Hair consists of almost 80% of the protein-keratin, the remaining 20% is made up of elastin, water, lipids and pigment.
Proteins, vitamins and microelements are the building blocks for healthy and strong hair. And if the former are always in the “focus of attention”, then the level of trace elements is often not given due importance. While:
sulfur – the base for the construction of keratin;
silicon – for the synthesis of elastin and collagen;
zinc affects the nutrition of the hair follicles, controls the work of the sebaceous glands and participates in protein synthesis;
selenium – stimulates hair growth;
and iron and calcium are used by the body everywhere.
How do you know “what they are missing”?
Hair has the ability to accumulate trace elements (and even heavy metals), so the best material for analysis is the hair itself.
Modern techniques allow:
use hair of any length and quality, including dyed hair;
in one study, determine the level of up to 23 essential trace elements and heavy metals;
find out the concentration of trace elements for the last 1-3 months (depending on the length of the hair).
The analysis does not require special training, and the material is collected at home. Hair is cut at the root from several parts of the head (occipital, frontal, parietal and temporal regions). The thickness of the resulting bundle of hair should be at
least 2 matches. And after staining, only 2 weeks should pass.
What does an endocrinologist have to do with it?
The second, after eating, the cause of hair loss is hormonal imbalance.
In the “rating of the most influential hormones” for hair, the hormones of the thyroid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyroid_hormones and gonads are in the lead, and it is the thyroid that has the “palm” in terms of prevalence. For hair, a lack of thyroxine (T4) threatens weakening and loss, since its deficiency slows down the normal synthesis of all proteins, including keratin, elastin and collagen.
You can check the activity of the thyroid gland by a blood test for TSH, T4 and T3 are free, and the results will be ready the next day.
