Getting to the Root of Hair Loss
Have you been frowning or frantic lately, glancing at your shower drain or comb, wondering how many hairs you lose a day? Searching for solutions for quite some time, without any glimmer of hope? It’s perfectly normal to experience daily hair loss. But how much is too much hair loss?
All hair undergoes three stages. These are anagen (active), catagen (what’s happening here) and telogen (yikes), also known as active, transitional and resting. A scalp hair in this phase grows about 1 centimeter a month. That’s just about 0.4 inch. That’s also when your DNA comes into play, determining where that hair falls in its typical 2 to 6 years phase range. Then the hair enters a short transitional phase called catagen, which is more or less equivalent to rolling into the ER with no hope. All blood supply is discontinued to the follicle, and off to the morgue your hair goes– the dreaded telogen phase. May that hair rest in peace, because that’s what a hair does in telogen heaven. But don’t worry too much (yet). If you’re healthy, a new hair follicle will form in its place. It will eventually make its way from the underground cave of your scalp, joining the rest of its full, happy companions at the surface.
How Much is Too Much Hair Loss?
People say that if you’re healthy, you lose fifty to one hundred hairs a day. The truth is, there isn’t a single study out there that can validate this statement. Have you ever walked around for an extended period of time, counting every hair that fell? No one has, There are too many cycles and factors at play, such as stress, hormone levels, the environment, medications, heat, and a thousand of other chemical processes that occur within your body, to really narrow down a count for “normal” hair loss.
You most probably have a general sense of what’s normal for you. Regardless, there might come a time in your life when you think you might be losing more hair than normal. You may wonder if you’ve been routed from anagen happiness to telogen misery. If that’s the case, then I’d recommend scheduling an appointment as soon as possible so we can get to the bottom of your hair loss since hair loss can sometimes be an indication of an underlying medical issue. Most often I see significant hair loss associated with thyroid disorders, gut issues, anemia or autoimmune conditions. As we get your health back on track, I’d highly suggest beginning laser hair treatments.
Why Your Hair is Falling Out
While a hair follicle is tiny, it’s still quite mighty! it is an extremely complex structure that needs nutrients to flourish and is capable of getting malnourished as well. Hormones and diet both can contribute to the hair follicle becoming “ill”.
Hair is prone to aging, much like the skin (and every other organ of the body). In women, hair follicles start to shrink from the mid 40’s, and so hair becomes finer with each year. The total number of hair follicles also decreases. This actually happens all over the body.
Thyroid Imbalances
Hair loss is often a symptom of thyroid issues and hormonal imbalances. It’s important to have a full thyroid panel done to determine how your thyroid dysfunction is contributing to your hair demise. When it comes to our hair, it’s not just about the products that we use, but it really is about what we are doing internally to support our hair. But determining what type of thyroid issue you’re experiencing is very important. Most of my patients with long-term hair loss often have Hashimoto’s disease which is usually triggered due to an underlying virus known as Epstein-Barr (EBV). If you suspect you may have EBV, it’s best to confirm it with the appropriate tests. EBV-infected cells can accumulate in the thyroid and produce pathogenic autoantibodies. This results in a constant “attack” on your thyroid gland. Meaning no matter how much thyroid medicine you take, your hair may continue to fall out if you don’t empower your immune system in fighting against the EBV.
The most common cause of reactivated EBV is chronic high stress. I see this most often in women in their 40’s, juggling life between children, career and aging parents, but truly it can happen at any time. Other causes of reactivated Epstein Barr Virus can include:
- Chronic stress
- Insomnia
- Anemia
- Low vitamin D
- Other infections – Gut dysbiosis, “Leaky Gut”, Lyme, HSV1/2, Parvovirus, HHV6, Mycotoxins and Candida overgrowth
Symptoms or reactivated EBV:
Reactivated EBV typically looks like a prolonged flu without a fever, with symptoms such as:
- intense fatigue
- swollen lymph nodes
- muscle and joint pain
- depression or low mood
- possibly chronic sore throat
- lab testing may find abnormal liver function tests
As long as the Epstein-Barr Virus is active, your immune system will continue to be under stress and out of balance attacking your thyroid and possibly your hair follicles. It’s scary and overwhelming that an unknown virus can be causing so much harm in your body, but that’s why I’m here to help!
Gut Dysfunction
Your gut can be the root of all evil. Meaning if it’s unhealthy it can cause a myriad of health issue resulting in malabsorption of nutrients from your food. This includes iron. This is actually one of the markers I check when trying to address hair loss in my patients. When ferritin (your storage level of iron) is low, this can cause your follicles to shed hundreds of hairs. This is because the iron in your blood helps to carry oxygen. If oxygen can’t get to your root hair follicles, then the follicles will shrivel up and die. So making sure that your gut is able to absorb vitamins and minerals from your diet becomes step one.
Step two, would be to measure the ferritin levels in your body to make sure they are within healthy “naturopathic” levels. In allopathic medicine, the ranges are often too large and therefore most people fall within the ‘normal’ range. As a Naturopathic Doctor, the lab values I require for my patients, provide the healthiest outcome for thriving health.
Step three requires that you make sure you are eating the proper diet that is ideal for your body. Focusing on regenerative health means discovering which foods your body likes best. For example, I have often seen that certain B-vitamins may be wonderful for one person, but may not be ideal for another. If you are low in nutrients that your body specifically requires to regenerate itself, then you will be doing more harm then good.
Getting Help
If you’re in need of more support for your hair loss, consider scheduling a visit with me. I want you to feel confident about your hair, less fearless about maintaining it, and get you back to your positive, healthy self. Equally important, I’d like to help you stop worrying about your hair, so you can get back to enjoying your life!
