Table of Contents

• The Causes of Hair Loss That You Might Not Know About
• #1 Hard Water can Cause Hair Loss
• #2 Too Much Vitamin A
• #3 Magnesium Deficiency can Cause Hair Loss
• #4 Gluten Intolerance Causes Hair Loss
• # 5 Drinking Alcohol
• Conclusions

The Causes of Hair Loss That You Might Not Know About

The causes of hair loss can be very simple and easily fixed (e.g. Stress) or very complicated and almost impossible to reverse (such as a serious underlying health condition). My goal in this article is to present some of the causes of hair loss that you might not have considered and provide you with easy to implement solutions. Maybe you will discover what is the cause of your own hair loss and learn how to stop it! If you are looking to try a great natural hair loss shampoo – check out my review of the best shampoo that I have used to regrow my hair.

#1 Hard Water can Cause Hair Loss

Water that has higher than normal quantity of minerals in it is often referred to as ‘Hard water’. Chalk and limestone deposits in the ground are primarily responsible for the creation of hard water. As the water runs through these deposits (typically the compounds in the deposits are magnesium and calcium carbonates) it picks up various minerals. Evidence that you have hard water in your home is easy to spot – just look for calcification on the inside of kettles or on your shower heads. The minerals that are found in hard water are typically things like Magnesium, Calcium, Copper and Iron. These minerals are terrible for your hair and have been shown to cause hair loss, dandruff and other general health problems. Remember it is a scale from soft (low mineral content) to hard (high mineral content).

The effects of hard water can be terrible on your health (Studies have linked hard water consumption to increase risk for heart attacks). It is also one of the most stealthy causes of hair loss – nobody really considers that the water they drink or shower in could be the cause of their hair loss!

The scientific explanation that is currently suggested for why hard water would cause hair loss, is that the minerals are attracted to the hair due to opposite charges on the minerals molecules and hair shafts. Overtime the minerals build up on the hair, weakening it and preventing essential oils from getting to the hair.

The good news is that if you stop using hard water and take proper care of your hair, the hair loss can be reversed over time.

What to do: Check to see if the water in your house is hard or soft. Look for white calcification deposits on faucets or inside the kettle. Check to see if soap does not form the expected lather when it is agitated in the water (e.g. when washing your hands). If your water is hard and you suspect that it is the cause of your hair loss, simply stop using the hard water. Wash your hair in distilled water instead and with time and a good natural organic conditioner, you should see hair regrowth.

#2 Too Much Vitamin A

It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Vitamin A is required by the body and it is a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin A is used by body for growth, vision and maintenance of the immune system. However, if you are taking in too much Vitamin A, you run the risk of hair loss. Typically a person needs around 5000 IU of Vitamin A but some Vitamin A supplements can have 4 times this amount. Consuming too much of this Vitamin can cause hair loss in some people so it is probably a good idea to check how much you are consuming.

What to do: This type of hair loss is reversible if you reduce your Vitamin A intake. Your hair should just grow back over the following few months.

#3 Magnesium Deficiency can Cause Hair Loss

Magnesium is really a ‘miracle’ mineral and most people don’t even know what an important role it plays in your overall health. Magnesium is in all the major components of the body, from the bones to the heart. Magnesium is responsible for over 300 metabolic processes in your body. Why are you likely to be magnesium deficient? The reason is that the soil has become magnesium deficient over the last 100 years and these days food is also very low in magnesium. You do still get a little bit of magnesium from leafy greens, nuts and red meat. However, it is not always enough to keep your body in optimum health.

If you are woman suffering from hair loss, it is important to consider that magnesium deficiency is one of the more subtle causes of hair loss. Studies have shown that magnesium deficiency can increase excess testosterone and the resulting symptoms such as hair loss on the scalp.

What to do: Magnesium supplements can help to bring up your levels if they are particularly low. You can test your magnesium levels (but it is not as easy as it sounds) using a hair test. If you would like to read more about magnesium and how to test your levels correctly, check out this great resource.

#4 Gluten Intolerance Causes Hair Loss

Very few people know that Alopecia Areata, also known as autoimmune hair loss, is one of the few causes of hair loss that people suffer from due to an intolerance to gluten. There are so many health conditions related to gluten intolerance – literally hundreds listed here. Often gluten intolerance manifests as digestive symptoms such as bloating, but often hair loss is the primary symptom.

1. What to do: The good news is that if you avoid gluten and use a good hair loss shampoo or conditioner, your hair should stop falling out and grow back.
2. # 5 Drinking Alcohol
3.  Alcohol causes hair loss for 3 main reasons:
4. Primarily alcohol decreases the levels of Zinc and increases estrogen in your body which greatly effects hair growth. Increased estrogen in the body causes hair loss and the more that you drink alcohol, the more likely that your estrogen levels will increase and cause more hair loss. Zinc is essential for healthy hair and drinking alcohol depletes the levels of Zinc in the body.
5. Drinking too much alcohol can reduce the levels of Vitamin B and Vitamin C in your body that can also result in hair loss.
6. Folic acid is required to maintain strong and health hair. Drinking too much alcohol can deplete your folic acid levels.
7. What to do: Reduce how much and how often you are drinking alcohol. Be careful if you drink a a lot because you can suffer side effects as you stop drinking. If you need a free consultation or advice on reducing your alcohol consumption, please click here.  Supplementing your diet with zinc/folic acid supplements is also very useful for stopping hair loss that is associated with alcohol consumption.
8. Conclusions
9. I hope you have enjoyed this article on the causes of hair loss that perhaps you might not have been aware of! If you would like to read about my own successful journey regrowing my hair naturally, please check out this article on how I got my hair back.