Kratom and Hair Loss

[Kruh-Tom]

I've seen a few people here mention what they fear might be kratom related hair loss. Just wanted to suggest asking your doctor about finasteride if you have noticed definite scalp thinning. You could possibly be experiencing good ole androgenic alopecia. Kratom may or may not be accelerating it. I'd be surprised if there is research out there on this specific matter. Anyways, if you are hesitant about trying it due to potential side effects, feel free to ask me anything. I've had a positive experience thus far. My hair thinning started prior to starting kratom, but since being on finasteride, kratom has not seemed to diminish its efficacy.

[Banana pants]

it isn't recommended for us women to take Propecia. It's only cleared for male androgen hairloss. I, for one, know that it is positively kratom that is causing mine. It started very abruptly when I began dosing daily and quickly became worrisome over the course of two weeks. I began to see large swaths of my scalp become visible when wearing my hair in a ponytail or bun. And those ponys and buns were very very noticably smaller. Then there is the massive amount of hair shedding in the shower and in my brush that is easily triple what I consider normal for me. I took a couple of three-day unintentional breaks with only dosing once or twice in between and my hair shedding stopped as abruptly as it started.

[Damen ck]

Just shave it off..don't give someone 20 bucks to butcher your hair when you have a perfect opportunity to do it yourself and it's not hard

[Banana pants]

Just shave it off..don't give someone 20 bucks to butcher your hair when you have a perfect opportunity to do it yourself and it's not hard

GI Jane would not be a good look for me

[Kruh-Tom]

@Banana Pants
Yes you are correct, it is only FDA approved for men. However from what I've read, it seems doctors will still prescribe it off-label to women if they believe the they are experiencing female androgenic alopecia and do not plan on becoming pregnant. They might also RX Dutasteride or Spironolactone. They are willing to do so because there have been studies showing that it can be helpful, it just isn't quite enough for the FDA. But since when do we listen to the FDA? lol I mean, we all still take Kratom right?

But as for you personally, Kratom may very well be causing your hair loss. The only question is through what mechanism is it causing it? Is it due to kratom elevating levels of DHT (androgenic alopecia)? Or maybe it is causing a different type of alopecia in which finasteride would be of no help? Alopecia Areata possibly? If so, that might be good news. Either way I highly recommend you check out r/FemaleHairLoss on reddit if you haven't already. Good info over there.

I wish you the best of luck Banana Pants! Let us know if you get to the bottom of things.

[BallzDeep9]

This is one of those Kratom topics where' a Reddit search "Knowledge Base" of 50,000 people is helpful: LINK

Over the past 5 years on Reddit, at least dozens and probably 100's of people it appears (?) report some hair loss problem.. But also, the majority on Reddit seem to be abusing kratom & taking too much so... go figure?

[Banana pants]

I'll have to check that reddit out, thanks! Even though I'm in my early 40s, my doc still considers me to be of childbearing age, mostly because my youngest is barely 4! My kidlets are all pretty far apart. I've got a 26 year old step daughter, a 14 year old, and my baby is 4. My doc says I have to prove Im not willing to have anymore kids, lol.

[Banana pants]

This is one of those Kratom topics where' a Reddit search "Knowledge Base" of 50,000 people is helpful: LINK

Over the past 5 years on Reddit, at least dozens and probably 100's of people it appears (?) report some hair loss problem.. But also, the majority on Reddit seem to be abusing kratom & taking too much so... go figure?

Yeah, Im definitely not abusing or taking too much. My sweet spot is 1.25g TnW or 2g brewed and I normally only dose twice a day every other day. My hair just seems to be sensitive to falling out. It happens when I take flax seed as well for some reason.

[Banana pants]

This is one of those Kratom topics where' a Reddit search "Knowledge Base" of 50,000 people is helpful: LINK

Over the past 5 years on Reddit, at least dozens and probably 100's of people it appears (?) report some hair loss problem.. But also, the majority on Reddit seem to be abusing kratom & taking too much so... go figure?

So I browsed through that link. Its a few people saying "hey! Our hair is falling out from kratom. Help!" And then everyone says they're probably dehydrated or just getting old and it can't possibly be the kratom.

