A shedding shock
Illness, surgery, childbirth, crash dieting, or rapid weight loss can push a wave of follicles into rest at once, with the shedding showing up two to four months later.
Conditions · Hair Loss
Hair loss is a symptom. Find the cause.
Healing Advanced Solutions evaluates hair loss in Jacksonville, FL with driver-first lab testing, thyroid, iron and ferritin, hormones, and nutrients, plus PRP for hair, reviewed by Catherine Seidle, APRN.
The question is rarely "what shampoo." It is what changed in your body, and the pattern of your shedding plus a few labs settles most of it.
What's going on
Follicles follow orders.
Hair follicles cycle between growth and rest, and they take their instructions from the rest of the body. Thyroid hormone sets the pace, iron stocks the supply line, sex hormones decide how sensitive a follicle is, and a major stressor can push a large share of follicles into rest at once, with the shedding appearing months later.
Pattern matters, and it narrows the list fast. Diffuse thinning all over points at a body-wide driver; a widening part or receding temples points at pattern loss; well-defined patches point at dermatology. Reading that pattern is where a real evaluation starts.
Same symptom, different engines.
Thyroid
Both underactive and overactive thyroid trigger diffuse shedding, and it is one of the most missed drivers, especially in women.
Iron and nutrients
Hair follicles are sensitive to low iron stores that still sit inside the standard normal range. Ferritin, vitamin D, zinc, and protein all matter.
Hormonal transitions
Postpartum and perimenopause shift the hormones that keep hair in its growth phase, and androgen-sensitive follicles feel it first.
Pattern loss
Genetic and hormonal, with a widening part or temple recession. This is the category where PRP for hair has the most to offer.
Rapid weight loss on a GLP-1 medication can trigger the shedding kind too, usually two to four months in, and it settles as weight stabilizes. It is the speed of the loss, not the medication attacking your hair, and pacing plus protein makes it manageable.
Labs before products.
A reasonable core panel, read against functional ranges, matched to your pattern.
The workup starts with your history and the pattern of loss, then a focused panel: a full thyroid picture, iron studies with ferritin, vitamin D, B12, zinc, and hormones matched to your situation. Results are read against functional ranges, the way our lab testing page describes, because follicles react to stores that still read normal on a basic lab.
When the driver is hormonal, our hormone optimization care carries it, and the thyroid and perimenopause pages go deeper on those two common threads.
Where PRP fits.
For pattern hair loss, PRP for hair uses your own blood, concentrated into platelet-rich plasma and injected into the scalp to support the follicles you still have. It has supportive evidence for improving density, and it works best early, while follicles are miniaturized rather than gone.
It is not a fix for every kind of loss, which is exactly why we evaluate the driver first. We will help you decide whether your pattern is the kind PRP can help, and if it is not, we will point you to what fits.
PRP for hair is $495 per session. It is autologous, drawn from you and returned to you, and our regenerative medicine page covers how PRP works in full.
- Pattern read first
- Labs before products
- Derm referral when it is right
What care looks like.
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A free consultation
Ten to fifteen minutes. Describe the pattern and the timeline and we will help you decide the right next step.
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Evaluation and the targeted panel
Your history, a pattern read, and the focused labs drawn in office.
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The driver named, or a referral made
A plan aimed at what is actually driving the loss, or a prompt dermatology referral when the pattern calls for it.
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A plan, and real timelines
Treat what the workup found, add PRP where the pattern fits, and recheck. Hair recovery is measured in months because follicle cycles are slow, and expectations get set on that timeline.
Why is my hair falling out?
Usually one of a handful of drivers: a stress or illness shock that pushes follicles into shedding mode (telogen effluvium), pattern hair loss driven by genetics and hormones, thyroid disease, low iron, hormonal transitions like postpartum or perimenopause, or a nutrient gap. The pattern and timing of your shedding narrows the list, and labs settle most of the rest. That is why an evaluation beats guessing at products.
Can thyroid problems cause hair loss?
Yes, and it is one of the most missed drivers. Both underactive and overactive thyroid can trigger diffuse shedding, and thyroid disease peaks in the same decades when women most often notice thinning. A full thyroid panel with antibodies, not just a TSH, is part of any serious hair loss workup.
What labs should I ask for if my hair is thinning?
A reasonable core: a full thyroid panel, iron studies including ferritin, vitamin D, B12, zinc, and a hormone panel matched to your situation. Ferritin deserves special mention because hair follicles are sensitive to iron stores that still sit inside the standard 'normal' range. We review all of it against functional ranges, one-on-one.
Does GLP-1 weight loss cause hair loss?
Rapid weight loss on semaglutide or tirzepatide can trigger telogen effluvium, a temporary shedding phase that usually starts two to four months in and settles as weight stabilizes. It is not the medication attacking your hair; it is the speed of the loss plus, often, protein and nutrient shortfalls. Pacing the loss and closing those gaps is manageable, and it is part of how we run weight loss care.
Does PRP actually work for hair loss?
For androgenetic (pattern) hair loss, PRP has supportive evidence for improving hair density, and it works best early, while follicles are miniaturized rather than gone. It is not a fix for every type of loss, which is exactly why we evaluate the driver first. PRP for hair is $495 per session here, and we will help you decide whether your pattern is the kind it can help.
When should I see a dermatologist instead?
Promptly, if you have patchy bald spots, scarring, redness, itching or burning at the scalp, broken hairs, or sudden dramatic loss. Those patterns can mean alopecia areata, a scarring alopecia, or a scalp condition that needs dermatology-specific diagnosis and treatment, sometimes urgently, since scarring loss can be permanent. We refer for those.
This information is for general education and is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from your provider. Lab results are reviewed with you by Catherine Seidle, APRN.
Stop guessing at products.
A free consultation, ten to fifteen minutes. Describe the pattern and the timeline. A driver workup, a derm referral, or PRP: the call sorts out which comes first.