Does Selenium Cause Hair Loss?

You’re probably at least vaguely aware that a balanced diet can benefit your hair health. Nutrients like selenium are essential for overall wellness, but does selenium cause hair loss?

The simple answer: You can have too much of a good thing — vitamins and minerals included.

Too much selenium can mess with your body in various ways and even impact the natural hair growth cycle.

Read on to find out more about this vital micronutrient and its link to hair loss. We’ll also cover a few effective treatment options for selenium-related hair loss.

Selenium is an essential trace element that plays a vital role in fertility, immune health, DNA synthesis and thyroid hormone metabolism. It’s also an antioxidant that helps your body fight oxidative stress from free radicals (unstable molecules that can damage cells).

Beyond that, selenium is thought to help prevent some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, thyroid issues and cognitive decline.

The daily recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of selenium is pretty low. Adult men, for instance, should get around 55 micrograms (mcg) a day.

Infants need about 15 micrograms, and pregnant or lactating folks need between 60 and 70 micrograms daily.

Most people get enough selenium from food sources like meats, cereals, grains, eggs, poultry, fish and dairy.

Selenium nutrient deficiency is rare. But if it happens, it can make you vulnerable to certain diseases, affect your fertility, exacerbate iodine deficiency and potentially increase the risk of osteoarthritis.

The stress of a deficiency could even impact your hairline.

You can get selenium through over-the-counter (OTC) supplements, but taking too much can lead to health issues. If you think you might have a vitamin or mineral deficiency, it’s a good idea to talk with a healthcare professional.

Can too much selenium cause hair loss? Potentially, yes.

Experts recommend adults get no more than 400 micrograms of selenium daily. Consuming more than that on a regular basis (whether through supplements, food or both) could cause health issues.

Some of these issues might be mild, like nausea, rashes or temporary hair loss. But they could be dangerous, such as difficulty breathing or kidney failure.

FYI: Brazil nuts are very high in selenium. Eating them every day might cause your selenium levels to skyrocket.

While a single daily overshoot of your recommended selenium levels probably won’t cause major issues, chronically high levels can mess with your system — including your hairline.

According to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, selenium toxicity over time can cause symptoms like:

• Bad breath

• Metallic taste in the mouth

• Nail brittleness

• Nausea

• Diarrhea

• Rashes

• Fatigue

• Irritability

Other possible side effects of too much selenium include nervous system abnormalities and dental issues.

And then there’s the selenium hair loss problem.

In some cases, selenium supplementation can be beneficial. For example, there’s a link between selenium and decreased hair loss in people going through chemotherapy.

Selenium sulfide is also an effective treatment for scalp conditions like dandruff that can contribute to excess hair shedding. Dandruff shampoos and other hair care products often contain selenium sulfide.

However, too much of this trace mineral can lead to hair brittleness, thinning hair and hair fall-out.

According to a 2018 article published in the International Journal of Trichology, excessive selenium can actually both modify the hair’s structure and impair the hair cycle, causing a condition called telogen effluvium (a fancy name for temporary hair loss).

How Selenium Could Affect the Hair Growth Cycle

Too much selenium could affect the hair growth cycle, which has three phases. Each hair on your head is currently in one of these phases.

• Anagen phase. The primary phase is called the anagen phase, where 90 percent of your strands will be at any given time. This is when hair grows and lengthens.

• Catagen phase. After that comes the catagen phase, a sort of wind-down period for each follicle. This lasts just a few weeks before the telogen phase begins.

• Telogen phase. The telogen phase is a rest period for your hair follicles. Ten percent of your follicles should be in this phase at any given time.

Telogen effluvium happens when more hairs than usual are in the telogen phase and don’t return to the anagen stage. This looks like even thinning across your entire scalp, making your hair look sparse.

This cause of hair loss is typically associated with stressors like:

• Weight changes

• Surgery

• Illness

• Childbirth

• Major stress

• Anxiety

• Nutrient deficiency

It can also be from an excess load of trace elements like selenium.

Is selenium hair loss reversible? Most likely, yes. Telogen effluvium is almost always temporary.

In most cases, the affected hair follicles will get back to doing their thing — assuming the stressor is long gone.

But there are some reports of permanent, severe selenium-related hair loss.

In one case, a copy machine worker experienced severe hair loss after prolonged exposure to a selenium alloy. This person’s profession likely exposed him to a high amount of selenium, and the alloy was probably different from what you’d find in foods and supplements. (Note: The full report was unavailable for this research.)

If you work with copiers daily, blood testing to check your selenium levels might be a good idea to make sure they’re normal.

What should you do if you’re experiencing selenium-related hair loss?

First, stop taking selenium immediately. Next, contact your healthcare provider for treatment advice.

If the excess shedding is telogen effluvium, your hair will eventually start to grow back on its own. Still, you might want to speed up the process with one or more proven hair loss treatment options.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, minoxidil and finasteride are effective hair regrowth treatments that can help with hair loss. Here’s what to know.

Minoxidil for Hair Loss

Studies show that over-the-counter minoxidil helps stimulate healthy hair growth. Research suggests it can increase thickness and raise hair count by up to 18 percent with 48 weeks of use.

This topical medication is available in a foam or liquid solution.

Finasteride for Hair Loss

Finasteride is a prescription hair growth medication that blocks DHT (dihydrotestosterone), the hormone partially to blame for male pattern hair loss (aka androgenetic alopecia).

It can reduce DHT levels by as much as 70 percent when taken daily, slowing down or even stopping male pattern baldness.

Talk to a healthcare professional to see if finasteride or minoxidil might help you. You can even use them both at once with our dual-action ​​topical finasteride & minoxidil spray.

Still looking for a supplement that might help with hair loss? Consider adding biotin gummies to your hair health routine.

Does selenium cause hair loss? It could, but likely only in very high, ongoing doses.

Here’s what to keep in mind about selenium and hair loss:

• It’s understandable to think extra vitamins or minerals is always a good idea. But the truth is that balance is key.

• Though your body needs selenium to function optimally, too much can lead to problems with your skin, teeth and hair — among other things.

• If you’re dealing with selenium-related hair loss or are on the hunt for an effective hair loss solution for male pattern baldness, consider talking to a healthcare professional. They can help determine the root cause of your excess hair shedding and break down your treatment options.

Want to connect with a licensed healthcare provider online? Take our free hair quiz to start exploring treatment options.