I'm definitely not dehydrated. I drink a gallon of water a day. I'm also an amateur weightlifter with a coach so my nutrition and supplement game are on point! But they do have me on the old. I'm 43

[RedRuby]

Right on, Banana. Same situation here. Forty something female here and had the exact same hair loss that you described....to a "T". And it only started after Kratom. However that hasn't stopped me yet, lol. I suppose I can always get a wig

[bet]

I finally made the correlation between drastic hair fall and a daily 7-8 g dose of kratom. Proving that theory was as simple as discontinuing kratom, three weeks later the hair loss had slowed to a stop. Rock and hard place, I need kratom for pain control. Now I just dose on miserable pain days.

[georgiegirl]

I'm in the same boat as you other ladies. And I've tried nearly everything, except discontinuing use. I've had tons of blood work done, hormone checks, I take all the recommended supplements, etc etc. And I know it is 100% because of my kratom use. I hate it when people say that it isn't, that it is because I'm stressed out or low on vit d, or if I use a certain oil in my hair it will stop the loss. Kratom has been a life saver for me, so I'm choosing leaf over hair. Luckily my hair is curly and I usually just wear it up, so it isn't noticeable to other people. And the fall out seems to have leveled off (at least that is what I keep telling myself, lol!). One thing that I have found that I think has helped a little is a silica supplement. And I just recently started using the Nioxin set, so we'll see how that goes!

I just wish I knew the science behind why it happens and its usually just to females. One theory I've heard is that kratom is a calcium channel blocker. And I believe Lyrica and gabapentin are as well and those meds are known to cause hair loss. Or maybe it messes with hormones, like the OP said. Who really knows??!! But man, I sure would love to know! Gotta be someone out there with the knowledge

[herbalhippie]

I bet I have only half the hair I started with when I started using kratom about 3 years ago. My hair grows really fast, but it doesn't stay stuck in it's follicles.

I've had blood work done for just about everything, including hormones. Everything looks good. I DON'T GET IT.

I've tried all kinds of hair products too.

[Laika]

I'm on Finasteride and have found it to be very effective.

HOWEVER, I wish I had read about Post Finasteride Syndrome before starting it. There is, I believe, a whole subreddit dedicated to it. It was for a long time denied amongst the scientific community but you can now read more and more studies being published that validate the existence of PFS.

[Vipercuda69]

Ballzdeep9,
I know what you mean and agree. It seems Reddit users are eating leaf like freaking Koala Bears. Humans aren’t meant to eat that much leaf. Some of those guys are eating 50-70g a day. I personally find that crazy as I get the best results at 15-20 grams, but everyone is different, so I’m not being critical of anyone. Over several months my tolerance will creep up to 30 grams and that’s when I take a break. During the time I’m at 30 grams and the entire 10-12 days I take a reset break I do notice hair loss. Sometimes considerable. But once I reset back down to my usual 15 grams, it seems to help a lot with the hair loss. I started in January buying Moringa and capping it. I take about 3 grams a day, 5-7 days a week and my hair starts growing back like crazy. I have a full head of hair and I’m 51. When I say full head of hair I’m talking about when I was a teenager playing guitar and a big haired metal head banger. So keeping tolerance low and Moringa seems to work great for me. I also take a little Biotin each day, but I’m not sure if that’s doing anything.

[herbalhippie]

I dose at 1.5g 4xday and am experiencing hair loss. It's not always from large doses. I was only dosing .75 when it started.

I'll try moringa again, it didn't seem to do much the first time I tried it.

[Vipercuda69]

I dose at 1.5g 4xday and am experiencing hair loss. It's not always from large doses. I was only dosing .75 when it started.

I'll try moringa again, it didn't seem to do much the first time I tried it.

That’s on the very low side of dosing in my opinion for what it’s worth. I wonder if the hair loss is due to something else. What that something else is I’m not sure. I have a buddy that was nearly bald by 21 and doesn’t use kratom and it can often be genetic. Have you tried Biotin and Finisteride? Hopefully you figure it out.

[herbalhippie]

Finisteride is testosterone, right?

I am of the female persuasion.

Biotin makes me break out horribly. Maybe I'll give it a try though.

[Vipercuda69]

Finisteride is testosterone, right?

