Diabetes and Hair Loss

The most common form of diabetes mellitus is Type 2 Diabetes (also known as diabetes two). This is also a very underdiagnosed condition, with millions of people unaware that they have diabities until it is seen on a routine sugar blood level test or until they get complications from this illness.

Diabetes occurs because the body either does not produce enough insulin it needs or the insulin does not reach the required cells. In diabetes, microcirculation is impaired – blood does not reach where it needs to go.

In order to understand how diabetes and hair loss are connected, it is essential have a quick understanding of the physiology of hair growth.

Hair growth goes through phases of growth (2 to 6 years), resting (2 to 3 months), and dropping for each hair follicle, with a new hair redeveloping in the follicle after the last hair has dropped. In diabetes, because of poor microcirculation to the hair root, the rate of redevelopment of the new hair is slowed.

There are a few other ways diabities is related to hair loss.

If the hair loss is related to fungal infection secondary to the diabetic condition, treatment of the fungus will stop further hair loss.
Stress caused by chronic diabities can lead to hair loss.
Similarly medications prescribed for diabetes two can also lead to hair loss.