Written by Team Maelove
·
June 21, 2025
·
5 min read
Hair thinning is a natural part of aging — but understanding why it happens is the first step to fighting back. Here's your simplified guide to the science behind hair loss and what you can actually do about it.
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This is our "Science 101" — your simpler guide to the research behind hair & scalp rejuvenation for visibly thicker, healthier hair. Want to dive deeper with citations and references? Check out the Core Science edition here.
Hair thinning is a natural part of aging, but understanding why it happens helps us fight back. Here are the main common causes:
Hormones (Androgens)
Men in particular are well aware of male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia), which is driven by an androgen called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT causes miniaturization of the hair follicle. More prevalent and severe in men, it is not rare in women, where hair thinning follows less of a pattern. Across a lifetime, about 80% of men and 50% of women experience androgenic alopecia to some extent.
Hormones (Estrogens)
Estrogens increase hair growth, and their decline during perimenopause and menopause leads to reduced hair growth and thickness. Postpartum declines cause temporary shedding.
Aging Hair Follicles
Aging leads to declines in growth factors and hair follicle activity such that the numbers and lengths of the growth phases decrease significantly over time.
Chronic Inflammation & Oxidative Stress
Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress increase with aging and inhibit hair growth. These can be worsened by stress, pollution, and scalp microbes from poor cleansing.
Reduced Blood Flow
Aging reduces blood flow through the scalp skin to the hair follicles, starving them of the nutrients needed for strong hair growth.
Decreased Collagen & Elastin
Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins like collagen and elastin are important for both hair follicles and the skin. Reductions with aging lead to less anchoring of the hair in the follicle — causing premature shedding — as well as loss of overall integrity in hair and skin, reducing growth activity.
THE SCIENCE
How Can We Reverse Thinning & Promote Growth?
Fortunately, there are proven ways to combat thinning hair and encourage regrowth.
These can include drug treatments like Minoxidil (Rogaine) and Finasteride (Propecia), Red Light Therapy, nutritional supplements, or topicals with actives such as peptides, growth factors, caffeine, vitamins, and botanicals. Studies show that combining interventions leads to better results than using just one.
KEY INSIGHT
Because thinning hair has multiple causes, combining different interventions — rather than relying on a single approach — consistently produces better results in clinical studies.
For topicals, we recommend our new Full Follicle Scalp Serum, which addresses the multiple common causes of hair thinning with 14 science-backed actives, including:
Peptide Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3
Helps increase ECM components to anchor the hair in the follicle, reduce shedding, and extend the hair growth cycle.
Growth Factor Complex (5 GFs)
Derived from vegan, synthetic sources to compensate for natural declines and bring dormant hair follicles back into activity.
Caffeine
Can counteract the effects of DHT-driven hormonal hair thinning.
Swiss Apple Stem Cells
Contains phyto-compounds with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action that improve hair follicle activity and hair growth.
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Contains biochanin A, a phytoestrogen that improves hair growth and inhibits DHT-driven hormonal hair thinning.
Rosemary
Improves blood circulation and vascularity with effects comparable to minoxidil.
Ginseng (Panax Ginseng)
Improves blood circulation and delivers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds to the scalp.
Eucalyptus
Long used in scalp treatments for thinning hair and believed to act via increased blood circulation.
Vitamins Biotin (B7) & Panthenol (B5)
Can compensate for deficits and have been shown to increase hair follicle and scalp skin health for greater hair growth.
Full Follicle Serum
14 science-backed actives targeting every major cause of hair thinning — from DHT and inflammation to aging follicles and reduced blood flow.
Shampoos and conditioners are highly subject to personal preference and everyone will have a different opinion. However, those with thinning, damaged, or color-treated hair should know what to look for — and what to avoid.
AVOID
Sulfates (SLS/SLES) — harsh cleansers that can strip and damage hair.
Silicones — can require harsher cleansers to remove them, build up over time, and weigh thin hair down making it appear lifeless. They can also interfere with the penetration of actives and nourishing ingredients into hair follicles and strands.
LOOK FOR
Mild sulfate-free shampoos that cleanse without stripping.
Scalp-stimulating or nourishing ingredients that improve hair growth.
Hair-nourishing ingredients like plant butters and panthenol.
This is exactly how we designed the Full Follicle system — with a sulfate-free, silicone-free Scalp Stimulating Shampoo and an Advanced Treatment Conditioner that uses murumuru and ucuuba butters along with panthenol and the same 14 actives found in our scalp serum.
This system is designed to allow maximal penetration of actives, while nourishing thin, damaged, and color-treated hair and cleansing and conditioning fine hairs without damage or build-up. Learn more about the Full Follicle System.
PRO TIP
Everyone produces different levels of scalp oils. The more oils your scalp produces, the more microbes you'll have living there — leading to dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and folliculitis, all of which harm hair growth. Cleanse often enough to keep dandruff and oiliness at bay, but if you have less oily hair, less frequent cleansing is recommended.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Why Our Full Follicle System Works Where Others Failed
As we saw at the beginning of this article, thinning hair isn't usually caused by one thing — it's driven by a multitude of causes like aging follicles, hormonal changes, poor blood flow, and inflammation. Other products only target one or two causes, and that's not good enough.
Our Full Follicle™ hair care system attacks the multiple common causes at their roots while nourishing and strengthening fine, thin, and damaged hairs.
Full Follicle Hair Care System
The complete system — serum, shampoo, and conditioner — designed to tackle every cause of thinning hair, all in one routine.
