anemia, as are cracks on the corners of your mouth. In cases of iron deficiency, your heart has to work especially hard to transport oxygen. Noticeable heartbeats, or heart palpitations, are another sign of iron deficiency anemia. This is due to less oxygen reaching your tissues, depriving them of energy.

Men's Health

Articles published in languages other than English were addressed using language translation agency. We identified 928 studies in the electronic databases using all the search terms (see Search Strategy section). Four hundred and twenty-eight abstracts and names of articles were reviewed in phase 1 of the selection process.

Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Anemia

The mineral can help prevent anemia and boost resistance to infection. This hair loss can happen due to your thyroid making either too many hormones (hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid) or not making enough (hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid). If you’re not familiar with what (or where) your thyroid is — or how it relates to your hair — let’s review a few basics first.

Women typically see hair thinning along their part followed by shedding all over (Park, 2013). Iron deficiency causes a type of anemia, which is when there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to deliver enriching oxygen to the rest of the body. Many things can cause anemia, but an iron deficiency is one of the most common. To prevent iron deficiency anemia in infants, feed your baby breast milk or iron-fortified formula for the first year.

This can cause a range of problems, including anemia and hair loss. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron for the body to use as needed. Many parts of the body contain ferritin, including the spleen, liver, blood, and hair follicles. When a person has a low ferritin count, they will also be low in iron.

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This is why a physical exam usually can't identify an iron deficiency. At this stage, you will likely feel tired, weak, and short of breath when climbing stairs or exercising. You may also experience headaches, dizziness, and heart palpitations. If you are a good candidate for treatment, your medication can be shipped o your front door with our free shipping. We offer a range of treatment options from oral to topical, as well as customized formulas which can combine multiple active ingredients into one easy formulation. Iron is an oxidant, which means it can react with other molecules in the body.

Could Iron Deficiency Be Causing Your Hair Loss? Here's What the Experts Say

Doctors are not sure why some people who experience hair loss have low iron stores. They do know, however, that iron is an essential component in an enzyme called ribonucleotide reductase that helps cell growth. Iron supplements commonly cause constipation, so slow-release supplements are preferred. It’s important to talk to your doctor first, before taking iron supplements, though.

Thinking about hair loss treatment?

However, if the doctor suspects anemia stems from gastrointestinal problems, they may recommend further tests and procedures, including upper and lower endoscopies. They may recommend increasing your intake of iron via your diet or taking supplements. In the later stages of iron deficiency, the nails can become spoon-shaped, meaning that the middle of your nail dips and the edges raise to give a rounded appearance like a spoon. Headaches may be a symptom of iron deficiency, although more research is needed on the connection between dopamine dysfunction, estrogen levels, and iron deficiency. If you pull your lower eyelid down while looking in a mirror, the inside layer should be a vibrant red color. If it’s a very pale pink or yellow, you may have iron deficiency.

Speak to your GP or a qualified trichologist to establish if anaemia is the cause of your hair loss. If so, they’ll be able to help you find the right treatment to replenish your body’s iron levels and might even prescribe iron supplements. In fact, only case reports have been used to justify the use of biotin supplements for hair growth. These case reports were in children and found that 3–5 mg biotin daily could improve hair health after 3–4 months in children with uncombable hair syndrome [37, 38]. Iron deficiency can lead to anaemia, a condition where your body does not produce enough red blood cells, or haemoglobin, which are crucial to delivering oxygen to your tissues. Iron deficiency anaemia is most common in women of childbearing age due to losing iron through periods and pregnancy.

“Eating a healthy diet with adequate iron-rich foods or taking an iron supplement can correct the deficiency and lead to hair regrowth,” explains Dr. Piliang. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that is characterized by “round patches of hair loss on the scalp,” although it can occur elsewhere on the body, Agbai says. While the exact reason for this type of hair loss is unknown, it is generally understood that “the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss,” she adds. Deficiency in a few micronutrients has been implicated in the pigment loss of hair, including ferritin, vitamin D, folate, vitamin B12, and selenium deficiencies.

While taking a shower, you look down and notice more clumps of hair than usual circling the drain. In fact, you swear you might be losing hair from your armpits as well. You’ve Googled endlessly about the possible causes, but none of them seem to make sense as to why you might be losing hair.

Low iron levels, or iron deficiency, occur when your body doesn’t have enough iron. We consulted board-certified dermatologists Rina Weimann, MD, FAAD, and Vladyslava Doktor, MD, to find out. Keep reading for everything you need to know about the relationship between iron deficiency and hair loss. When your iron levels are low, your body finds it hard to produce haemoglobin [2], which is found in your red blood cells and carries oxygen around the body. Research states that there is not enough evidence available to suggest that taking iron supplements will help a person with hair loss grow new hair if they have iron-deficiency anemia. Doctors are continually researching new techniques to restore hair growth.

If chest pains are accompanied by light-headedness, tightness/squeezing across your chest, or shooting pains in your arm, you should seek medical attention immediately to rule out a heart attack. In the first phase, the investigators reviewed the abstracts, and in the second selected full articles and bibliographic lists. If a full paper could not be obtained through the electronic database system, the authors communicated with the authors or requested the full article through ResearchGate.