How Autoimmune Disease Can Affect Your Hair & What to Do About It
CityGRL haircare is designed to help pamper and restore your hair
How does my Autoimmune Disease Affect My Hair and what can I do about it?
An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. With 20 years of experience behind the chair serving countless clients as a stylist and my own struggles after weight loss and an autoimmune diagnosis, I’ve seen, heard, and dealt with a lot of symptoms and side effects including hair loss. Here’s an overview of the topic and some tips and advice I’ve picked up along the way and through my own trial and error in creating CityGRL haircare. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly any body part can be involved. Common symptoms can be diverse and transient, ranging from mild to severe, and generally include low-grade fever and feeling tired.
What autoimmune diseases can cause hair loss?
Some autoimmune disorders can be particularly associated with hair loss such as alopecia, lupus, celiac, and graves Disease/ulcerative colitis. Some medications to treat the autoimmune disease can lead to hair loss. It is not entirely clear why some biologics affect hair. Other sensitivities may also occur like those to smells or fragrances commonly used and itchiness.
What causes Alopecia Areata?
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system mistakenly attacks a part of your body. When you have alopecia areata, cells in your immune system surround and attack your hair follicles (the part of your body that makes hair). This attack on a hair follicle causes the attached hair to fall out.
The more hair follicles that your immune system attacks, the more hair loss you will have.
It’s important to know that while this attack causes hair loss, the attack rarely destroys the hair follicles. This means that your hair can regrow. The less hair loss you have, the more likely it is that your hair will regrow on its own.
Can a vitamin D deficiency cause alopecia areata?
Studies have found that people with certain autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis, have a vitamin D deficiency. Because alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease, scientists have looked at the vitamin D levels in people who have alopecia areata. Some people did have a vitamin D deficiency, but others didn’t. More research is needed before we know whether low levels of vitamin D play a role in causing this disease.
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Is alopecia areata curable?
Alopecia areata cannot be cured; however, it’s possible to regrow hair. For some people, regrowth will happen without any help. Because alopecia areata cannot be cured, people who have regrowth can have more hair loss later. Some people have cycles of hair loss and regrowth.
If your hair doesn’t regrow on its own, medical treatments may help. Using the right hair care can help as well. Be sure to choose a brand that limits irritants like fragrances, chemicals and heat that can interact with hair growth. That’s why is was so important for CityGRL to be plant-powered and fragrance-free!
Lupus and Hair Loss
Unfortunately, yes, Lupus causes widespread inflammation that usually involves your skin — particularly on your face and scalp. Lupus can cause the hair on your scalp to gradually thin out, although a few people lose clumps of hair. Loss of eyebrow, eyelash, beard and body hair also is possible. In most cases, your hair will grow back when your lupus is treated. But some people with lupus develop round (discoid) lesions on the scalp. Because these discoid lesions scar your hair follicles, they do cause permanent hair loss.
Lupus can also cause the scalp hair along your hairline to become fragile and break off easily, leaving you with a ragged appearance known as lupus hair. The right haircare can help nourish and strengthen hair leading to less breakage at any stage of your journey with lupus. Hair loss may be an early sign of lupus, before the disease is diagnosed. But many other disorders can cause hair loss, so consult with your doctor if you notice unusual hair thinning or hair loss.
How do you stop hair loss from lupus?
Lupus hair loss may be reversible if you don't have discoid lesions. Hair loss will only reverse itself, however, if you're able to control the disease. Here are a few tips for reducing Hair Loss from Lupus:
Avoid sun exposure. UVA and UVB rays can damage the hair strands and cuticles. Heat can cause dry and brittle strands, to break or split. Wear a hat or stay in the shade when possible!
Change your medication. If something isn’t working, talk to your doctors about other options and maybe consider supplements like Vitamin D and Iron.
Eat a healthy diet. Your hair needs nutrients to build back strong. Protein is a vital building block you should include in your diet.
Limit stress. If you find stress to be at the center of your hair issues, consider adding regular exercise or a walk to your routine to boost your mood and help limit stress’s impact on your hair.
Get plenty of rest. Don’t underestimate the power of consistent, quality sleep. Try a silk pillowcase to pamper your hair as you work to repair it.
Repair your hair with the right hair care. I’ve been in your shoes and know the right products can make you feel and look your best! Our amethyst oil combines hemp seed oil and amethyst to protect hair from heat while increasing shine.
What is Celiac Disease?
Image Credit: Cleveland Clinic 2022
Celiac disease is a condition where gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye triggers intestinal damage.
How Celiac Disease Can Lead to Hair Loss
If your celiac disease has gone untreated for a long time, you may be malnourished. Malnutrition can cause hair loss, along with a host of other problems. Once you fix any vitamin deficiencies related to being malnourished, your hair should grow back.
Celiac disease is also related to other autoimmune diseases, conditions where your immune system attacks your body. In general, having one autoimmune disease makes you more likely to develop a second autoimmune condition. If your hair loss is not associated with malnutrition or age, it may be related to two other autoimmune diseases associated with hair loss—alopecia areata and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
What is Graves’ Disease?
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Graves’ disease can strike someone at any age, though most commonly it occurs between ages 30 to 50 and it is eight times more likely to affect women than men. Those with other autoimmune diseases – such as rheumatoid arthritis, pernicious anemia, lupus, Addison’s disease, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and vitiligo – are much more prone to develop Graves’ disease than those who do not.
Graves’ disease triggers hyperthyroidism, which means the body overproduces thyroid hormones, causing a variety of symptoms. In cases of extreme hyperthyroidism, it is referred to as myxedema.
How to Treat Hormonal Hair Loss
Stress management and nutrition can play a key role in hair health, too. Take a deep breath and follow the ideas below to help reach your hair goals.
Check and boost your iron intake. Low iron causes low ferritin, a blood protein associated with hair growth. Thyroid issues also cause low ferritin, which means you’ll want to get your ferritin and iron levels checked at the same time as your thyroid.
Make sure you are getting enough protein, as protein is a building block for hair.
Try a multivitamin with biotin. A, C, E, and B vitamins, zinc, copper, and CoQ10 can also contribute to hair health. Biotin, part of the B vitamin family, is an absolute essential — and you can find “hair, skin, and nails” biotin supplements pretty much everywhere. One thing to remember: Be sure you’re buying from a reputable vitamin company that offers “pharmaceutical-grade” or “professional-grade” products, as they need to adhere to higher standards of purity.
Watch your daily stress levels. Too much stress leads to cortisol overload. Our hormones are delicately balanced — and chronic stress can lead to a tipping point that throws everything out of whack, including your hair.
Find the right product for your hair journey. CityGRL haircare was developed out of my own struggles with hair after weight loss and an autoimmune disease diagnosis. Our plant-based line was developed with frail, thinning, and sometimes stressed hair in mind. The goal is to help you look and feel your best by pampering and strengthening hair from the root to the tip! For frail or thinning hair, product recommendations would be Moisture Series Shampoo and Conditioner from CityGRL haircare line. These are an incredible start to help add the correct amount of moisture balance to the new hair coming in. I would also recommend Amethyst oil for protection and healing properties.
We cannot cover every situation and outcome BUT, I hope this blog has been helpful education in the challenges you may be facing with hair loss and autoimmune issues and next steps. Please know that you’re not alone and this is a journey, I’m here to help! Hopefully you can learn from my experience and find your way to healthy hair and feeling good on the inside and out! We’d love to make CityGRL a part of your journey and see if it might be a good solution for reparing and restoring your hair goals after or durring the trama of autoimmune disease.
