What Your Hair Might Be Trying to Tell You
I’ve always wondered:
How do I find patients who are as motivated about their health as they are about their appearance?
Where is that juncture between health and vanity that drives someone to seek care that improves not just how they look, but also how they function?
From an evolutionary lens, hair, skin, musculature, and secondary sex characteristics all function as signals of health and reproductive fitness.
So maybe this tendency toward appearance awareness isn’t as superficial as we think.
Maybe it comes from a deeper, hardwired drive that makes perfect sense.
A little vanity helps attract a mate.
Reframed: vanity might just be evolutionary self-awareness.
Evolutionary Mismatch
We also live during a time that biologists call “evolutionary mismatch” – meaning that our physiologic and biologic systems are literally ancient and perpetually out of sync with the demands of the modern world.
That mismatch can show up in the body in many ways:
– cancer
– allergies
– GI issues
– and yes, even hair loss
Hair as a Signal
We’ve all seen it.
Someone makes a major life change and comes out the other side looking like a different person.
I recently witnessed this in someone who left an unhealthy relationship and committed to better sleep, cleaner eating, and less alcohol.
Within months, everything shifted:
– clearer eyes
– better skin
– less inflammation
– a vitality to their entire presence I hadn’t seen in years
Maybe this evolutionary pull toward appearance serves a deeper purpose:
Calling attention to internal imbalances we might otherwise ignore.
Even beyond the reproductive years, symptoms like hair thinning, dull skin, and brittle nails can be signals worth paying attention to.
Why Hair Loss Happens
In my practice, outside of hot flashes and night sweats, the symptom that brings patients in most urgently is hair loss.
For women navigating hormonal transitions—postpartum, perimenopause, menopause—it’s extremely common.
Other contributors include:
1. major life stress
2. thyroid imbalance (loss of the outer third of your eyebrow can be a clue)
3. GLP-1 medications
4. PCOS/PMOS
5. post-viral changes (including COVID-related effects on vascular and inflammatory pathways)
Hair loss is rarely random.
What You Might Be Missing
Medications
Many common oral medications deplete the nutrients your hair follicles depend on.
Some of the most common:
– statins
– proton pump inhibitors (reflux medications)
– hormonal contraception (the pill, hormonal IUDs, implant, vaginal ring)
Over time, this creates a slow nutritional leak.
What shows up later can look like “mystery” hair loss — but it’s often not mysterious at all.
Protein
Adequate protein is essential.
Hair follicles are among the most metabolically active structures in the body, requiring a steady supply of amino acids to sustain growth.
But hair isn’t essential for survival.
So it’s treated as a “luxury tissue”.
When dietary protein is low —or stress is high — those amino acids get redirected to:
– immune function
– tissue repair
– organ maintenance
And hair is often the first place you see the impact – because most women are eating far less protein than they realize.
What Can Help
My go-to starting point is a well-formulated hair, skin, and nails supplement.
Many of the products flooding your social media feed have impressive marketing behind them—and not much else.
The fact that something shows up constantly in your algorithm doesn’t make it the best choice for you.
I look for formulas that clearly show how much of each ingredient you’re getting.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a Hair Growth Support collection on Fullscript: professional-grade, third-party-tested brands I’ve used with patients and seen good results with. Scroll down to the link to my FullScript store under my sign-off, along with instructions on what to look for.
I also have a recommendation for topical hair care products that have shown promise in reducing shedding and supporting fuller, thicker-looking hair. I’ve been using them myself and getting positive feedback from patients and friends. If you’re interested in any of these products, you can reach out to me at support@drkrista.com.
Your Move
1. Start with protein.
Most women aren’t getting enough without realizing it. Aim for at least 20–30 grams per meal.
2. Pull out your medication list.
Look up nutrient depletions for anything you take regularly.
You may be surprised what you find.
3. Consider the Fullscript Hair Support Collection.
If nothing else, most everyone needs fish oil if they’re not already taking it.
Link to this collection is below.
Part II is coming next week – we’ll go deeper into thyroid, diet, stress, minoxidil, testosterone, red light therapy, and the specific bloodwork I use to investigate hair loss.
Warmly,
Dr. Krista
https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/kanderson-ross/store-start
Fullscript Instructions – To purchase these high quality/physician-grade supplements, you must set up an account by submitting your email address. Then you will see the storefront with a list of “collections” on the left side of the page. Hair Support is in the Collections list with supplements referenced in this and the next article. If you have any trouble, please email support@drkrista.com.
Fullscript Disclosure – Some product links in this newsletter are affiliate links through Fullscript, a professional-grade supplement dispensary. If you purchase through my Fullscript storefront, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I’m also a market partner for the hair care line mentioned above and earn from sales. I only recommend products I use personally or in my clinical practice. These are not sponsored posts, and my recommendations are not influenced by these arrangements. Individual results may vary.