Introduction: The Hair We Don’t Speak About
Hair loss is a kind of signs no one actually prepares you for. It isn’t nearly vainness, it’s about identification. It’s the shock of seeing extra strands than common within the bathe drain, or parting your hair within the mirror and realising the road is wider than it was.
I first seen mine thinning on the temples and thru the center parting. The feel modified too: what was thick, curly, and full-bodied began falling straighter, finer, and weaker. On the similar time, coarse hairs sprouted in locations I didn’t need them — chin, abdomen line, even round my nipples. It felt like my physique was contradicting itself: shedding and rising hair on the similar time.
Once I searched on-line, I discovered the identical solutions on repeat: shampoos, biotin, minoxidil. However none of those defined why my hair was altering, or what I may do to really cease it on the root trigger.
The lacking piece — the half too many articles skip — is insulin resistance. And when you perceive that, the entire story of PCOS hair loss begins to make sense.
PCOS in 2025: Extra Than Hormones
Polycystic ovary syndrome is commonly described as a hormone imbalance, however it’s more and more recognised as a metabolic dysfunction. You possibly can have PCOS with out ovarian cysts, you may be lean and nonetheless insulin resistant, and you may have fully totally different signs to the following girl.
That’s why it’s so misunderstood. For a few of us, it reveals up as irregular cycles. For others, it’s zits, fatigue, or weight achieve. And for a lot of, the earliest indicators are written in our hair.
Insulin Resistance and Hair Loss: The Silent Hyperlink
Right here’s what most docs don’t clarify clearly sufficient:
- Excessive insulin ranges, even with “regular” blood sugar, drive the ovaries and adrenal glands to provide extra androgens.
- Extra androgens shrink hair follicles on the scalp, resulting in thinning on the temples, parting, and crown.
- Those self same androgens stimulate hair progress in different areas, which is why ladies with PCOS usually battle chin hairs and physique hair alongside scalp thinning.
A 2025 paper within the Journal of Endocrine Metabolism confirmed that insulin resistance is straight linked to feminine hair loss in PCOS, even in ladies with a wholesome BMI. This is the reason so many ladies who don’t match the “stereotype” nonetheless battle with hair loss.
My Private Journey with PCOS Hair Loss
For me, it began with delicate shedding that changed into seen gaps. My once-dense curls softened, fell straighter, and misplaced quantity. I’d run my palms by my hair and really feel how a lot lighter it was.
On the similar time, I used to be plucking cussed chin hairs, checking my pores and skin for hormonal zits, and questioning find out how to take again management. No topical remedy ever gave me lasting outcomes, and I knew I needed to look deeper than floor fixes.
That’s once I began specializing in insulin resistance because the underlying driver.
Therapeutic From the Inside Out
The reality is: hair oils, shampoos, and even minoxidil can solely go up to now. If the interior imbalance is ignored, the cycle continues. What made the distinction for me was shifting focus to metabolic well being first.
Balancing Blood Sugar
- Changing refined carbs with decrease GI choices like quinoa, lentils, and berries.
- Pairing carbs with protein and fats at each meal.
- Strolling after meals to assist insulin work extra successfully.
Prioritising Protein and Vitamins
- Making eggs, spinach, chia and flax seeds, and salmon every day staples.
- Cooking entire hen and utilizing the broth for collagen-rich meals.
- Including marine, bovine, and kind II collagen to my cacao ritual every day.
Key Dietary supplements
- Inositol (Myo and D-Chiro mix) at 2–4g every day.
- Magnesium glycinate, particularly at evening.
- Vitamin D with K2, plus zinc and copper for follicle help.
Life-style Shifts
- Constructing muscle with power coaching to extend insulin sensitivity.
- Extending sleep past my common six hours each time potential.
- Getting outdoors in daylight on daily basis.
Supportive Hair Care
As soon as the within work started, I layered in supportive habits for my hair itself:
- Scalp therapeutic massage with rosemary oil for circulation.
- Silk pillowcases and mild hair ties to scale back breakage.
- Letting my hair air dry somewhat than fixed warmth.
These didn’t resolve the problem alone, however they supported the larger reset.
A 12-Week Reset Plan
In case you’re ranging from scratch, right here’s what helped me create noticeable change in three months:
- Lower refined sugar and processed carbs.
- Take a look at fasting insulin or HOMA-IR, not simply glucose.
- Begin inositol if it’s secure for you.
- Add two to 3 power exercises every week.
- Eat a minimum of one nutrient-dense “hair meals” every day — eggs, salmon, spinach, flax.
- Observe progress month-to-month as an alternative of every day, as a result of hair grows in cycles.
By week 12, many ladies not solely discover much less shedding, however enhancements in pores and skin, cycles, and vitality.
Ultimate Ideas
Hair loss in ladies with PCOS isn’t superficial. It’s a sign that the physique is out of steadiness.
Once I reframed my hair loss not as vainness however as a metabolic symptom, the trail ahead turned clearer. My hair density isn’t the place it as soon as was, however the shedding slowed, my vitality improved, and I lastly really feel like I’m supporting my physique as an alternative of combating it.
In case you’re looking out endlessly for a treatment, know this: the reply isn’t simply in bottles or serums. It’s in how we eat, transfer, sleep, and help our hormones. It’s in seeing PCOS not simply as a reproductive situation, however as a whole-body metabolic story.
References
- Journal of Endocrine Metabolism (2025): Insulin resistance and hair loss in ladies with PCOS.
- Gersh, F. PCOS SOS.
- Sims, S. Subsequent Degree.
- Vitamins Journal (2023–2025): Research on inositol, magnesium, and girls’s metabolic well being.
- Huberman Lab Podcast (2024): Vitamin and insulin resistance in ladies.