PCOS and hair loss!

There has been alot of questions lately about PCOS and hair loss. so i thought id try and explain what causes the hair loss and how you could treat it.

Ok girls, hands up if you have the dreaded 'i'm going bald' chat with family/friends/partners... yup my hand went up!
The good thing is you're not alone! theres lots of us out there with the same problem.

What causes it?

Your hair follicles and adjoining skin are active every second of every day. They receive and respond to hormonal messages from other areas of the body or from nearby cells. They also create their own hormones.
What you have is an unbelievably complex web of interacting hormones and other signaling molecules that either cause hair loss or prevent hair loss. Here are a few hormones that affect your hair:

• Androgens (male hormones)
• Cortisol (stress hormone)
• Estrogen
• Growth hormone
• Melatonin
• Prolactin
• Thyroid hormones.

Most commonly, the biggest concern of women with polycystic ovary syndrome is the high levels of their androgens.
Women with PCOS frequently have a condition called "androgenetic alopecia". which appears to be caused  by excessively high levels of androgens.
Androgens are male hormones such as testosterone.
The primary culprit appears to be a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is converted from testosterone and binds to hair follicles.
DHT (dihydrotestosterone) causes hair follicles on the scalp to contract and miniaturize, which in turn causes the hair growing from that particular follicle to become thinner and more fragile.
These hairs become progressively shorter and thinner with each successive hair cycle. Over time, only fine, miniaturized hairs remain. Eventually the hairs die out, leading to a scalp with decreased hair coverage.
Meanwhile, the DHT is making your facial hair coarser.
So you end up losing hair where you want it, and growing hair where you don't want it.
Another common hormone issue with women who have PCOS is an underactive thyroid, known as hypothyroidism.
Besides causing you to gain weight and become infertile, hypothyroidism contributes to hair thinning.
It's fairly common for PCOS women to simultaneously have hypothyroidism and too much testosterone. This imbalance presents a real challenge for maintaining hair health.

Although bald-ing is a pain in the rear there are ways you can help slow down the process...

Biotin.
Biotin contributes to the process that releases energy from food and in the maintenance of normal skin and mucous membranes. It also contributes to the normal function of the immune system and the maintenance of normal hair.

Vitamins for the hair...

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=101&prodid=271&cid=241&sid=0

Salts...

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=1381&prodid=1082&cid=241&sid=0

Theres many options but they're just a few, hope you found this helpful

Nadine xx