Introduction — Reframing Hair Loss
For most women, hair is more than a style choice, it’s an expression of identity, confidence and health. So when it starts to thinning, shedding or breakage, it can feel like something deeply personal is slipping away.
But here’s the truth few people talk about: hair loss isn’t just cosmetic. It’s a biological signal. One that can reveal what’s happening inside your body before lab results do. Your hair follicles are among the most metabolically active cells in the body, and they’re highly sensitive to changes in your hormones, nutrition, stress levels and immune system. When something shifts internally, your hair often reflects it externally.
At MMARA, we believe that your hair is a window into your overall health and learning to interpret what it’s telling you can help you make smarter decisions about your body, your habits, and your self-care.
The Biology of Hair as a Health Barometer
Each strand of hair on your head goes through a predictable life cycle: growth (anagen), transition (catagen), rest (telogen) and shedding (exogen). This cycle allows you to have hair growth and regrowth throughout your life. When everything in your body is balanced, most of your hair stays in the growth phase. But when that balance is disrupted by stress, inflammation, hormone changes or nutritional deficits for example, more follicles shift into the shedding phase at once.
Hair follicles are incredibly responsive to your body’s internal environment. Because they’re not essential for survival, they’re often the first to be affected when your system is under stress. In this way, your hair can act as an early warning system, a reflection of metabolic, hormonal and emotional shifts beneath the surface.
The Many Variables That Affect Hair Health
Hair loss isn’t caused by a single factor, it’s influenced by a complex web of biological and environmental variables. Understanding these can help you identify what’s actually behind your shedding.
1. Hormonal Fluctuations
Hormones are one of the most common, and overlooked, causes of hair loss in women.
Estrogen and progesterone promote hair growth, while testosterone and its byproduct, DHT (dihydrotestosterone), can shrink hair follicles. When these hormones fluctuate during postpartum recovery, perimenopause, menopause or due to birth control changes, hair can thin or shed excessively. Even mild hormonal shifts from stress or disrupted sleep can alter the ratio of growth vs. shedding hairs.
Beyond the reproductive hormones, there are other hormones that when out of balance can contribute to hair loss. Insulin, which is best known for its key role in regulating blood sugar is a protein hormone created by the pancreas. When insulin runs high constantly, there are many effects on the body such as weight gain. High insulin is correlated with inflammation which can damage hair follicles and cause hair loss.
Conditions like PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), where reproductive hormones are out of balance and insulin resistance also affect hormones that influence hair follicles, often causing thinning at the crown or temples.
2. Nutritional Deficiencies
Your hair needs fuel to grow and that fuel comes from nutrients.
Low levels of iron, zinc, vitamin D, biotin and protein can all lead to shedding or weaker strands caused by an impaired supply of oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicle. Diets that severely restrict calories or eliminate food groups (such as low-protein or crash diets) can trigger a form of hair loss called telogen effluvium. Additionally, your gut health plays a key role. If your body isn’t absorbing nutrients effectively due to microbiome imbalances, inflammation or GI disorders, your hair follicles can’t get what they need to thrive. Many vitamins and minerals are necessary to create keratin, the primary protein that makes up the hair. A lower than optimal consumption of those nutrients leads to weaker hair.
Learn more about how deficiencies in key vitamins can contribute to hair loss.
3. Stress and Cortisol
When you’re under chronic stress, your body produces high levels of cortisol, a hormone that disrupts the normal hair growth cycle. Stress can push follicles prematurely into the shedding phase, leading to diffuse thinning across the scalp. This is why major life changes, illness or even prolonged emotional tension often precede noticeable hair loss. Most people think of the mental effects of hair loss as the psychological effect after hair loss is observed. When in fact, the connection between mental health and hair health is real and can have an impact on your hair density. Tracking stress alongside your hair changes can reveal patterns that are otherwise invisible.
Read more about how high cortisol and hair loss.
4. Thyroid Health
Your thyroid acts as your body’s metabolic thermostat and when it’s out of wack, your hair knows. The thyroid helps to support hair growth in two key ways: extending the growth (anagen) phase so hair has more time to grow and stimulating the follicles. A condition where you have an underactive thyroid is known as hypothyroidism and the condition of an overactive thyroid is known as hyperthyroidism.
Both hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) can cause hair loss, typically accompanied by changes in energy, mood, or weight. When the thyroid is underactive, it does not fully support the longer anagen phase. Once in the telogen phase, hair will stop growing and start to shed all over the head. An overactive thyroid produces too much thyroid hormone which can damage the hair follicle resulting in brittle or weak hair.