Prevention is Better Than Cure
Whether you’re losing your hair due to stress, a medical condition or environmental factors or even for vanity’s sake; laser hair therapy has absolutely no side effects, unlike other hair growth treatments out on the market. Let’s not forget that DNA lurks over our shoulders, ensuring our genes are passed on whether or not it’s to our advantage. If your relatives have thinning hair, then it’s never too early to prevent hair loss and begin clinically effective laser hair therapy treatments also.
Resolving the Cause of Hair Loss
Hair loss can be a devastating experience leaving you feeling helpless and out of control. Hopefully you have found this information before reaching “the point of no return”. Your hair loss experience is unique. Your solution should be, too. And truthfully, you can’t afford to reach that point of no return.
I’m here to help you prevent further hair loss while discovering what caused it to occur in the first place. To begin today, please schedule your appointment here.
What is Laser Hair Therapy & How does it Work?
Laser hair therapy uses powerful laser lights to reach the base of your hair follicles, stimulating cell growth, and thus elongating the anagen phase we all want. Using a convenient and effective at home laser hair therapy device, such as the FDA-cleared Theradome LH80 PRO, will do just the trick! Theradome has fused science, technology and medicine to finally solve the problem of hair loss. By treating the base of hair follicles, the laser hair growth treatment ensures the mitochondria of hair cells is stimulated. The mitochondria then produces cell energy that is harnessed by hair follicles, to feed it the nutrients it requires.
I have to say I’m absolutely thrilled to introduce the Theradome to all of you! I’ve seen how much of a difference it has made for my patients suffering from common disorders that lead to hair loss such as (thyroid, autoimmune, PCOS, anemia and gut issues). It’s time that I made the Theradome available to everyone now!
Theradome is not meant to replace treating the root cause of hair loss, but it will certainly help to regrow hair quickly. By quick I mean you will begin to see new baby hairs within 30 days! It has become a wonderful adjunct therapy to healing hair loss in my Practice and I’m so very happy to be able to offer it to you now.
Theradome FAQ
What’s the Difference between Lasers & LED for Hair Growth?
Lasers are monochromatic which means they have a single-color wavelength. LEDs are inexpensive and easy to make and can be often be seen in electronic equipment as an ON and OFF indicator. Lasers meet scientific standards and achieve hair growth results that LEDs could never achieve LED light spreads out and doesn’t have the narrow focus and follicle penetration that medical grade lasers do, making it way less effective.
The quality of hair growth lasers is more important than the quantity of them. Theradome’s medical grade lasers deliver 5x more dosage than caps containing 200-300 lasers. Our proprietary VL680 lasers are made in the US at the superior wavelength of 680 nanometers. This means that we can get much deeper and stimulate the hair follicle 2.5x more than at 650 nm so you can achieve faster and much better results for keeping and growing your hair back.
Theradome hair growth lasers penetrate up to 5 mm into the scalp with cool lasers that deliver a continuous optimum dosage throughout each 20-minute treatment session.
How Does the Theradome Helmet Work?
The Theradome PRO LH80 contains 80 proprietary lasers while the Theradome EVO LH40 contains 40 proprietary lasers. The lasers deliver at 680 nanometers, the optimal wavelength for the deepest penetration into the scalp of up to 5 mm into the hair follicle, ensuring optimal hair growth. It delivers maximum power by increasing its blood flow and allowing the nutrients your hair needs to stop hair loss, thicken existing hair, and promote new hair growth.
How to Use Theradome?
The Theradome laser hair growth helmet is very simple to use!
Step 1: Press the master switch to initiate treatment.
Step 2: Place the helmet on your head and the treatment will begin automatically.
Step 3: The helmet has a built-in speak that will provide voice command updating you on the status of your treatment.
Step 4: After 20 minutes, the Theradome will automatically turn off when the treatment is completed.
You can enjoy light activities during your treatment such as browsing the web, watching TV, or reading a book.
How Many Time a Week to Use the Theradome?
The Theradome PRO LH80 is recommended for 20 minutes a day, 2x a week.
The Theradome EVO LH40 is recommended for 20 minutes a day, 4x a week.
Can I Use the Theradome Daily?
Treatments are cleared by the FDA for twice-a-week usage for the PRO LH80 and four times per week for the EVO LH40, and we recommend following this regimen. However, we have had patients that use our laser hair therapy helmets every day with absolutely no side effects and excellent results. If you decide to go beyond our twice-a-week recommended usage, please allow 12 hours of rest in between each treatment.
Are the Lasers Dangerous?
The hair growth lasers in the Theradome are red, part of the visible spectrum of light, and will not cause damage to the eyes. Since the lasers are very bright, a three-step safety system has been implemented that prevents laser light from accidentally shining into your eyes. If you intentionally defeat this system, the lasers will still cause no harm, but we do not recommend staring into your Theradome for any reason.
Are there Side Effects to the Theradome?
There are no side effects from using the Theradome. This has been verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Can you use Theradome to Prevent Hair Loss?
It is much easier to prevent hair loss than it is to reactivate any dormant hair follicles. By using Theradome for laser hair treatments, you’ll reverse any potential hair miniaturization. As a result, your hair follicles will continue to receive the energy it needs through laser light therapy and will thicken and have new hair growth.
Can the Theradome help with Hair Loss or Thinning from Pregnancy?
Pregnancies can cause hair to become brittle and thin. The Theradome laser hair growth helmet can help strengthen existing hairs and promote new hair growth. Please note: We do not recommend using the Theradome while pregnant of breastfeeding. You can start using it after you are done breastfeeding.
For before and after photos, please visit the Theradome reviews page.