Updated on April 16, 2024
Is your hair feeling thin and brittle when you run your hands through it? Are you spotting more strands than usual left behind when you brush your hair each morning?
Some amount of daily hair shedding is normal, but how much is too much? And what causes it?
Your hair loss might be caused by a sneaky culprit—a deficiency you didn’t even know you have. Here’s what to know…
Hair loss, known scientifically as alopecia, is pretty common (affecting nearly 80 million Americans) (1). People in every walk of life have encountered it—including young children—though it’s especially common in older age.
A large portion of unexplained hair loss is caused by genetics. However, others experience hair loss due to autoimmune conditions like lupus, Crohn’s disease, or psoriasis, or major healthcare experiences, like chemotherapy (2).
For many women, hair loss arises during certain periods of life—particularly when hormones shift. Pregnancy and the post-partum period are often accompanied by hair loss, and so is menopause (3).
Just about everyone experiences some degree of hair shedding. On average, people shed around 50 to 100 hairs each day, and usually, that hair is replaced by new strands soon afterward (4).
If you suspect you’re losing more hair than normal, look for symptoms like a wider part, a receding hairline, bald spots, and scalp pain. You may also notice extra hair in your brush or shower drain (5).
Many cases of sudden hair loss that aren’t caused by genetics fall into a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss can impact your entire scalp and is especially common for women between the ages of 30 and 60. It’s usually associated with times of physical or emotional stress or major life changes (think: major surgery, extreme weight loss, or giving birth), and is usually reversible (6, 3).
One of the most under-the-radar causes is a deficiency in vitamin D (7).
Vitamin D is a powerful nutrient that we get via sunlight and certain foods we eat. Vitamin D supports skin and bone health, boosts the immune system, and plays a key role in many other body systems—including creating new hair follicles (8). An estimated one billion people worldwide (yes, billion!) do not get enough vitamin D (8).
When we don’t get the vitamin D our body needs, we are at increased risk for a wide range of health issues, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune issues, and mental health hurdles (9). Among the many symptoms of vitamin D deficiency is hair loss. Since the vitamin helps stimulate both new and old hair follicles, a deficiency makes it harder for the body to grow more hair (7).
Our Vitamin D supplement takes vitamins D3 & K2 with organic MCT oil to support bone, cardiovascular, & immune health while balancing mood & elevating energy.
No need to panic…hair loss caused by vitamin D deficiency is reversible! You can bring your mane back to life with two simple steps: Increasing your vitamin D intake and supplementing with collagen.
Replenish your vitamin D levels by supplementing with at least 800 IU of vitamin D daily. In addition to this, aim to get 10 to 30 minutes of midday sunshine each day to give your body the natural vitamin D that it needs (10, 11).
Restoring your body’s vitamin D levels should stop hair loss in its tracks. Next, it’s time to focus on healthy, glowing regrowth. If you want to regrow your hair the natural way, consider supplementing daily with collagen.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It provides strength and support to bones, ligaments, tendons, skin, hair, nails, and more (12, 13).
Collagen also contains amino acids, the tiny molecules that serve as the building blocks of protein. Your hair mainly consists of a protein called keratin, and many of the amino acids used to create keratin are included in collagen (14).
Taking collagen daily is a way to supply your body with the literal building blocks of hair so it can grow back thicker, stronger, and healthier.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body, it’s essential for the health of your bones, joints, skin, hair, nails, digestion, and more.
Many NativePath customers have seen massive changes to their hair when they made collagen part of their daily routine. “I’ve experienced amazing results,” shared Ellen Morgan. “My hair has stopped falling out and my skin no longer feels like sandpaper!”
Another customer, Marylou, shared that even her stylist noticed a difference…“My hair designer cannot get over how fast my hair is growing. So am I pleased? You bet.”
Another customer, Eileen, is seeing a fantastic shift in her hair’s strength: “One benefit of taking this product is that my hair is much stronger, with less breakage and loss. Before collagen, my hair was falling out too much and it worried me. I take 40 mg daily and hope that it will begin to strengthen the rest of me.”
Along with helping your hair regrow, collagen boasts a few other hair benefits…
Because collagen has an antioxidant effect on hair, it can help protect it from the free radicals that create damage or brittleness (15). Collagen may also prevent other types of hair thinning, including the kind associated with aging. This is thanks to the fact that collagen increases skin elasticity, which may be connected to more consistent hair growth (16). And if you happen to dislike your grays, collagen could even mitigate that by protecting your strands from color-influencing free radicals (17, 18).
Most people with a vitamin D deficiency don’t realize that they’re not getting enough of it. Luckily, vitamin D-related hair loss is an easy problem to treat. Make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D with a supplement like NativePath D3 + K2 and load up on NativePath Collagen Peptides daily to pave the way for the strongest, thickest, healthiest hair you’ve ever had.
We want more customers like Judith shouting from the rooftops about their renewed hair growth…“My hair is growing back! I lost a lot of hair when I wasn't using NativePath. Now I have new hair growth.”
Let us know in the comments below…has vitamin D and/or collagen benefited your hair?
Claire Hannum is a New York City-based writer, editor, wellness seeker, and reiki practitioner. Her writing has appeared in Self, Health, Prevention, and over a dozen other publications.
This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Neither Dr. Chad Walding nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.
