The Iron Link To Hair Growth

The American Academy of Dermatology Journal has recently published research on the link between iron and hair growth and the connection between the 2 could be much stronger than previously thought. The iron deficiency issue for hair loss is complicated because not all people with hair loss have iron deficiency and not all people with iron defiency experience hair loss and as a result not all doctors look for iron defiency when treating hair loss patients.

However in the study, the head researcher claims that a lack of iron in the blood aggravates hair loss in both males and females and that by restoring the levels of iron in the blood, the body boosts its potential to grow hair and cling on to the existing hair. The iron levels in the blood can be checked by measuring the protein called ferretin that also occurs in the blood. This protein is an indicator of the iron levels in the blood too and if it is too low than the iron levels will also be low.

It is important however that balding people do not just decide to take iron pills in the hope that their hair will suddenly grow back. The important thing is to get your iron or ferretin levels checked and measured as part of a check up by a trained trichlogist. If you don't have a shortage of iron in your blood and you start to take iron pills or supplements you could end up with an excessive amount of iron in you which could cause real health problems.

The study quite simply noted that females who had hair loss had much lower iron levels than females who had no hair loss and this was especially noted in females with alopecia areata a rare type of hair loss which is triggered by an out of control immune system. The theory put forward by the research is that low levels of iron increase the the potential for getting all types of hair loss including the genetic forms of it.

The researchers also pointed out that females who suffer from heavy periods also have been known to suffer from lack of iron and that it is quite common to find healthy women with hair loss having low levels of iron.

Iron deficiency is mainly seen in females of a pre-menopausal age and less often in males and postmenopausal females but it does seem to appear often in hair loss cases and is something that needs to be dealt with along with the other underlying root causes of hair loss. Iron deficiency can also be a result of some other condition and this needs to be tackled as well. It may be that the iron deficiency is just a symptom of a much more serious health problem.

The Ukmedix team advises a visit to the doctor for a thorough check before taking any iron supplements.