5. Inflammation and Immune Response
Inflammation is a body response mechanism intended to keep you healthy by removing harmful invaders (such as bacteria) from the body. This is referred to as acute inflammation. However, there are many triggers that can create sustained inflammation (also known as chronic inflammation) such as diet, stress, being overweight, or underlying illness which can impact hair health in two ways.
First, chronic inflammation impairs circulation and nutrient delivery to follicles, thereby weakening the follicles. Second, it can trigger autoimmune responses, as seen in conditions like alopecia areata, where the body mistakenly attacks its own hair follicles. An anti-inflammatory lifestyle: eating a diet rich in omega-3s and antioxidants, hydrating properly everyday and managing stress, supports both scalp and systemic health.
6. Environmental and Lifestyle Factors
Hair lives at the intersection of biology and behavior. While you can focus on nourishing your body with organic foods, drinking filtered water, engaging in a daily meditation and maintaining a healthy weight, there are still environmental factors that can contribute to hair loss. The products you use, the air you breathe and the water you wash with all play a role.
- Hard water (water that has a high concentration of dissolved minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium) can leave mineral buildup on the scalp and hair shaft which can lead to clogged pores and breakage.
- Air pollution and product residue can clog follicles making it harder for nutrients to nourish the follicles.
- Heat styling, relaxers, tight hairstyles, and chemical treatments can cause breakage by damaging the hair shaft to a point where it snaps with manipulation. These types of styles can also cause thinning as they can burn the scalp or create too much tension on the scalp.
- Sleep deprivation, dehydration, smoking, and alcohol can all impair circulation and nutrient absorption throughout the body, including the hair follicles.
Whether you are impacted by one of these factors or all of them, the end result is hair that’s weaker, thinner, and slower to grow because your lifestyle is signaling stress to your follicles.
7. Medications and Medical Treatments
Certain medications, including antidepressants, beta-blockers, birth control pills and chemotherapy drugs can cause temporary or long-term shedding. When your body prioritizes vital organs under stress or treatment, hair growth is paused. The key is understanding that this response is reversible once the underlying cause is addressed. It is important to address the underlying cause and regain health to support future hair growth and health.
Genetics vs. Health-Related Hair Loss
While genetics do play a role in hair loss, they’re not the full story — especially for women.
Genetic hair loss (female pattern hair loss) affects about 30–40% of women, usually appearing as gradual thinning at the crown and temples. However, recent research suggests that 60–70% of female hair loss cases are multifactorial, meaning they’re triggered or worsened by health or environmental factors rather than pure heredity.
In other words: genetics may set the stage, but your lifestyle, hormones, stress and nutrition determine the performance. Even if you’re genetically predisposed, improving your internal health can slow, stabilize or even reverse shedding. That is encouraging news because it means that even if hair loss runs in your family, you have the ability to promote your hair health and manage hair loss. There is hope.
Read more about causes and fixes for hair regrowth.
Why Early Tracking Matters
Hair loss doesn’t happen overnight. It’s gradual and often subtle until it becomes visible.
By the time thinning is obvious, the underlying imbalance may have been building for months or even years. That’s why tracking your hair health early, alongside habits, stress, diet and hormones, can reveal patterns that help you intervene sooner.
The MMARA app was designed for exactly that. It lets you track the daily variables that impact your hair, from stress and sleep to nutrition and scalp health, to uncover what’s really driving change. With consistent tracking, you can connect the dots and take data-driven action instead of guessing.
Download the MMARA app and start tracking today.
When to Seek Professional Help
If your hair loss is rapid, patchy or accompanied by other symptoms (like fatigue, irregular periods, or weight changes), it’s important to consult a dermatologist, trichologist, or endocrinologist.
Professionals can order lab tests for thyroid function, iron levels and hormonal balance — but your own data is invaluable, too. Coming prepared with records from the MMARA app helps your provider see the full picture of your health and lifestyle patterns, which an inform a faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Redefining Hair Health
Hair loss is one of the body’s most visible feedback loops. It’s not a flaw, it’s information.
When viewed through that lens, each strand becomes a clue, not a source of shame. By paying attention to your hair’s changes and learning to interpret what they mean, you’re taking the first step toward deeper self-awareness and preventive care.
Your hair is speaking. MMARA helps you listen.
Download the MMARA app to start tracking your hair health today and discover what your hair is telling you about your body.