I am of the female persuasion.

Biotin makes me break out horribly. Maybe I'll give it a try though.

Oh! Sorry! For men it helps with hair growth, for women, it has the exact opposite effect on women with too much hair.

[Kruh-Tom]

@Laika

Glad it is working for you. And yeah I read about about PFS before starting. Gotta admit it spooked me. Almost didn't hop on it. Glad I did though. I'm sure there's merit to some of the PFS claims, but unfortunately many of the claims are made by folks who lack any sort of scientific constitution. It can be really hard determining whether their symptoms are due to finasteride or from something like natural age related dropping of testosterone. Either way, it seems to only affect a small portion of folks. Clascoterone is currently in drug trials and looks to be a potential solution to this problem though. It is a topical drug that hopefully won't have as much of a systemic effect throughout the body.

@herbalhippie

Finasteride is a 5a-Reductase Inhibitor. Essentially, it prevents testosterone from being converted into DHT. And DHT is what is responsible for Androgenic Alopecia. Both women and men can experience this condition. Both can also take finasteride. However, there are more contraindications for women than there are for men so consulting a doctor is 100% necessary.

[Vipercuda69]

@Laika

Glad it is working for you. And yeah I read about about PFS before starting. Gotta admit it spooked me. Almost didn't hop on it. Glad I did though. I'm sure there's merit to some of the PFS claims, but unfortunately many of the claims are made by folks who lack any sort of scientific constitution. It can be really hard determining whether their symptoms are due to finasteride or from something like natural age related dropping of testosterone. Either way, it seems to only affect a small portion of folks. Clascoterone is currently in drug trials and looks to be a potential solution to this problem though. It is a topical drug that hopefully won't have as much of a systemic effect throughout the body.

@herbalhippie

Finasteride is a 5a-Reductase Inhibitor. Essentially, it prevents testosterone from being converted into DHT. And DHT is what is responsible for Androgenic Alopecia. Both women and men can experience this condition. Both can also take finasteride. However, there are more contraindications for women than there are for men so consulting a doctor is 100% necessary.

Um... I’m not so sure that’s true. Finasteride is used in trans gender treatment and given to men that are hairy and transitioning into women. You might want to dig a little deeper and research. Women should NOT be using Finasteride. Unless they are men trying to become women.

[Kruh-Tom]

@Vipercuda69

No. Finasteride is used to prevent testosterone from converting into DHT. Thus eliminating any downstream effects of having DHT. Such as androgenic alopecia or benign prostatic hyperplasia in men and just adrogenic alopecia in women.

Finasteride will not turn a man into a woman. It will make make a man less bald and slow down the enlargement of the prostate. Now, obviously both of those things are in the interest of men who are trying to be become women. But at the same time, they are also in the interest of men who are trying to stay men! Turning into a woman is not a side effect. Lmao!

How the heck are you going to tell me to dig a little deeper and research? Do I really sound like someone who hasn't done their research? Sheesh.

Read ----> https://www.goodrx.com/blog/finasteride ... -in-women/

As I said earlier in this thread, if a woman has AA and is past child bearing age, many docs will RX fin or spiro.

[Vipercuda69]

@Vipercuda69

No. Finasteride is used to prevent testosterone from converting into DHT. Thus eliminating any downstream effects of having DHT. Such as androgenic alopecia or benign prostatic hyperplasia in men and just adrogenic alopecia in women.

Finasteride will not turn a man into a woman. It will make make a man less bald and slow down the enlargement of the prostate. Now, obviously both of those things are in the interest of men who are trying to be become women. But at the same time, they are also in the interest of men who are trying to stay men! Turning into a woman is not a side effect. Lmao!

How the heck are you going to tell me to dig a little deeper and research? Do I really sound like someone who hasn't done their research? Sheesh.

Read ----> https://www.goodrx.com/blog/finasteride ... -in-women/

As I said earlier in this thread, if a woman has AA and is past child bearing age, many docs will RX fin or spiro.

I apologize if I came off as arrogant. I was convinced I knew what I was saying and thanks for the correction. However, Finasteride is in fact used in transgender treatment. However, I didn’t quite understand the exact mechanism of action. For what it’s worth, here is the section of the article that I’m referring to.

