Hair fall is one of the common concerns people face, especially when they start noticing more hair shedding than usual. This often leaves people wondering what's causing the sudden change and whether something they did recently was behind it. 

Hair fall can happen for different reasons, including stress, illness, weight loss and hormonal changes. While the change may seem sudden, the trigger might be weeks or months old.

Nutritionist Rashi Chowdhary explains that hair fall may not always reflect something that happened recently. In an Instagram video, she says factors contributing to hair shedding can sometimes occur around three months before the hair actually falls.

Why Hair Fall Can Appear Months Later

According to the nutritionist, when the body experiences a major physical or emotional stressor, such as an illness, crash diet or prolonged stress, a large number of hair follicles move from the growing phase into the resting phase.

She explains that these follicles then remain in the resting phase for around 100 days before shedding. This can make hair fall appear sudden, even though the trigger may have happened months earlier.

She advises people to look beyond the previous week when trying to understand a change in hair loss. Instead, she suggests thinking about what happened around three months earlier, including changes in diet, stress or illness.

Three Things Rashi Says To Check

Rashi says that when hair fall continues for a longer period, there can be a nutritional or other issue that needs to be assessed. She highlights three areas to check.  

Ferritin

The first is ferritin, which shows the body's stored iron levels. She says laboratory reports may flag low ferritin at around 15, but she recommends a level between 70 and 100 as optimal for her clients.

Thyroid

The second area is thyroid. The nutritionist says people should not look only at TSH and recommends a complete thyroid panel that includes free T3.

"Most of you are on levothyroxine. That's giving you inactive T4. And that does not get used. You want to convert it to T3. Because this is the active one that your follicles actually respond to," she discusses.

Protein

The third is protein. She says hair is made from protein and recommends 80 grams as a minimum. She also says some people experience bloating, gas or heaviness after increasing their protein intake. According to her, gut issues may affect how much protein the body absorbs even when a person is consuming enough.

Hair May Take Time To Respond

Rashi also stresses that hair does not necessarily respond immediately after the issues are addressed. She says it can take three to six months, and sometimes longer, for changes to become noticeable.

She notes that people may stop taking iron after a few months if hair fall continues, without allowing enough time for the hair cycle to respond. She also says losing around 50 to 100 strands a day can be normal.

Why Finding The Cause Matters

In her Instagram caption, she says hair fall can occur after stress, illness, weight loss, hormonal changes or postpartum. She advises people to understand why their hair is falling before immediately turning to supplements such as biotin, iron or collagen. 

She says the three tests mentioned in her video can be a starting point, but symptoms, medical history and the pattern of hair loss also matter.



Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.