We get it cut and colour, sizzled and styled, and matching our personality. Up or down, no matter how you look at it, your hair can really tell who you are. But can it tell you how you are?

Sometimes your hair is just trying to tell you “Cut me,” and other times it’s trying to say something a little more serious. You hair can tell you a lot about your entire body’s health. I’ve combed the web and gelled these ideas together to give you a list of the 10 common hair disorders associated with worse health problems.

Gray Hair

If you’ve heard of Mary Antoinette you may know about Mary Antoinette syndrome – a sudden whitening of the hair. This 18th Century Queen of France’s hair went entirely white the night before she was to be beheaded. Stress turns your hair gray.

“Oxidative stress may affect pigment producing cells,” says dermatologist Paradi Mirmirani, MD, with the department of dermatology at The Permanente Medical Group in Vallejo, Calif.

This differs from person to person, but if you’re noticing a fresh crop of gray hair, you should take a vacation and find ways to make your life less stressful. Gray hair is also based on genetics, so for some it’s just a waiting game.

Brittle Hair

Brittle Hair is one of the symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome, a rare condition caused by excess cortisol. Sometimes treatment for Cushing’s syndrome is as easy as changing a medication dose, and other times the disease calls for more serious treatments: surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. These are used to correct the adrenal gland’s overproduction of cortisol.

Dry, Thinning Hair

Hypothyroidism can change the look and feel of your hair, as well as other symptoms. Mirmirani suggests that people with a thyroid diseases “might notice increased hair shedding and a change in appearance.”

A thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) test will see if your hair is trying to warn you of a problematic thyroid. Other symptoms include tiredness, cold intolerance, joint pain, muscle pain, a puffy face, and weight gain.

Hair Shedding

Low iron stones or anemia are the problems your hair may be trying to warn you about. You’ll see a lot more hair in your brush after brushing, or on the shower floor. Vegetarians and women with heavy periods increase your risk of having low levels of iron. Eat more iron-rich foods, and make sure you get tested to see if anemia is what your hair is trying to warn you about.

Hair Thinning

Protein is essential for building strong hair – without enough protein you’re sure to notice thinning and even hair loss. People with gastrointestinal difficulties or problems digesting protein are at risk. Although most hair thinning, even in women, is due to genetics, a protein deficiency could very well be the problem.

Yellow Flakes

More commonly called dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis is a skin disorder of the scalp symptomized by yellow or white flakes in your hair, on your shoulder and even in your eyebrows. This could be caused by yeast on the skin or an inflammatory response – so a dietary change is in order. Of course, you should consult your pharmacist and buy the special shampoo, but if the problem doesn’t go away you may need to take more serious steps.

Damaged Hair

Your hair can be warning you about health conditions, poor dietary habits, and more, but sometimes your hair is just trying to tell you to stop hurting it. Coloring, straightening, curling, and “treating” your hair can leave it brittle, dry, and split. If you over-treat your hair, you’ll be missing out on all the other things your ‘do might be trying to tell you.

Hair Loss

When your hair starts to fall out in clumps, or patches – especially in women – it could be a sign of diabetes. Diabetes is also tied to thinning of the hair and scab-like spots on the scalp. If your hair is falling out in circular patches it could be trying to warn you of diabetes.

SOURCES: http://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-and-beauty-pictures/things-your-hair-says-about-your-health.aspx#08

http://www.curejoy.com/content/hair-says-health/

https://www.caring.com/articles/eight-things-hair-says-about-health