Finasteride can also be used to prevent male-pattern baldness in transgender men, as it only blocks dihydrotestosterone (DHT), not testosterone itself; however this will likely slow or decrease secondary hair growth, and may slow or decrease clitoromegaly as well.

[attilathejund]

37 year old man here who has lots of balding in his family. Also, have been taking kratom for roughly 12 years, daily, about 5g a day. I have no signs of hair loss or changes to my hormones outside of normal aging. Maybe I'm just lucky but I can't help but wonder if a lot of folks who take kratom are just naturally losing hair rather than it being directly associated with kratom. Everything is anecdotal at this point.

[Kruh-Tom]

@Vipercuda69

All good friend. I understand the confusion. Many trans folks do indeed take it as part of their regimen. I could see how if someone didn't take it themselves, they might associate it with being exclusively a trans thing.

@attilathejund

You are very lucky sir! Cherish it lol. And yes I have the same suspicion about many cases being due to natural ageing. I hoped this post might bring people's attention to that. Just in case someone has drawn a false causal link between kratom and hair loss. Personally, way back when, I drew a false link between stress and hair loss. I would have benefited from discovering the true reason sooner.

[Banana pants]

37 year old man here who has lots of balding in his family. Also, have been taking kratom for roughly 12 years, daily, about 5g a day. I have no signs of hair loss or changes to my hormones outside of normal aging. Maybe I'm just lucky but I can't help but wonder if a lot of folks who take kratom are just naturally losing hair rather than it being directly associated with kratom. Everything is anecdotal at this point.

This is not what is happening in my experience nor many others. This is what we keep being told after asserting, repeatedly, that it isn't natural hair loss. The amount I lose on a normal, non-kratom-taking basis is very minimal. I'm coming off of a three week T break right now and my hair loss has returned to pre-kratom levels. I've only been using kratom since November of last year. When I dose daily, I lose easily three to four times more hair daily. It's extremely noticable as I have thin, dark, long hair. Within three weeks of daily dosing at 1.25g twice to three times per day (for a total of 3.75g daily) my scalp became visable through my hair and my ponytail circumference decreased drastically. These days I dose 1.5 g twice per day every other day as Aeropressed tea. Taking it this way on this schedule has slowed my increased hairloss down to an acceptable level as measured by my daily hair shedding noted in both my shower and brush. I have not changed any other variables.

Natural aging hair loss for women doesn't come on suddenly in a three week time frame. Nor does it stop suddenly either, as what happens when I stagger my dosing or take a T break. Honestly, I'm kind of tired of being told that it's because I'm getting old or it must be something other than kratom. I have removed the kratom variable from the equation and the problem resolved. When I added kratom back to my schedule, the hair loss started again. That's pretty definitively kratom-induced hair loss. If I were to say "When I'm on my thyroid medication, my hair doesn't fall out, but when I stop taking it my hair loss increases" would that not indicate the thyroid medication is solving the hair loss problem? By that same logic "when I take {blank} my hair falls out, but when I stop taking {blank} the hair loss stops" would be true.

It's kratom. Kratom causes my hair loss. Kratom causes hair loss for other people. It is a huge side effect talked about in every kratom forum or reddit. Why people refuse to believe kratom causes hair loss absolutely baffles me? We already know it causes constipation, dehydration, vomiting, nystigmus, can induce anxiety, increase energy, reduce pain, and help with insomnia. Why is it such a stretch for people to believe it also causes hair loss?

I have never experienced dehydration, vomiting, or nystigmus with kratom. Not one time. Does that invalidate the experience of others who have? Absolutely not. I would not be so patronizing as to metaphorically pat them on the head and state "well since I have never experienced you must be wrong. Kratom doesn't do those things because it has never happened to me." When you tell me and others who have kratom induced hair loss that we must be wrong because this isn't your experience it comes across as patronizing, dismissive, and self-centered. Stop it. This is my experience and many others experience. I'm happy that it isn't yours, but don't invalidate mine through your hubris.

[Kruh-Tom]

@Banana Pants

I think he was making just a general statement about kratom and hair loss. Not sure he meant to be dismissive of your claims.

