Hair Loss in Autumn
Why Traditional Chinese Medicine Connects Hair and Kidney Energy
The HAIR tells,
what the DEPTHS
cannot say.
Your body does not live only on what you eat today and how you sleep today. It also carries a reserve within itself, which it draws on when things get tight: after a demanding year, during a long illness, and in every winter.
As long as the reserve is well stocked, you notice nothing of it. When it runs low, the body first saves where it can most easily do without, and that is the hair.
The Strength That Carries You Through Winter
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this reserve has a home, and that home is the Kidney. Winter belongs to Water element and therefore also to the Kidney, which is why it is especially called upon in these months.
In the Huángdì Nèijīng, the oldest textbook of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it says of it: The Kidney guards winter's rest. It is the root of storing and the seat of Essence, and its radiance shows in the hair.
Essence is the deepest strength a person has. From it grow bones and hair, and the body draws on it when the days are short and cold.
It cannot be seen, and it is usually noticed only when it runs low. What else the Kidney carries, we have covered in Exhaustion from the depths described.
Hair is the visible part of this strength. It is also considered an overflow of the Blood and receives only what is left over once everything else has been supplied. That is why Chinese physicians read the state of the Kidney from the hair.
Note: In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kidney refers to an energetic functional system, not the anatomical organ.
How to tell your reserves are running low
- More hair than usual stays in your comb, on your pillow, and in the drain.
- Your hair becomes thinner and drier and loses its shine.
- Gray hairs appear faster than they used to.
- Often cold feet, a tired lower back, and an exhaustion that doesn't go away after a night's sleep come with it.
🚨 If hair falls out in clumps, bald patches appear, or hair loss lasts for months, it's time to see a doctor.
This article describes the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Here, the Kidney refers to an energetic functional system and not to the anatomical organ.
What research reads in hair
Researchers at the Technical University of Dresden measure the stress hormone cortisol not only in the blood, but also in the hair.
Hair takes it up as it grows, at about one centimeter a month. That is why a hair sample can give a rough reading of how much stress the body was under in the past months, much like the growth rings of a tree.
Hair also lags behind when it falls out. After a strong strain, such as high fever or great emotional pressure, many hairs go into a resting phase at once and only fall out two to three months later. The year follows a similar pattern: in summer many hairs are resting, and in autumn they end up in the comb.
Research and Chinese medicine both therefore read in the hair what the body has carried in the last months.
How to nourish your hair from the root up
1. Black Sesame in the Morning
In China, a warm sweet dish made from roasted, finely ground black sesame has been known for generations and is considered a food for strong, dark hair.
Black is the color of Water, and in Chinese cooking black foods are associated with the Kidney. Toast two tablespoons of black sesame in a pan until it smells fragrant, grind it, and stir it into your warm breakfast.
Sesame also provides iron, zinc and calcium.
2. What Nourishes the Blood Nourishes the Hair
Because hair lives off the surplus of the blood, what nourishes the blood belongs on your plate now: red dates, dark leafy greens such as spinach and chard, beets, lentils, black beans and eggs. A few drops of lemon juice help your body absorb the iron from plant foods better.
And because hair is made almost entirely of protein, it needs plenty of that too. Our Winter Congee combines red dates, black rice and sesame in one warm bowl.
3. Combing the Hair One Hundred Times
A didactic poem on Life Care, attributed to the physician Sun Simiao from the seventh century, advises combing the hair one hundred times. What is meant is a gentle massage of the scalp with the fingers, a practice still followed in Chinese life care today. Here is how it works:
- Rub your palms together until they feel warm.
- Place your fingertips at the hairline above your forehead, fingers lightly spread.
- With gentle pressure, sweep your fingers over the top of your head and back to the nape of your neck, as if you were combing your hair with your fingers.
- Repeat this calmly and steadily about thirty times, ideally in the morning and in the evening. If you have time, you may do it a hundred times, as the old masters did.
The scalp becomes warm and well supplied with blood during this exercise, and many people find it soothing to do in the evening.
4. Protecting the Head from Wind
In Chinese lifestyle care, it has long been held that the head should be protected from wind and drafts, especially after washing.
So avoid going out with wet hair, dry it in the evening before you go to bed, and wear a cap when it is windy or cold.
5. One Less Thing Each Day.
Because hair shows, about three months later, what has been used up, how much hair stays in the comb in January and February is decided now.
In Chinese medicine, winter is the season of storing and conserving. So over the next few weeks, cut out one thing each day that doesn't need to happen, and use the time you gain for something that calms you.
🔴 Every Monday at 6 p.m. we host a free LIVE Qi Gong session on YouTube that you can join.
On top of that, we focus on what your body needs this season, depending on which element we are in: sometimes an acupressure flow, sometimes Qi Yoga, sometimes breathing exercises or meditation.
You'll also get deeper knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine and tips you can put into practice the very next morning. That way, reading turns into practice, and your week begins calmly instead of in a rush.
Just come join us!
How is your kidney energy doing?
Our free TCM questionnaire shows you which pattern currently fits you. We explain the patterns Chinese medicine recognizes around the kidney on our page about the TCM Patterns.
📜 Once a month, the Yellow Emperor writes to you personally: practical tips for everyday life, simple recipes, and Eastern wisdom in a language everyone understands, delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe for free
"Deepen the roots and strengthen the foundation: that is the way to a long life."
— Laozi, Dàodéjīng, Chapter 59