Tips for Hair Loss & Strengthening Hair

Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional and all suggestions should be discussed with your healthcare provider for your individual health needs.
If you make any purchases through links provided, I will earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you!

Two images from Canva’s Library, Prose image from my personal shipment

Are you experiencing hair loss?

Do you have thinning hair, or always battled with thin hair?

Everyone experiencing thin hair and/or hair loss has various reasons for the cause.

Below are some tips and suggestions to consider, in hopes of helping you achieve long term results and/or slow your loss and thinning. By the way, I’m sharing these tips from my decade-long experience as a licensed stylist who’s seen every hair variation under the sun, in conjunction with experiencing my own hair loss and disruptions from the wrong products and internal imbalances.

First and foremost: having healthy hair involves taking care of yourself both externally (with GOOD products) and internally (addressing hormones/diet/deficiencies).

Second: Having healthy hair (and a healthy body in general) is an investment. The biggest investment with one of the biggest returns is the one you can make to better yourself—in any aspect. Send me an email if you want some examples (I have plenty!)

Your hair will thrive if you’re addressing the health of your scalp by using “all the right products” and incorporating the right supplements for YOUR body, as well as a healthy diet (again, for YOUR body). Finding the right combination for your particular needs can definitely involve getting some in-depth bloodwork done to assess your hormones and vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

However, let’s start with discussing external products before we dive into the possible internal strategies.

If you’re using any shampoo, conditioner, leave-ins, etc. from Walmart, Target, the grocery store, the pharmacy, heck—even MOST professional brands from salons—then you’re most likely contributing to any hair issues you may be experiencing.

The above statement may seem like a lot to digest, especially if you’ve made the investment for professional products and spent your hard earned money; however, I have done hours and hours, and weeks and weeks, and years and years of research with trial and error to discover that SO MANY BRANDS put really harmful substances in their products. Here’s a post about ingredients to avoid in shampoos. Many ingredients are endocrine disruptors, which, in turn, can affect your hormones and other bodily systems (including your skin, which is also your *cough* scalp *cough*.

In my 10 years of experience as a professional hairstylist, and with a passion for non-toxic choices for personal care, my two favourite haircare brands are Aveda, and Prose Custom Haircare. (This link to Prose will give you an auto discount of $10 on your first order. If you subscribe, you will always get 15% off). I also use Attitude for my littles!

I love Aveda for my styling business because their ingredients are ethically sourced, 98% organic and plant-based, and they provide safe working environments in the countries where each ingredient is harvested. They have SO many different variations to treat different hair needs. Aveda can be a bit pricey (for excellent reasons), but it’s also concentrated so a little goes a long way. I use Aveda during hair appointments for clients, so I usually purchase the liter sizes which can last one individual person an entire YEAR or more depending on the frequency of use.

I love Prose haircare for home care for individuals because it’s specifically tailored to each person and their own personal needs. I wrote an entire blog post about my own experience with Prose hair care and why I love it so much. It’s been almost a year and I’ve only used two shipments because that’s how long it lasts with only washing my hair one day a week!

I have reviewed and refined my own formula once in the past year due to personal changes. So if you ever feel like it’s not working the same, try to “Review & Refine” in your account and re-asses your answers.

The list of products to avoid is too long to list here, but reasons why I dislike nearly every other brand are as follows:

• Many shampoos, conditioners, and leave-ins have heavy silicones in them. Silicone buildup can accumulate with each use, which can cause a barrier between your hair cuticle and any outside nutrients (like oxygen!)

• Having a barrier between your hair and the outside world can cause dry ends, stringy hair, breakage, tangles, and so much more

• Many brands also have parabens, sulfates, and known carcinogens. Using these regularly can contribute to a disrupted endocrine system which can offset your hormone balances. When hormones are off balance, many things in the human body are directly affected—especially for women.