In your case, it is much easier to draw a causal link. The fact that the hair loss/growth is quickly observable upon starting/stopping kratom is a clear indicator that kratom is likely playing a major role. It is unfortunate, but without physicians who even know what kratom is, it is hard to get to the bottom of these things.

I'm curious, have you ever tried Minoxidil to counteract the effect? I wonder if Kratom is causing Vasoconstriction in the scalp? Hopefully you have a cool doctor and can talk to em about this possibility.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kratom/comment ... striction/

^^^ That post isn't in regard to hair loss but it does touch on vasodilation/vasoconstriction. If you haven't already, I'd research kratom, vasoconstriction, and hair loss.

[burnmaster3000]

37 year old man here who has lots of balding in his family. Also, have been taking kratom for roughly 12 years, daily, about 5g a day. I have no signs of hair loss or changes to my hormones outside of normal aging. Maybe I'm just lucky but I can't help but wonder if a lot of folks who take kratom are just naturally losing hair rather than it being directly associated with kratom. Everything is anecdotal at this point.

This is not what is happening in my experience nor many others. This is what we keep being told after asserting, repeatedly, that it isn't natural hair loss. The amount I lose on a normal, non-kratom-taking basis is very minimal. I'm coming off of a three week T break right now and my hair loss has returned to pre-kratom levels. I've only been using kratom since November of last year. When I dose daily, I lose easily three to four times more hair daily. It's extremely noticable as I have thin, dark, long hair. Within three weeks of daily dosing at 1.25g twice to three times per day (for a total of 3.75g daily) my scalp became visable through my hair and my ponytail circumference decreased drastically. These days I dose 1.5 g twice per day every other day as Aeropressed tea. Taking it this way on this schedule has slowed my increased hairloss down to an acceptable level as measured by my daily hair shedding noted in both my shower and brush. I have not changed any other variables.

Natural aging hair loss for women doesn't come on suddenly in a three week time frame. Nor does it stop suddenly either, as what happens when I stagger my dosing or take a T break. Honestly, I'm kind of tired of being told that it's because I'm getting old or it must be something other than kratom. I have removed the kratom variable from the equation and the problem resolved. When I added kratom back to my schedule, the hair loss started again. That's pretty definitively kratom-induced hair loss. If I were to say "When I'm on my thyroid medication, my hair doesn't fall out, but when I stop taking it my hair loss increases" would that not indicate the thyroid medication is solving the hair loss problem? By that same logic "when I take {blank} my hair falls out, but when I stop taking {blank} the hair loss stops" would be true.

It's kratom. Kratom causes my hair loss. Kratom causes hair loss for other people. It is a huge side effect talked about in every kratom forum or reddit. Why people refuse to believe kratom causes hair loss absolutely baffles me? We already know it causes constipation, dehydration, vomiting, nystigmus, can induce anxiety, increase energy, reduce pain, and help with insomnia. Why is it such a stretch for people to believe it also causes hair loss?

I have never experienced dehydration, vomiting, or nystigmus with kratom. Not one time. Does that invalidate the experience of others who have? Absolutely not. I would not be so patronizing as to metaphorically pat them on the head and state "well since I have never experienced you must be wrong. Kratom doesn't do those things because it has never happened to me." When you tell me and others who have kratom induced hair loss that we must be wrong because this isn't your experience it comes across as patronizing, dismissive, and self-centered. Stop it. This is my experience and many others experience. I'm happy that it isn't yours, but don't invalidate mine through your hubris.

I think what happens a lot on here,and other forums, is that people are scared to admit to any negatives involving kratom due to it potentially adding gas to the already raging fire we have going on with its legality. This is extremely counterproductive IMO. We have to discuss negatives as much as positives. Very clear to me that hairloss is directly caused by kratom for a good number of people. It also ruins libido in a lot of people, myself included. That said, none of us really know why or how kratom works. I just think its good to have open discussions about these things and not immediately get shunned by people who are worried about the leaf staying legal so therefore won't blame anything on it.

With all of that I will say 90% of the issues people experience can be avoided by not dosing everyday.

[herbalhippie]

Early last year I tried an apple cider vinegar shampoo and conditioner I got off Amazon that had the same ingredient in it as Nioxin but was significantly less expensive. It seems to help a little. Maybe.

