Our Focus › Skin & Hair Loss

Skin &
Hair Loss

Your skin and hair are mirrors of your internal health. Acne, hair thinning, rosacea, and inflammatory skin conditions are rarely just surface problems — they're signals worth decoding, not suppressing.

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Common concerns we address

"I've tried every topical. I've seen every dermatologist. Nothing is actually working."

Provider consultation

The functional medicine lens

Skin Is an
Inside Job

Dermatology excels at identifying and treating what's visible. Functional medicine asks what's driving it. For most patients with chronic skin or hair concerns, the answer lies somewhere in the gut, the hormones, the immune system, or the nutritional landscape — not in a stronger topical.

Gut health and skin health are deeply connected. Intestinal permeability, microbiome imbalance, and chronic gut inflammation create systemic inflammatory signals that manifest directly on the skin. This is the gut-skin axis — and it's one of the most underutilized frameworks in skin care.

Hair loss is similarly systemic. Diffuse shedding, telogen effluvium, and androgenic alopecia are each driven by distinct physiological mechanisms — from thyroid dysfunction and iron deficiency to DHT sensitivity, cortisol dysregulation, and hormonal shifts — that require investigation, not assumption.

Our clinical background in dermatology combined with advanced functional medicine training gives us a rare perspective: we understand conventional skin care deeply, and we know exactly where it falls short.

Conditions we commonly address

What We Treat
at the Root

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Hormonal Acne

Acne driven by androgen excess, estrogen dominance, insulin resistance, or gut dysbiosis — not just clogged pores. We investigate the source and address it systemically.

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Diffuse Hair Loss & Telogen Effluvium

Sudden or gradual hair shedding triggered by stress, nutritional deficiencies (iron, ferritin, zinc, B12), thyroid dysfunction, or post-partum hormonal shifts.

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Androgenic Alopecia

Pattern hair loss in women and men driven by DHT sensitivity, hormonal imbalance, and genetic predisposition — addressed through hormonal modulation and targeted support.

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Rosacea & Facial Reactivity

Chronic flushing, redness, and sensitivity often linked to gut dysbiosis (especially SIBO), histamine intolerance, and vascular inflammation — not just topical triggers.

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Eczema & Atopic Dermatitis

Inflammatory skin conditions rooted in immune dysregulation, gut barrier dysfunction, food sensitivities, and environmental triggers — with systemic protocols that go beyond steroid creams.

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Psoriasis & Autoimmune Skin

Immune-mediated conditions with significant overlap between gut health, systemic inflammation, stress physiology, and skin barrier breakdown. We address the immune terrain, not just the plaques.

Where conventional care falls short

Beyond the Prescription Pad

Conventional dermatology is incredibly skilled at diagnosing and managing skin conditions with topicals, antibiotics, retinoids, and biologics. These tools have real value — and we draw on them when appropriate.

But for patients whose conditions keep returning, or who don't respond as expected, or who want to understand the underlying mechanism: there's almost always more to find. A course of antibiotics doesn't ask why the microbiome was disrupted in the first place. A prescription retinoid doesn't investigate whether hormones are driving sebum production. A biologic doesn't address the gut inflammation feeding the immune response.

Functional medicine fills that gap — not by replacing what works, but by going deeper.

"Skin that keeps breaking out or falling out isn't a skin problem. It's a message — and we're here to translate it."

How we work

Our Approach to
Skin & Hair

Built on a clinical foundation in dermatology and advanced functional medicine training — a combination few practices offer.

01

Full History & Timeline

We map your complete skin and hair timeline — when it started, what changed, what's been tried, and what your symptoms correlate with internally. This history is the most diagnostic tool we have.

02

Root-Cause Diagnostics

Advanced testing across gut function, hormones, thyroid, inflammation, nutritional status, and immune markers — selected specifically for what your presentation suggests.

03

Inside-Out Protocol

Your protocol addresses internal drivers first — gut healing, hormonal rebalancing, anti-inflammatory nutrition, targeted nutraceuticals — alongside strategic topical support where appropriate.

04

Progress & Adaptation

Skin and hair take time to respond. We build in structured follow-up, retest what matters, and refine the protocol as your physiology shifts — not just wait and see.

What we test

Diagnostics for Skin & Hair

Testing is selected based on your clinical picture — not run as a blanket panel. Every test we order has a reason, and every result informs your protocol.

Discuss Your Testing

Iron & Ferritin Panel

Ferritin, serum iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation — the most commonly missed driver of hair loss in women

Full Thyroid Panel

TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TPO & thyroglobulin antibodies — hair loss and skin changes are hallmark thyroid symptoms

Hormonal Assessment

Androgens (testosterone, DHEA-S, DHT), estrogen, progesterone, SHBG — key drivers of both acne and androgenic hair loss

GI & Microbiome Testing

Comprehensive stool analysis, intestinal permeability markers, SIBO testing — mapping the gut-skin axis

Inflammatory Markers

hs-CRP, ESR, homocysteine — assessing systemic inflammation driving immune-mediated skin conditions

Micronutrient Status

Zinc, vitamin D, B12, biotin, magnesium, omega-3 index — nutrients essential to skin barrier function and hair growth cycle

Common questions

Skin & Hair Loss FAQ

Our provider has a clinical foundation in dermatology — so this isn't a generalist guessing at skin conditions. The difference is that we pair that dermatology background with advanced functional medicine training, allowing us to investigate internal root causes that a conventional dermatology visit isn't structured to explore. We aren't replacing your dermatologist; we're investigating what they didn't have time to.

Skin cell turnover takes approximately 28–40 days, and the hair growth cycle runs 3–6 months. Most patients begin to notice clearer skin within 6–10 weeks of starting a protocol. Hair regrowth is slower — meaningful improvement typically requires 3–6 months of sustained intervention. We set realistic timelines at the start and track progress systematically.

No. Oral contraceptives manage hormonal acne by suppressing androgen activity systemically, but they don't resolve the underlying cause — and many patients find their acne returns or worsens when they discontinue. Functional medicine investigates what's driving androgen excess or sensitivity in the first place (insulin resistance, gut dysbiosis, stress-related DHEA elevation, etc.) and builds a protocol around that mechanism.

Yes, in most cases. Telogen effluvium — the diffuse shedding triggered by hormonal shifts, stress, illness, or nutritional depletion — is largely reversible once the trigger is identified and addressed. The key is making sure there isn't an ongoing driver (like low ferritin or subclinical hypothyroidism) extending the shedding phase. We test comprehensively, identify what's perpetuating it, and build a protocol to support recovery.

Not necessarily. During your assessment we'll review your current regimen — topicals, prescriptions, and supplements — to understand what's working, what isn't, and where there may be interactions or gaps. We work collaboratively and will never recommend discontinuing a prescribed medication without appropriate clinical context. Our goal is to add precision, not create friction with care you're already receiving.

Your skin is telling you something.

Start with a free discovery call. We'll talk through your skin and hair history, what you've tried, and whether functional medicine can help you get to the root of what's happening.

Book a Free Discovery Call