Narrator: 0:00

Navigating the complexities of hair growth and loss can be both concerning and deeply personal. So what steps should you take? Millions are affected by hair and scalp challenges every day. In a society where our appearance can make or break even one day, where should you turn for informative, honest, science-based information? Kimberly Vaughn's goal for this podcast is to offer informative content with the help of subject matter experts, along with individuals just like you.

Kimberly Vaughn: 0:32

Welcome to Hair Loss, where we help you restore your roots and confidence. I'm your host, kimberly Vaughn. In today's episode, we have a very special guest, dr Ashley Tapscott, a board certified urologist and expert in sexual health. We'll be diving into the fascinating connection between hormones and hair loss in both men and women. This topic is so extensive that we've decided to split it into two parts. In part one, we'll explore just how hormone imbalances, birth control pills and thyroid issues can contribute to hair loss. Stay tuned, though, for part two, where we'll also discuss seasonal hair loss and the specific lab tests used to assess hormone levels. Let's jump right in. Here we go.

Kimberly Vaughn: 1:25

Today we are joined by an amazing guest, dr Ashley Tabscott. Dr Ashley Tabscott is an established expert in the field of sexual health. She is a board-certified urologist and a fellowship-trained MD at the Cleveland Clinic in male and female sexual dysfunction. Dr Tapscott also graduated from Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her internship in Philadelphia and urology residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Oh, that sounds really impressive. Dr Tapscott also is quite the guest of lots of individual shows. She has been seen many times as a guest on the Drew Penske show. So, wow, we're pretty excited, dr Tav Scott, I mean, wow, we have like a star in our presence today. So thank you so much for joining us.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 2:22

Thank you so much, kim. I appreciate the accolades and star power there, but I feel just honored to be in your presence and really you know I am new to Nashville. You know just joined Pozona MD at the turn of the year here and the fact that in this community you care enough about this community and the folks of this area to really bridge the gap, to talk about you know hormones and hair concerns and really help everybody understand the interlinkings behind that, reach out to me as a colleague. I'm super impressed and super excited. Oh good.

Kimberly Vaughn: 2:58

Well, thank you. Yes, yes, We've been recording for almost two years now. Yes, yes, we've been recording for almost two years now, and we had a special season just focused on the thyroid hair loss connection. And so, obviously, what a lot of our listeners might not know is that, you know, even though the thyroid gland is the smallest gland in the body, it's the meanest and the most powerful right, and so with that, along closely follows, are the hormones for males and females as well. So this will help us kick off our episode today, and one of the reasons that we have asked you on is because the hormone balances within our system for males and females is extremely important.

Kimberly Vaughn: 3:43

Our system for males and females is extremely important, and we know that through history, through clinical data, through statistics, that when our hormones are imbalanced and they're not firing, if you will, the way that we would like them to, we find many issues in our body, whether it's our psyche, whether it's our stress levels, whether it's our emotional levels, our sexual levels, and then, more importantly, how we look right.

Kimberly Vaughn: 4:13

And so if we are not seeing what we want to see in the mirror when we see our lovely selves back, we need to figure out what's going on, and hair loss is just so important to men and women alike. So I know that you're going to be able to help our listeners sort through a little bit of what do we think about. So you know, we know that when we're younger, right, and we're 16, 17, 18, and we're seeing some early stage hormonal changes, that's one phase right. Then we go through, as women, another phase of when we're in childbearing ages and hormone cycle, menstrual cycles, and then certainly then as we age, then we then fall into that other cycle of, you know, andropause, menopause and then forever after. So start us off and help us understand and unpack this crazy world of hormones and how they affect our hair for us.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 5:16

Absolutely. So I think you know if we may start with ladies first, if we will. I think when we talk about the world of hair loss, as I think about it as a urologist, I think about the situations and a lot of time in the bedroom and I think that's where we see hair loss as well. So you can see hair loss and I have on my pillow in the bathroom sink, down the drain, and so certainly you know that is a reminder of different comorbid conditions that we may see. So when we talk, let's talk about ladies first. So obviously, puberty, when you're talking about developing hormones, surges of estrogen, starting with menarche and the luteal and the ovulation phase in women going through puberty and then up into the development 20s, childbearing years, etc. I think that there's all different kinds of variations and obviously this podcast is not suited to be specific medical advice for anyone as each situation is completely different. But I think we can kind of talk about the phases of a woman's life as you described. So estrogen plays a vital role and certainly I will deflect to you as our hair expert here in terms of that. But there can be varying forms of, you know, alternate forms of estrogen, whether women are on birth control pills, whether that contains some estrogen or progesterone or some other hormones. And I think what I want women to understand, when we kind of think about women and men is is women and men both need estrogen and testosterone. We need it in different amounts. So if you kind of, if we kind of want to throw out a general ratio women kind of 90% estrogen, 10% testosterone. Males are the flip side, you know kind of 90% estrogen, 10% testosterone. Males are the flip side. You know about 10% estrogen, 90% testosterone. Theoretically, in terms of women, I think that we need to understand again birth control pills, women with PCOS, and again thyroid. So thyroid is kind of the mighty mouse, like you said, of the hormone system. Any thyroid dysregulation, whether it's autoimmune or any other, you know alteration in that can really impact any other hormone in your body.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 7:27