• There are ingredients other than silicones that can leave a buildup or residue on your hair, which can make it more prone to tangles (therefore, breakage when trying to comb through it—and the more you break your hair, the more split ends you have, the thinner your hair looks), and it can leave it feeling very heavy, dull your colour, and essentially leave your hair lifeless.

• Many brands don’t concentrate their products, so you often feel like you have to use more to get it through your hair. Using more makes you finish the bottle faster, which makes you buy it more often. So your $10-$15 shampoo that you buy so frequently really adds up by the end of the year. AND, if you’re like me, you buy either shampoo more often or conditioner more often depending on your own preference and usage. A lot of people use more conditioner because their hair feels really dry and they want that silky-smooth feeling. What’s contributing to hair dryness? Poor products leaving a buildup behind, and an imbalanced scalp.

• There’s lots of hair oils on the market these days, and a lot of them say they’re safe for heat. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Think about it: you use oil for cooking. Oil and heat simply to not go together in terms of healthy hair. Hair oil should be strictly used as a finishing product when you’re done styling and you know you won’t be using your hot tools to touch up your hair later. Having said that, GET A GOOD OIL. So many oils just sit on the hair cuticle instead of penetrating into the hair cortex (where it’s REALLY going to make a difference for you). Both oils from Prose and Aveda are excellent for repairing hair from inside the strand, versus sitting on top for a temporary smooth look.

Signs of an imbalanced scalp:

• Flakes!

• Psoriasis

• Oily roots but dry ends

• Oily roots every day, if not by the end of the same day of washing!

Signs of Hormone imbalances and vitamin deficiencies:

• All the points listed above but also…

• Abnormal hair loss (either all over, or specifically around the hairline or in patches)

• Dry hair from root to end

• Thick hair in the back but very thin hair on top (seeing your scalp)

Things to help the external causes:

• Switch haircare products. I do highly recommend Prose for all the reasons in my blog post about it

• Your home water filtration system can unfortunately still allow many heavy metals and other minerals to come through your showerhead, which can drastically affect the health of your hair and scalp. Whether you live in an old house with old pipes, or you live with well-water (I do!), or even in new-builds with a heavy chlorine filtration system: minerals, chemicals, and heavy metals can still get through. Since I live on well-water—and have blonde hair—I invested in a showerhead filter attachment that has many extra stages of filtration. There’s no need to replace your entire showerhead system by the way, since these universal attachments are so simple to add to your existing showerhead. If you have a Chrome showerhead, click here. If you have a black showerhead, click here.

• Don’t wear your hair in a tight ponytail or bun consistently. The strain on your hairline will be visible in a short period of time. If you’re like me and need your hair up regularly, change the position of your ponytail on your head (this will reduce breakage where your ponytail sits as well), and use scrunchies, or invisibobbles, which cause way less strain on your hair in general and usually have a looser hold (the sacrifices we make for healthy hair, AMIRIGHT?). Braids are a great alternative too, and these super cute and popular claw clips!

• Where a hat in the sun to protect your scalp from any burns. This will in turn save your hair follicles from damage, and you need healthy hair follicles to grow healthy hair

• Be gentle with brushing so you don’t pull any hair out from the root! Honestly, sectioning your hair out ahead of time will save you so much hassle and breakage, so give these sectioning clips a try, as well as switching from a paddle brush or wet brush to this one. My blog post about switching brushes explains why it’s necessary and why a Wet Brush can still cause breakage.

Let’s talk about internal causes of hair loss now. This is where things get tricky. If you make all the above external switches, I guarantee you’ll see some improvement in your hair health, but if you’re still struggling afterwards, looking inward can help in a MAJOR way.

A list of internal causes of hair loss or thin hair to consider:

• Vitamin/mineral deficiencies

• Diet

• Hormone imbalances

• Post-partum

• Genetics

• Sleep

• Lifestyle habits (Smoking/drinking)

• Mindset (hear me out later)

It’s great to acknowledge that these causes may exist, but where do you start in terms of addressing them? This is where further investments may be required.

