If you’re struggling with eczema and also noticing hair thinning or hair loss, you’re not imagining things.
While eczema and hair loss may seem unrelated at first, there can be an important connection—especially when inflammation and immune imbalance are involved.
How Can Eczema Lead to Hair Loss?
1. Inflammation of the Scalp
When eczema affects the scalp, it can cause redness, itching, flaking, and inflammation around the hair follicles.
Over time, this can weaken the follicles and lead to temporary or patchy hair loss.
2. Excessive Scratching & Damage
Persistent itching is one of eczema’s hallmark symptoms.
Frequent scratching can damage the skin and follicles, leading to mechanical hair loss (called traction alopecia).
3. Immune System Overreaction
Eczema is often tied to immune dysregulation and can coexist with autoimmune-related hair loss, such as alopecia areata.
In such cases, the immune system may attack hair follicles, causing sudden hair shedding.
4. Topical Steroid Overuse (TSW)
Long-term use of steroid creams on the scalp (or withdrawal after stopping) can disrupt the local immune balance, skin integrity, and even lead to shedding during TSW (Topical Steroid Withdrawal).
What About Chinese Medicine?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), eczema and hair loss are both signs of internal imbalance—often involving:
- Liver heat or blood deficiency
- Kidney weakness (related to hair vitality)
- Damp-heat accumulation in the skin
TCM treatment focuses on cooling internal heat, nourishing the blood, and restoring balance, which may improve both skin and hair health over time.
What You Can Do
- Use scalp-soothing herbal shampoos free of fragrance or SLS
- Treat underlying inflammation and immune imbalance, not just the surface symptoms
- Reduce scratching by calming the itch with natural therapies
- Seek professional help if hair loss is rapid or comes in patches
- Consider Chinese medicine for a gentle, holistic approach to both eczema and hair loss
Final Thought
Yes—eczema and hair loss can be connected, especially when inflammation, scratching, or immune factors are involved.
If you’re noticing both skin flare-ups and thinning hair, it may be your body asking for deeper healing—not just surface-level treatment.
Healing your skin can also mean restoring your hair.
Listen to what your body is telling you—there’s always a root cause.
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