I was just poking around in Amazon to maybe get it again or try another apple cider vinegar product and saw this. It has caffeine in it of all things. Which is a vasodilator. Someone upthread mentioned vasoconstriction as being a possible lead to hair loss.

I think I'll give it a try. Why not, I need a new shampoo anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/PURA-DOR-Thin2Th ... NrPXRydWU=

[MycatTimmy]

It’s always been my understanding that caffeine is a vasoconstrictor ? Am I mixed up ?

[Banana pants]

I'm curious, have you ever tried Minoxidil to counteract the effect? I wonder if Kratom is causing Vasoconstriction in the scalp? Hopefully you have a cool doctor and can talk to em about this possibility.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kratom/comment ... striction/

^^^ That post isn't in regard to hair loss but it does touch on vasodilation/vasoconstriction. If you haven't already, I'd research kratom, vasoconstriction, and hair loss.

Interesting! I haven't looked into vasoconstriction yet. Now I wonder if anyone on Double M has Raynaud's that is exacerbated by kratom use. Just a random thought

I have taken/tried or am taking:

Biotin,
Prenatal multi Vitamin,
Calcium and Vitamin D,
Pur D'or gold label shampoo and conditioner for thinning hair,
Pur D'or scalp serum with caffeine and other herbals,
a scalp oil called Hinoki Hair regrowth oil (Nightblooming on Etsy has wonderful hair oils and other products),
I also dermaroll my scalp once a week prior to applying the scalp serum.

Dermarolling for hair regrowth has had some amazing anecdotal results shown in reddit forums so I have high hopes for this over an extended testing period. I also dermaroll my face to stimulate collagen production so I had one on hand to try.

I have used a topical preparation of Miconazole in distilled water on my scalp to increase growth speed. It worked extremely well for speed, but didn't help with shedding. When I was using it I averaged 2.5 cm new growth (my normal is around 1.25 cm) per month. I used to belong to several long hair growth forums and picked up several tricks and recipes, some of which I still use. My hair was past my hips about 7 or 8 years ago and I became well versed in delicate hair and scalp care.

I haven't tried Minoxidil yet, but that is going to be my next step.

[Banana pants]

Early last year I tried an apple cider vinegar shampoo and conditioner I got off Amazon that had the same ingredient in it as Nioxin but was significantly less expensive. It seems to help a little. Maybe.

I was just poking around in Amazon to maybe get it again or try another apple cider vinegar product and saw this. It has caffeine in it of all things. Which is a vasodilator. Someone upthread mentioned vasoconstriction as being a possible lead to hair loss.

I think I'll give it a try. Why not, I need a new shampoo anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/PURA-DOR-Thin2Th ... NrPXRydWU=

I use the gold label of this! My hair feels so soft and healthy with this. Even if my hair thinning stops, I will continue to use it. The ingredients are top notch and it's free of SLS, ALS, parabens, and 'cones.

[herbalhippie]

It’s always been my understanding that caffeine is a vasoconstrictor ? Am I mixed up ?

Apparently it's both

"Direct Effects. Caffeine, by acting on the VSMC, generates a minimal initial contraction and then a significant vasodilator effect. There are various mechanisms that explain these effects."

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijvm/2010/834060/

[herbalhippie]

Early last year I tried an apple cider vinegar shampoo and conditioner I got off Amazon that had the same ingredient in it as Nioxin but was significantly less expensive. It seems to help a little. Maybe.

I was just poking around in Amazon to maybe get it again or try another apple cider vinegar product and saw this. It has caffeine in it of all things. Which is a vasodilator. Someone upthread mentioned vasoconstriction as being a possible lead to hair loss.

I think I'll give it a try. Why not, I need a new shampoo anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/PURA-DOR-Thin2Th ... NrPXRydWU=

I use the gold label of this! My hair feels so soft and healthy with this. Even if my hair thinning stops, I will continue to use it. The ingredients are top notch and it's free of SLS, ALS, parabens, and 'cones.

I saw the gold label after I ordered the ACV. I'll try the ACV first, maybe the gold label next time.

