Dear Mopsy,

Um… thoughts on Biotin as a way to grow out my janky hair? Puhleez?

-Catherine the Small-Haired

Dear Small-Haired sister from another mister,

I FEEL you.

In cosmetology school one of my teachers would always refer to me as having frog fur for hair. Wait for it . . . . yes, right . . . . now you get it- frogs don’t have fur. It bred an insecurity that has always made me search endlessly for ways to beef my tresses. I can (sort of, hopefully, try to) help.

In a prior monstrosity of mine, ‘Ode to the Curl,’ I discuss the structure and function of a hair follicle. We’ve learned (don’t eye roll me- if you haven’t read it, go back and do it now) that hair is made of amino acids- assembled into protein, and moisture- or, good ol’ H2O. It grows from a sort of tube, a well, if you will, that has it’s base at the subcutaneous layers of the skin- the deepest layer, which has the most blood flow. This is so nutrients in the blood can feed the root of the well, and hair can grow up and out through the epidermis, or the outer layer of skin.

First, we need to determine that fine is different than thin which is different than thinning. Fine hair refers to the diameter of the hair shaft- the lesser the surface area and the lesser the diameter, the finer the strand. Thin refers to density, or the amount of hairs per square inch on the scalp. You can have fine hair with high density (most blondes), conversely you can have coarse hair with low density (most [natural] redheads). Thinning is when a hair follicle stops producing hair at a rate than is faster than is deemed average. The healthy human will lose between 50-150 hairs a day- um, hi, I don’t know if you’ve ever held 150 hairs in your hand, but it’s so much it’s kind of gross. MOST IMPORTANTLY, fallout is different than breakage! if you don’t see the bulb of the hair on one end, your hair is BREAKING, not falling out. Stay tuned for the protein vs. moisture lecture and the bleach lesson coming to a Dear Mopsy near you very soon.

Generally, when a woman begins to feel that her hair is ‘thinning,’ which is approximately every other day at the very least (don’t chortle, dudes- you worry more than chicks), there is a concentration put towards nourishing the hair, slathering oils and proteins on the ends of the hair, hoping to moisturize and prevent breakage. Wonderful!!!! If your problem is breakage, that is. If the problem isn’t the ends of the hair (of course you also read my dirge about shampooing, so you know all that hair you can see is dead carcass anyway) but literally at the origin at the bulb, the well inside the subcutaneous layer of skin- well, your veganglutenfreeorganicherbexpensive moisture treatments won’t do much now will they?

Above all else, when someone has assessed their loss and determined that they are, in actuality, losing hair from the root at a rate that’s abnormal for them- go to the doctor and request blood work. don’t mess around with baldness, peeps- for the most part, once it’s gone, it’s gone. Your doc will know what to do. It’s usually thyroid and hormones.

Stress, really traumatic, obscene, tragic amounts of stress makes your body emit a chemical that stops hair production, resulting in telogen effluvium- a brief pause in hair growth. Within 2-3 months hair should fall out and then begin regrowing. The body can also trigger alopecia areata, in which the white blood cells attack the hair bulb. Generally, this is in patches. Bottom line- just go see a doctor.

Testosterone changes (decreasing amounts, really) cause most hormonal hair loss. The ‘recession area’ of your head is linked to testosterone- one reason men tend to see receding there and women experience high amounts of fallout after delivering a baby. Blame good ol’ T.

I digress, since thin hair is determined mostly by genetics- the shape of the hair follicle and how much nutrient rich blood gets delivered there to build hair, we are limited in how much we can plump our stringy strands. We can’t change the shape of the follicle- those babies are muy sensitivo- if they’re damaged they die. Rose petals, really. That leaves 2 factors to play with; protein building (by way of amino acid synthesis) and blood flow to the hair bulb to deliver the protein.

When we eat protein, it’s broken down by our bodies and dispersed in the way our brains and nervous systems see fit. Daily energy, rebuilding muscle tone, thinking . . . these are all processes the body has to fuel. Whatever nutrients are leftover from the essential steam engine of ourselves gets used for the important, but not quite AS important bodily structures that protect us- hair, skin, nails.

Want thicker, stronger, maybe more dense hair? Eat a burger. Give your body the tools it needs to build. If you already are eating a high protein diet, let’s look at the delivery of protein to the parts of your body- how can we maximize the efficiency of getting nutrients to the hair follicle?