My first suggestion would be to see a Naturopath for an in-depth analysis of your health history and lifestyle choices. By having an appointment with a Naturopath, they can make necessary bloodwork recommendations that are far more inclusive than seeing your family doctor (usually—especially in Canada). Seeing a Naturopath may seem out of your budget, but double check with any insurance coverage you may have, or any healthcare spending accounts your workplace may provide in order to help you cover the cost. Having said that, the $600 I personally spent on my initial assessment, follow-up appointment, and my full female hormone and vitamin deficiency bloodwork panel, AND supplements, was well worth ALL the answers I received. After 3 years of hair loss, other body issues, perimenopausal symptoms, and so much more, I finally had some direction and control over my internal body health.

Your naturopath appointment and bloodwork may be less than mine (I had a lot of issues to address!), so don’t be intimidated by that. And, like I said earlier, the best investment with the best return you can make is on yourself. Finding out things about your health and what to do with it all is HUGE.

My bloodwork panel showed my iron reserves and my vitamin D were crucially low. This was a major factor to my hair loss. BAM, my hair loss suddenly halted by taking a pure iron supplement and a really great Vitamin D supplement. It’s best to take iron in the morning, AWAY from your vitamin D so your body can fully absorb each vitamin. I also learned that taking calcium or vitamin K with your vitamin D helps with Vitamin D absorption. I get my Vitamin D from Athletic Greens and the D3+K2 tincture is a two-in-one for better absorption—and lasts a whole year—which is better on the wallet. Their greens are also a fav and have plenty of nutrients (especially useful for post-partum mamas).

I also had very high cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and critically low Testosterone. To manage my stress levels, I started with meditation and mindfulness (honestly, it really helps the nervous system and gives you 5-10 minutes of peace you otherwise wouldn’t give yourself). I will also be taking Ashwagandha—an herb—known to reduce cortisol levels, once I’m post-partum and my milk supply is established, since Ashwagandha is not recommended for pregnancy. Another supplement company I absolutely love that supports cortisol levels and hair loss is Nanton Nutraceuticals (use my code LOTUSAVE15%OFF) to save 15% on your orders! Choose your health concerns at the top and be directed to their best options.

Another great supplement for skin & hair is a really great Collagen (typically a type 1 and 3 collagen is an excellent combo for hair and nails). You could also try making your own bone broth—a great option as a tea or soup base that holds loads of collagen.

Supplements can be a trial and error, and there are a ton of supplements on the market that seem appealing and “pure” but really aren’t. If you do see a Naturopath, their suggestions might be of the highest value for your health since they tend to recommend potent products with less fillers—so your body can receive the best. But do your research as well!

Be sure to give your supplements a try for a consistent time period—usually 3 months is ideal to see any long term benefits.

If you see a Naturopath and get your blood results back, supplements can only take you so far as well if you’re not changing up your diet or lifestyle routines to have healthier alternatives. This may mean trying to quit smoking, being mindful of your alcohol intake (try some non-alcoholic alternatives!), and opting for nutritious and organic food options to fuel your body.

You may need to sit back and ask yourself: Is it worth all the changes and money? (The answer is quite obviously YES—DAMN STRAIGHT IT IS), especially if you want results.

Your health is worth it. Your hair and confidence is worth it! Plus, trying these suggestions may have a snowball effect: ex) lowering your stress hormones will result in healthy hair follicles, but you’ll also sleep better, make better decisions with a clear mind, experience less aches and pains, and be happier overall.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I hope these suggestions have given you some guidance and direction to take the reigns on your hair health and work towards some game-changing results. Let me know how it goes!

If all of these changes seem totally impossible at once (DUH, of course it’s overwhelming), then I’d like to suggest trying one thing at a time, over a time period that works for you. Maybe once a month add a new external “helper,” and once a week set aside $5 to put towards discovering your internal health needs.

Much love, Auj xo