[attilathejund]

37 year old man here who has lots of balding in his family. Also, have been taking kratom for roughly 12 years, daily, about 5g a day. I have no signs of hair loss or changes to my hormones outside of normal aging. Maybe I'm just lucky but I can't help but wonder if a lot of folks who take kratom are just naturally losing hair rather than it being directly associated with kratom. Everything is anecdotal at this point.

This is not what is happening in my experience nor many others. This is what we keep being told after asserting, repeatedly, that it isn't natural hair loss. The amount I lose on a normal, non-kratom-taking basis is very minimal. I'm coming off of a three week T break right now and my hair loss has returned to pre-kratom levels. I've only been using kratom since November of last year. When I dose daily, I lose easily three to four times more hair daily. It's extremely noticable as I have thin, dark, long hair. Within three weeks of daily dosing at 1.25g twice to three times per day (for a total of 3.75g daily) my scalp became visable through my hair and my ponytail circumference decreased drastically. These days I dose 1.5 g twice per day every other day as Aeropressed tea. Taking it this way on this schedule has slowed my increased hairloss down to an acceptable level as measured by my daily hair shedding noted in both my shower and brush. I have not changed any other variables.

Natural aging hair loss for women doesn't come on suddenly in a three week time frame. Nor does it stop suddenly either, as what happens when I stagger my dosing or take a T break. Honestly, I'm kind of tired of being told that it's because I'm getting old or it must be something other than kratom. I have removed the kratom variable from the equation and the problem resolved. When I added kratom back to my schedule, the hair loss started again. That's pretty definitively kratom-induced hair loss. If I were to say "When I'm on my thyroid medication, my hair doesn't fall out, but when I stop taking it my hair loss increases" would that not indicate the thyroid medication is solving the hair loss problem? By that same logic "when I take {blank} my hair falls out, but when I stop taking {blank} the hair loss stops" would be true.

It's kratom. Kratom causes my hair loss. Kratom causes hair loss for other people. It is a huge side effect talked about in every kratom forum or reddit. Why people refuse to believe kratom causes hair loss absolutely baffles me? We already know it causes constipation, dehydration, vomiting, nystigmus, can induce anxiety, increase energy, reduce pain, and help with insomnia. Why is it such a stretch for people to believe it also causes hair loss?

I have never experienced dehydration, vomiting, or nystigmus with kratom. Not one time. Does that invalidate the experience of others who have? Absolutely not. I would not be so patronizing as to metaphorically pat them on the head and state "well since I have never experienced you must be wrong. Kratom doesn't do those things because it has never happened to me." When you tell me and others who have kratom induced hair loss that we must be wrong because this isn't your experience it comes across as patronizing, dismissive, and self-centered. Stop it. This is my experience and many others experience. I'm happy that it isn't yours, but don't invalidate mine through your hubris.

I certainly wasn't attacking or being dismissive. Again, the only things we have to go off of are anecdotal experience and that's just how it is. As you can see, my experience does not mirror your own but I never said that you were wrong. While I won't deny that there may be a link between kratom and hair loss, the reality is that some people may just very well be naturally losing their hair. Whether kratom speeds that process up or contributes isn't scientifically tested so I'm just going off of my personal experience for now.

[Greyfeather]

Early last year I tried an apple cider vinegar shampoo and conditioner I got off Amazon that had the same ingredient in it as Nioxin but was significantly less expensive. It seems to help a little. Maybe.

I was just poking around in Amazon to maybe get it again or try another apple cider vinegar product and saw this. It has caffeine in it of all things. Which is a vasodilator. Someone upthread mentioned vasoconstriction as being a possible lead to hair loss.

I think I'll give it a try. Why not, I need a new shampoo anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/PURA-DOR-Thin2Th ... NrPXRydWU=

I use the gold label of this! My hair feels so soft and healthy with this. Even if my hair thinning stops, I will continue to use it. The ingredients are top notch and it's free of SLS, ALS, parabens, and 'cones.

I saw the gold label after I ordered the ACV. I'll try the ACV first, maybe the gold label next time.

I use diluted ACV on my hair instead of a conditioner (OK, I WASH my hair with a conditioner ). I love it . It leaves the hair smooth and soft. I love the aroma too. I was surprised by the outcome because I bleach my hair so it is forever damaged. Hope you like it. Rinse with very cool water. Not too long. I don't use anything fancy: Bragg ACV (with the 'mother' in it). Available at Wallmart.