Biotin for one. A water soluble B vitamin, it’s mainly responsible for metabolizing fats and protein, creating amino acids and fatty acids (wait- what? a light bulb should be overhead by now- hello? what did Mopsy tell you hair was made of? scroll up and review if you weren’t paying attention! Ok, I’ll put the riding crop down now . . . . ). So, first step of the equation is to help the body break down more of what it makes hair out of, faster, of better quality (there is debate about whether increasing production also increases the amount of protein filling out each strand of hair, aka it might make the strand actually a teensy bit thicker) so that it can be distributed to all the vital organs in the body and, viola! more leftover for hair/skin/nails at an increased speed. Of course, all vitamins are necessary for hair growth, but because biotin is like the bugs of the forest but for protein in our bodies, it’s just paramount- IMHO.

The burger is eaten, the protein and fats metabolized, amino acids synthesized- cool, what’s our next challenge? Making sure all that good stuff actually reaches where it’s supposed to. Like the parcel you ordered to be delivered weeks ago by UPS, it’s one thing to place the order- it’s another to have it show up at your door. How does hair feed? By blood flow, right? Blood to the bulb of the hair is the Nile of Mesopotamia. No life without the flow. Not to get all gross and feministy on you, but men- the faster you understand this, the better your scalp and the relationships you have with the women in your life. You’re welcome.

Moving on- let’s get blood (and nutrients!) to the hair bulb- let’s get UPS to actually ring that doorbell. A good many things increase circulation; massage, heat, exercise. You’ll need to do some of those. Massage your scalp with Mopsy’s tea tree oil scalp remedy (sigh. read it.) with the PADS OF YOUR FINGERS. don’t make me smack that scratchy nail hand away from your head. You’ll certainly feel the blood flow increase to your scalp (not to be unladylike, but we all know what blood flow delivered to an area feels like, right? Just want to make sure we can all identify it’s working) and also may experience slight redness on the surface of the skin. that pink tinge is blood. Being delivered to the skin. Where your hair follicle is. There are also products that aim to pull blood as well- one of my favorites is NIoxin’s scalp treatment- it contains nothing that could clog the hair follicles to prevent growth (I sense you panicking- I’ll get to that in a sec) and has an ingredient called L-Argenine that stimulates the scalp. Or get up and go for a quick run. All will work.

Where most fail is keeping up with this regimen. Think about it- we know from previous posts that hair grows between 1/4 of an inch to 1 inch a month. I’ll let you do the math based on how often you see ‘roots,’ but it’ll take at least 6 months to see the benefit of all this work. That’s also if you’re incredibly consistent about it. And if your hormones are in check. Also, anything can throw your body off, so if you all of a sudden start exercising to grow hair, your body might freak out and think that you’re under stress running from lions and start dropping like pygmy goats.

I’m just saying it takes time and persistence and balance. In my experience with myself, my family, my friends, and my clients, those who are consistent see about double the rate of hair growth and tell me their hair feels thicker and stronger. Makes sense to me- if the hair is being assembled inside your body faster, pushed out the well faster, it’s younger by the time it reaches your shoulders, or the middle of your back. Younger hair has taken less abuse by coloring, styling, the environment- so it WILL be stronger and in better condition. Bear in mind, healthy hair and skin is a reflection of a healthy inside. Taking care of your innards shows in your locks.

About this follicle clogging business- if you feel that your hair is actively thinning, keep anything that could clog a pore off your hair. No serums, no oils, no hairspray, and only conditioner on the ends. You can give a really wonderful stimulating head massage (with the pads of your fingers) with shampoo. If a follicle is dormant for an extended period of time, it will stop producing hair. This happens naturally as we age, but if follicles are clogging based on our own sebum, our hormones, a yeast buildup (uh, common in the winter with dandruff. we’ll discuss later), or product, they will stay dormant if the hair follicle can’t break through the crud eventually.

I should also state that it is a natural process of life that our hair becomes both finer and thinner as we age. Hair has three cycles to it’s life- growing, resting, fallout. Only one of those phases is actually moving out of your head. The rest are stagnant or leaving you. So over time, the way those phases overlap leaves less coming in than is on your head or falling out. You can only do so much, and the rest has to come from acceptance and self love.

No matter if you’re a cue ball or have Kardashian locks, I accept you and I love you. Now go eat some vitamins, go for a brisk walk, and talk to me in 6 months.

In Solidarity,

Mopsy