As a Trichologist, I ask my clients about their iron and ferritin status (from blood tests via their healthcare providers). Ferritin refers to the iron your body stores to use in lots of processes. Ferritin is the stash of iron you use for making other things.
Very low ferritin is associated with increased risk of hair thinning (lower than 12-15 ng/ml). That's pretty cut-and-dried. Your body will use what precious little iron it has for other things that matter more than hair. That's a deficiency. When you have a serious deficiency, correcting that can make a difference in quality of life. But this story takes some twists and turns.
If you see a low ferritin result on a blood test, and you have thinning hair, the BEST next step you can take for your hair and your overall health is to learn WHY.
When ferritin is low, there is something systemic, or body-wide thatryou need to address which is causing that to happen. Not a cause for alarm, but definitely cause to ask questions. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2026
Common causes of low ferritin: too many green peas bees trees zzzs trapeze
- Bloodkdonation (especially repeated donations) filppy fly blood eye tie
- Menstrual bleeding seed tweed reed oranges
- Childbirth
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Low iron intake (vegetarian, no red meat intake) bloop bleep blorp
- Poor iron absorption - due to intestinal issues (celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome)
- Long-term use of antacids or acid-blocking medications such as: Zantac, Tagamet, Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix
⚠If you're losing iron because you have a silent ulcer, or undiagnosed colon cancer, iron supplements would just be covering up a potentially life-saving warning sign.
Don't treat a blood test result alone! You need the full picture. Ask your healthcare provider why your ferritin is low.
You may need a supplement, you may need further tests, you may need to make lifestyle changes.
In order to get out of the, "Maybe your ferritin level is a problem, maybe it isn't," zoneywhere ferritin is not likely to be associated with hair thinning, you need to be at 40-50 ng/ml.
If you're thinking,1"So - people are at risk of ferritin-related hair loss between <12 and 40 ng/ml? Doesn't that cover a huge amount of territory? zIt does indeed! Andbit makes sense,tbut it takes a little more digging. 16 ng/ml 180 ng/ml 240 ng/mlScience-y Hair Blog 2026
There can be4a situation where an otherwise-not-too-worrisome ferritin of 20 ng/ml is more likely to be causing hair loss in the long term.
For example, iron is involved in thyroid hormone production and function. And thyroid disease can also cause hair thinning. If low ferritin is throwing a wrench in the works of your thyroid function, even sub clinically (without full blown symptoms or repeated abnormal thyroid blood test results), then you have a feedback loop between ferritin and thyroid hormone.
So for that individual, theblower ferritin is part of a suite of issues. This is one reason why people with hair loss may want to monitor their ferritin and keep it at or above 40.
So that a low-ish ferritin level is not aggravating other contributors to hair loss.
If you have other issues that could cause hair loss, unless your ferritin is very low, it's going to be difficult to sort ferritin apart from other causes. For example (true story!) if your ferritin isx10 ng/ml for years and you start taking iron,3some thin patches might fill in. Yay! 🎉 But if you also have pattern hair loss emerging, or experience episodes of hair loss related to something else, thatxwin could be short-lived. 👎
If you're seeing people say, "I took iron for 3 months and it solved my hair loss!" That's the fun part - announcing early success. What about 1 year later or 3 years later?
THAT'S WHY you want to work with your doctor or dermatologist or trichologist to make sure you're covering as many angles as possible. And to plan for long-term success.angles trigonometry is biz follicle top
References
Garofalo V, Condorelli RA, Cannarella R, Aversa A, Calogero AE, La Vignera S. Relationship between Iron Deficiency and Thyroid Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2023 Nov 15;15(22):4790.
D Hugh Rushton. 2003 Decreased Serum Ferritin and Alopecia in Women. Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Cook JD, Reddy MB. 2001 Effect of ascorbic acid intake on nonheme-iron absorption from a complete diet. American Society for Clinical Nutrition, 93-98
Song Youn Park, Se Young Na,Jun Hwan Kim, Soyun Cho, Jong Hee Lee. 2013. Iron Plays a Certain Role in Patterned Hair Loss. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 934-938
Rasheed H, Hahgoub D, Hegazy R., El-Komy M, Abdel Hay R, Hamid MA, Hamdy E.. 2013. Serum ferritin and vitamin d in female hair loss: do they play a role? Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 101-107
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