|  | Conditions Treatments | Hair Loss

Copper & Hair Loss

Copper is a trace mineral, essential for the functioning of the human body but is only needed in small amounts. Deficiency or overabundance can lead to hair loss.

  1. Sources of Copper

    • Copper enters the diet through meat, seafood, and certain seeds and nuts as well as through water that travels through copper piping. Zinc plays a role in the body's absorption of copper.

    Composition of Hair

    • Hair is made up of two main parts: the follicle root beneath the scalp, which produces the protein and pigment of the hair shaft, and the cuticle, which is the visible part of hair above the scalp's surface.

    How Copper Affects Hair

    • Copper is necessary for the formation of hemoglobin in the blood, which aids in the oxygenation of red blood cells. Blood circulation carries essential nutrients to the hair follicles to stimulate growth.

    Menkes Disease

    • Some male infants inherit a copper deficiency abnormality called Menkes disease. Less severe symptoms of the disorder include lack of pigment in the skin and sparse, brittle or kinky hair.

    Concentrations

    • Too much or too little copper (below 1.7 or above 3.5 milligrams) in the body can lead to hair loss.

Hair Loss - Related Articles