Treating Hair Loss with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Hair loss may be a fact of life but the effects of hair loss at almost any age – especially young women and men – can be traumatic. The concealed giggles, the outright stares, the offering of unsolicited advice from well meaning friends and family members can have a devastating effect on self worth. Like Samson, confidence and perceived strength seem to be connected directly to your hair. The only options, it seems, are the limited results of Rogaine or joining a Telly Savalas cult.

But there is another option, an option that has been bringing relief to many for hundreds of years. For anyone experiencing hair loss – especially hair loss due to stress or poor diet – Chinese medicine may be the way out.

What Causes Hair Loss?

The first step is to determine what’s causing the loss. Male and female pattern baldness has genetic roots, but a variety of external issues may be speeding things up. Find the external issues, treat them, and a lot of the time the problem clears up.

The first issue to look at is your intake of B vitamins, an absence of which almost always results in hair loss, weak nails, and a lack of energy.

Stress can also have an impact on the amount of hair loss and the quality of the hair left behind. A head full of tiny, almost invisible hairs, constantly prone to snapping off, does no one any good.

There are also diseases like Alopecia and trichotillomania, diseases closely tied to stress and anxiety, which can expedite hair loss.

Traditional Chinese Herbal Treatment

The first thing your practitioner will recommend is a variety of traditional Chinese herbal treatments. Fo-Ti has a long history of success, and Ligustrum Lucidum , usually used as a preventative measure, can now be in conjunction with other herbs to improve scalp circulation.

Other herbs used to fight hair loss are Thallus Algae, Ganoderma, Stinging Nettle, Sesamun Indicum, and Angelica Sinensis. Each one of these herbs brings something important to he fight, but a customized, tailored formula will improve efficacy and increase results. Talk to your acupuncturist at your next visit about formulating a personalized herbal formula to target your health concerns!

Acupuncture 

Acupuncture has also been effective in reversing hair loss, either by itself or in tandem with herbal treatments and massage therapy. As with Chinese herbs, the goal of acupuncture for hair loss is to correct any imbalances that cause changes in quality and quantity. These imbalances vary significantly from one person to the next, so specific information regarding each client’s current physical and mental health is absolutely necessary.

Acupuncture is particularly effective for those suffering alopecia as a result of hormonal imbalances. This is especially true for women with an excess of male hormones. A study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that women who received daily acupuncture for six months showed similar improvements in hormone levels to those who took the drug Metformin three times a day.

Hair loss can bring about a huge blow to your self-confidence, but fortunately, it doesn’t have to be permanent. Book an appointment with one of our trained acupuncturists today and get started on the road to better hair.