Women Hair loss
My reason for writing to you is over the past 8 to 9 months I have noticed an “excessive thinning” of my hair. My hair has also been dried out and brittle. I am a natural dark haired individual and do bleach my hair. I have been doing so for over 20 years with no negative affect.
I moved to south Georgia in September - into an older home, which has well water. I immediately noticed the texture of my hair changing. It became much drier and hard to style. I was told it might be because of the well water and the pH of the water.
What is your opinion? Are there any tests I can do on the well water? Would that cause hair loss? Is there any other tests to perform that might indicate something bad or missing in the water that would be so negative on my hair.
There multiple reasons people loose their hair. With female hair loss the causes may include hormonal problems. One should consider a thyroid problem. This could be due to an elevated thyroid or a low thyroid function. A change in medications might stimulate hair loss in women with female pattern loss and this should be considered too. One would generally see female pattern loss prior to age 62 if this were the cause. 
I think you should consider the well water as a possible cause. There are numerous heavy metals present in well water and you can absorb heavy metals through the skin or through ingestion. There would include thallium, arsenic, mercury, copper, cadmium, or bismuth. A half gram of bundled hairs kept in their normal orientation (tops toward the top) sent to the National Medical Services in Willow Grove, PA can evaluate your hair for arsenic.
A low pH can sometimes cause copper in the pipes to precipitate out into the water and this can result in an accumulation of toxic levels of copper in your system.
You could have your physician work you up for heavy metal exposure. Blood levels, urine levels, and hair levels will generally tell you if you have been exposed to heavy metals. Often times you will have neurological findings or symptoms with heavy metal exposure.
Lab tests in addition to a heavy metal analysis include thyroid function tests, a CBC and ferritin level to evaluate you for iron deficient anemia, a dihydroepiandrosterone level to check you for elevated male hormones, a testosterone level, a FSH and LH. If the work up comes back negative, you could consider a properly performed biopsy. The dermatology department at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta could perform most of this work up.
Heavy metal poisoning produces a characteristic form of anagen hair loss. A dermatologist should be able to assess you for any particular hair shaft abnormalities. Heavy metals were often found in pesticides and herbicides that could have found their way to your well water.
Of course hair coloring can make your hair brittle and cause breakage. This could be a factor currently and might result from a change in salons who use different chemicals or leave the agents on for a long period of time.
I usually see progressive female pattern loss begin after pregnancy or in the 40s to 50s. I do not see it begin in 62 year old women typically. Often times there is a family history, which means your mother would have exhibited these symptoms. Medications high in progesterone can stimulate hair loss in women prone to this form of hair loss. Any therapy would be directed at the cause. Therefore, it is best to determine the cause first. I think most of this work up can be done closer to your home. If it comes down to a biopsy, it probably is better for me to take, but I’d get the lab work up first.
Tags: female hair loss, female pattern loss, hair loss, Hair Loss In Women, male hormones, physician, testosterone, thyroid
Hi, I have also noticed an overall thinning of my hair for the past 2 years. I moved into my present home 2 1/2 years ago that runs on well water. We put in a water purifying/softer when we moved in. I have done all kinds of tests that came back normal except for a vitamin d deficiency. I began having thoughts about the negative effects of well water after I came back from a trip. When I shampooed my hair at the hotels, I noticed less hair fall and I no longer had an itchy scalp. I have lost a 1/4 of my hair since it started. I am hoping that maybe trying a shampoo that gets rid of the minerals in well water will help to improve my scalp condition. I found a line of hair care products called Malibu 2000 that promises to combat the negative effects of well water. I will order and see what happens.
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it is possible to absorb heavy metals such as arsenic through your skin. if this occurs, you might loose your hair and of course some very serious neurological complications might occur. You should consider having your well water tested for heavy metals. No shampoo is going to eliminate these heavy metals. Of course there are many other reasons to loose your hair. If you have performed all tests including thyoid tests, anemia, DHEA, FSH, feritin, an ANA, and a sedimentation rate, you might consider a biopsy to check for alternative causes of hair loss.
Four years ago I moved into my brand new house which has well water. Prior to living there I always lived in homes with city water, even though I highlight my hair and have been doing so for over twenty years, I never had a problem with my hair before. After living in this house within the first six months I noticed my hair thinning. My highlights don’t last as long as they used to (the color fades right out), and the worst part is the thinning of my hair. The hair does not fall out from the root, it breaks off at different points. I have had the water tested many times. It has a low ph count. I had a neutralizer installed to correct the problem, it made no difference. I’ve inquired about a softener many times, but was actually told my water was only border line hard and that a softener wasn’t necessary. I have lost so much of my hair, it looks badly damaged and broken. It is so upsetting and feel that there is no solution. Very, very upsetting! If anyone has any ideas about what could be done, I would love your input.
I was kind of relieved to find I am not the only one who is experiencing this problem. The water softner attached to my well has been acting up for the past two months. The tech’s have been in and out of my home trying to get this thing settled. In the meantime, the water was so bad, it had a metal smell and was often orangey. Since this all began, my hair has been absolutely horrible. Dull, not body or shape, and now its thinning terribly, and I am just sick over it. I noticed my daughter’s hair is also thinned in places and is dull and dry.
I normally have thick bangs, but they are now noticably thin, and I have broken pieces of hair all around the front hair line. I have had problems with my hair in the past if the salt was properly maintained in the brine, but never ever to this degree. I agree with the previous post about how much better your hair looks when it’s washed in water that is not from a well. So…where do we go from here? I am ready to sell my house and make sure my next one has municipal water. Will the hair grow back?