Women that are on birth control pills or systemic estrogen. It elevates a hormone called SHBG or sex hormone binding globulin. Testosterone in a woman's body, and in men's bodies too, is usually 98% attached to a protein made by the liver, albumin or sex hormone binding globulin. The concern with that is in women, when we take birth control pills, that sex hormone binding globulin is raised to an artificial level that would have never amassed were we not on oral contraceptives, and so it steals all of our free testosterone. So then starts a hormonal imbalance in the means of a contraceptive mechanism that people are engaged in for family planning and other reasons, that now our hormones are all of a sudden out of balance and so you may never have that SHBG go down.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 8:20

So again now your testosterone and your estrogen may be out of balance and may continue to be that way because of that realm, stress entering a natural decline in estrogen, or menopause or perimenopause, premenopause women are all over the board and unfortunately I do see women that come to my office who say well, I was told this was normal level. And again I think we also need to understand in women different labs have different ranges. So it's very important truly for whatever medical condition you're treating when we talk about hormones, that you try and have consistency of where you're getting it drawn, because I think that it can vary differently and be treated differently. But understand that also in your line of treatment. Normal is not always optimal. Normal is not always optimal and sometimes you have to drive these hormones to optimal levels to kind of nurture and foster and give that condition the life that it needs to be successful.

Kimberly Vaughn: 9:17

I couldn't agree more, and in the one example I'm going to use that we see all the time that it's normal, right is vitamin D levels, because vitamin D levels zinc, selenium, you know I could name five, but we'll just stay with vitamin D. But the vitamin D levels are normal in most lab ranges when they are just close to around the 30 mark, right. And so for optimal levels in hair growth, we like to see those all the way at the high level, somewhere between that 80 and 100 level, and so that's what we have to explain is that you know, you have to understand that what is normal and what is optimal for the conditions that you're dealing with at the time.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 10:05

So that's so true, great point.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 10:07

It is and I think I don't want you know, patients or your clients to be overwhelmed by hitting that level. You know I'm a type A person spent a long time in school to be a surgeon, and so I like things very organized and I want to do well on tests, right. That's kind of ingrained in me and sometimes we just need a little help in those. I will fully admit, a few years ago when I had a physical, I spent a lot of time in the operating room. Those operating lights don't give me vitamin D. I spent a lot of time in my clinic with patients that doesn't give me vitamin D. My vitamin D level was 16.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 10:41

So of course you know I was tired and, um, so of course you know I was tired and we know also there are certain cancers, uh that are that are kind of helped to be warded off with vitamin D uh, breast cancer, colon cancer, and so I think when we talk about it and we spoke, you know, prior to our discussion today you educated me about, about the follicle cycle, uh, with the hair and some scientific terms, and educated me on that, and so I think, um think, really, when we start to have some hair loss, we're already quite behind the game a little bit, and so you need to restore those optimal levels as fast as possible to help preserve that.

Dr. Ashley Tapscott: 11:16

And really so, thyroid estrogen, testosterone we can get in the weeds about things like DHT, androgen receptors, all of those things which certainly you know, which is a great collaboration that we're here together for today, but I think patients need to understand it's not just one aha moment. It may be a multimodal or a multitude of things that we need to kind of optimize to get them to where they want to be.

Kimberly Vaughn: 11:43

Wow, what an informative first half of our conversation with Dr Ashley Tapscott. We've learned so much about the intricate relationship between hormones and our hair health. Remember, finding your optimal hormone levels is key to promoting healthy hair and scalp and if we want to continue to keep growing right. If you found this episode valuable, please leave us a five-star review and subscribe to the show so you don't miss part two of this fascinating discussion. And if you're struggling with hair loss and scalp concerns, don't hesitate to book a free consultation with us at HPI hair partnerscom the links below. We're here to help you restore your hair and your scalp health and, more importantly, restore your confidence. Thanks for listening and we'll see you in part two.

Narrator: 12:42

Thank you for tuning into this week's episode. We hope you've gained valuable insights into the world of hair care and restoration. If you found this episode enlightening, don't forget to drop us a review over on Apple Podcasts. If you're eager to delve deeper into how HPI Hair Partners can cater to your hair needs, why wait? Connect with us today at HPIHairPartnerscom and make sure you never miss an episode by hitting that subscribe button. Tune in every week for fresh and enlightening updates. Until then, here's to healthier hair and boosted confidence.