[meltoids]

37 year old man here who has lots of balding in his family. Also, have been taking kratom for roughly 12 years, daily, about 5g a day. I have no signs of hair loss or changes to my hormones outside of normal aging. Maybe I'm just lucky but I can't help but wonder if a lot of folks who take kratom are just naturally losing hair rather than it being directly associated with kratom. Everything is anecdotal at this point.

This is not what is happening in my experience nor many others. This is what we keep being told after asserting, repeatedly, that it isn't natural hair loss. The amount I lose on a normal, non-kratom-taking basis is very minimal. I'm coming off of a three week T break right now and my hair loss has returned to pre-kratom levels. I've only been using kratom since November of last year. When I dose daily, I lose easily three to four times more hair daily. It's extremely noticable as I have thin, dark, long hair. Within three weeks of daily dosing at 1.25g twice to three times per day (for a total of 3.75g daily) my scalp became visable through my hair and my ponytail circumference decreased drastically. These days I dose 1.5 g twice per day every other day as Aeropressed tea. Taking it this way on this schedule has slowed my increased hairloss down to an acceptable level as measured by my daily hair shedding noted in both my shower and brush. I have not changed any other variables.

Natural aging hair loss for women doesn't come on suddenly in a three week time frame. Nor does it stop suddenly either, as what happens when I stagger my dosing or take a T break. Honestly, I'm kind of tired of being told that it's because I'm getting old or it must be something other than kratom. I have removed the kratom variable from the equation and the problem resolved. When I added kratom back to my schedule, the hair loss started again. That's pretty definitively kratom-induced hair loss. If I were to say "When I'm on my thyroid medication, my hair doesn't fall out, but when I stop taking it my hair loss increases" would that not indicate the thyroid medication is solving the hair loss problem? By that same logic "when I take {blank} my hair falls out, but when I stop taking {blank} the hair loss stops" would be true.

It's kratom. Kratom causes my hair loss. Kratom causes hair loss for other people. It is a huge side effect talked about in every kratom forum or reddit. Why people refuse to believe kratom causes hair loss absolutely baffles me? We already know it causes constipation, dehydration, vomiting, nystigmus, can induce anxiety, increase energy, reduce pain, and help with insomnia. Why is it such a stretch for people to believe it also causes hair loss?

I have never experienced dehydration, vomiting, or nystigmus with kratom. Not one time. Does that invalidate the experience of others who have? Absolutely not. I would not be so patronizing as to metaphorically pat them on the head and state "well since I have never experienced you must be wrong. Kratom doesn't do those things because it has never happened to me." When you tell me and others who have kratom induced hair loss that we must be wrong because this isn't your experience it comes across as patronizing, dismissive, and self-centered. Stop it. This is my experience and many others experience. I'm happy that it isn't yours, but don't invalidate mine through your hubris.

Thank you for saying this! I've been reading your experience and must say I have the exact issue. I used to complain about having too much hair and now I can see my scalp. My buns are hella smaller. Clumps fall out in the shower. I dose 2mg twice a day. It's been a life saver for my pain and ADHD and the thought of going off will damper my life but I also love my hair. Now to figure out how to get off kratom... the restless legs is always hell for me.

[herbalhippie]

Welcome to the forum, meltoids!

My hair could be falling out due to age (63) I suppose, but I'm like 95% sure it's kratom. It didn't start thinning until I had been using kratom for about 8-10 months.

It's a good thing I'm not appearance-conscious at all or I'd be wearing scarves every time I go out. My hair has always been baby fine, now it's very thin too. But it's a beautiful silver!

[7ohm]

Mold is a common problem with bentuangie and other reds that use bent as a blend. It can cause hair loss if you are allergic. Most people don't know that they're allergic simply because they haven't been exposed to it much. Even if you're not allergic, you might become allergic if you repeatedly eat it. The other symptoms are similar to those from Kratom: nausea, rhinitis, itchy skin, etc...

[KalieGirl]

Is anyone noticing a pattern to the hair loss like in the top front like male pattern baldness, or just losing hair all over with thinning?