In this article:

• What is type 2 diabetes?

• Why does type 2 diabetes cause hair loss?

• Is hair loss from diabetes type 2 permanent?

• How to overcome hair loss from diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic health condition that afflicts a significant portion of the American population. In general, diabetes is a condition where the body is unable to regulate your blood glucose carefully. There are two main types of diabetes where type 1 is due to an autoimmune disorder that afflicts cells in the pancreas, and type 2 develops when too much sugar is circulated in the bloodstream.

Normally, the body relies on a hormone called insulin to help move sugar (or glucose) from your blood into your cells for quick, usable energy. However, insulin can become less sensitive to blood sugar over time, causing your tissues to become overwhelmed with too much glucose.

Type 2 diabetes leads to several health problems that can affect your cardiovascular system, immune system, and nervous system.

Hair loss is a common side effect of type 2 diabetes primarily because this condition affects your circulatory system. To grow hair successfully, we need plenty of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to reach our hair follicles.

However, diabetes can cause capillaries and other larger vessels to become less capable of delivering blood to specific areas of the body. In fact, one common sign of circulatory problems due to diabetes is the loss of hair on the legs, feet, and arms. And yes, it can also affect your scalp and eyebrows.

Hair loss from type 2 diabetes can be permanent if you do not manage your blood sugar with the appropriate treatment from your doctor. However, patients who keep their blood sugar controlled with the proper medication and dietary measures have much better outcomes with hair regrowth than those who do not control their blood sugar as strictly.

As noted above, the first step you need to take to reverse hair loss is to manage your blood sugar carefully. The following steps may be advisable from your doctor in order to optimize your blood sugar control and your health:

• Check your blood sugar when your doctor recommends it. Many people may need to check it before each meal and bedtime, whereas others may only need to follow up with specific lab tests like Hemoglobin A1c.

• Take your medication as prescribed. Many people require insulin-type medications that need to be dosed based on their current blood sugar. Follow those instructions carefully, so you do not underdose, or worse overdose, on your insulin. Other people may be on a daily medication like metformin.

• Follow an appropriate diet with the assistance of a nutritionist who specializes in helping people with diabetes.

• Get regular exercise and work toward weight reduction if you are overweight. While there is no cure to type 2 diabetes, weight loss can help keep your blood sugars more stable.

While treating your diabetes is the critical first step toward combatting hair loss related to this condition, you can simultaneously take steps to improve hair growth on your scalp. Using products that help boost circulation in your scalp is key, and it is also helpful to add ingredients to your hair regimen that boost hair growth.

Your daily or every other-day hair washing is the perfect opportunity to start re-growing your hair. Use a product like the REVITA High-Performance Hair Stimulating Shampoo and Conditioner to help increase blood flow and combat hair loss. Or, if you have a scalp condition like dandruff (which is common in diabetes because, again, lack of blood flow), you may want to use a shampoo like DANDRENE Exfoliating Anti-Dandruff Shampoo.

Aside from a good cleansing regime that focuses on hair regrowth, the sooner you start using a product with Nanoxidil 5%, the better. Why? Because the sooner you take action against chronic hair loss due to conditions like type 2 diabetes and even androgenic alopecia, the better the results you will see. Nanoxidil is ideal for treating mild to moderate cases of hair loss, but if it progresses to more severe forms of hair loss, you may need to consider surgeries like hair transplants.

For questions about handling your specific hair loss case, connect with a Product Advisor at DS Laboratories to get a hair regrowth strategy tailored for you.