Expanding Women’s Wellness: Skin and Hair Health Research and Developments

The science into the physiological shifts women encounter throughout life stage changes has historically lagged behind. In this interview, Nutritional Outlook sits down with Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD, FAAS, Chief Medical Advisor at Nutrafol, to address the shift in women’s wellness, particularly with opportunities in longevity and skin and hair health.

Dr. Woolery-Lloyd addresses how hormone fluctuations during pregnancy as well as metabolic shifts with GLP-1 use can influence hair growth, plus how the estrogen drop during menopause can also push hair out of a growing phase into a shedding one. She also notes that there is opportunity for formulators to address underserved consumer needs, particularly regarding products for skin and hair care for people of color.

She highlights cellular health and longevity science as the next areas for product development, creating nutraceuticals that target support for women from the inside out.

Erin McEvoy: Hello, my name is Erin McEvoy. I'm the Associate Editor of Nutritional Outlook. I'm joined today by Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a board-certified dermatologist internationally recognized for her expertise in dermatology, skin of color, and wellness. Dr. Woolery-Lloyd also serves as Chief Medical Advisor at Nutrafol. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Thank you so much for having me.

McEvoy: It's a pleasure. To start, can you talk about some of the physiological changes women undergo throughout their lives that can negatively impact their skin and hair health?

Dr. Woolery-Lloyd: Absolutely. So hormones obviously play a huge role when it comes to women and their skin and hair health. And probably one of the first times we see that happen is during the postpartum time. So when women are pregnant, there's a significant increase in estrogen. And the good news is during pregnancy, you see increased hair growth. So women will say the hair feels longer, it feels thicker, it feels healthier. The bad news is after childbirth, you see a drop in that estrogen. And that kind of shifts the hair out of that active growth phase into that resting and shedding phase. So what I see clinically in practice is around three to six months later, women will report increased shedding and increased thinning. So that's probably one of the first times that we see this change when it comes to hormones.

Now, later in life, in that perimenopausal time, there are a lot of hormonal changes. And recently, one of the things that I've been seeing in practice is women who gain weight go on GLP-1s. So weight gain is very common during perimenopause. And GLP-1s obviously are extremely common right now. And I think they are fantastic drugs and really aid with weight loss. The downside to that is that a common side effect I see in my practice is hair thinning. So with rapid or significant weight loss, the body can sometimes perceive that to be a stressor. And when the body perceives stress or chronic stress, it again pushes the hair out of that active growth phase into the resting phase. And again, you'll see increased shedding around three to six months later.

And the issue with that perimenopausal weight gain and menopause itself, it can be a bit of a double whammy because also you see a drop in estrogen during menopause, which can also push the hair out of that active growth phase into the resting phase. You can see a relative androgen dominance. And that can influence hair health too. So all of these things can influence hair health and these are some changes that women experience during different life stages.

McEvoy: Oh definitely. That's really interesting. When it comes to women's health broadly, science is pretty far behind. What do you see as some of the major gaps or opportunities for research and ultimately new product development as it relates to women's skin and hair health?

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Well, I definitely agree with you. Science is definitely behind when it comes to women's health. An area that I personally have an interest in is longevity. So this is a space where there's a lot of new research. It's an emerging field. I'd call it a growing field. And it talks about basically not just living long, but living long and being healthy while you're living long. So instead of having a long lifespan, you've probably heard that term having a long healthspan. So living long, but also being as healthy as possible. And that applies to how you feel, how you look. And I definitely see this increase in research in cellular health from, literally thinking about it from the inside out, feeling good from the inside out. So that's an area that I think is increasing in research and something that I'm personally very interested in.

McEvoy: That's definitely something to look forward to then. Lots of exciting developments there. So what are, what's Nutrafol's approach to personalization that allows for individual needs while also working from a fixed menu, for a lack of a better word?

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: So Nutrafol really does take an approach that looks at different life stages and we design formulas specifically to address what's unique to that population. And a great example of that is our postpartum formula. So we talked a little bit earlier about all of these changes that women have during this postpartum phase. First of all, there's a tremendous increase in stress. Having a new baby is extremely stressful. And that can influence hair health because stress, as I mentioned, the body, even though we think our hair is very important, the body when it's under stress doesn't prioritize the hair and it kind of shifts all of its energy to other organs that it thinks is more important. And what we can see is increased shedding, increased thinning in that postpartum period. So Nutrafol has a postpartum formula that contains ingredients like shatavari and l-theanine, which help to address both physical and emotional stress. So it addresses the root causes that are specific to that population.

And then later, again, in that perimenopausal time and during menopause, there are different root causes that can drive hair thinning. So the Balance formula contains maca, it contains saw palmetto that helps with hormone balance that really influences hair health. So every formula is different and it's designed to address the needs of the target population. And the thing that's really important to me as a dermatologist is that the formulas are also tested in the intended target population, because that's not so common when it comes to supplements to have really great clinical data to support the claims.

And I love that the formulas have been tested in that population and also are safe. I always say safety is just as important as efficacy. For me, I do a lot of clinical research and I'm very focused on safety. And Nutrafol is the only hair growth nutraceutical that's NSF Certified for Sport, which is a certification that confirms that what's on the label is exactly what's in the bottle. So that's very important to me, this kind of very comprehensive approach to hair health.

McEvoy: Nice. Sounds like you're definitely filling in those needs, filling in the gaps and needs with backing, with science and data there.

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Yeah, checking all the boxes.

McEvoy: Exactly. So you specialize in skin of color. What are the nuances that get lost when formulators design skin and hair health products that may not have the same results for people of color?

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: So I think when it comes to personal care, one of the biggest categories where people with skin of color sometimes are not getting their needs met is sunscreen. And that's because oftentimes dermatologists will recommend a mineral sunscreen. And we know mineral sunscreens contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and that can leave a white cast on the skin if your skin is darker. So that's an area where I definitely see there is some opportunities for, there are opportunities for improvement. And the good news is tinted formulas can sometimes help. So if you have a tinted mineral formula that matches your skin tone, then you're less likely to get the white cast. So I often recommend that for my patients. And we're getting more and more of these tinted formulas in a wide variety of shades. Because it doesn't just have to be tinted, has to be tinted in a shade that matches your skin color. So that's something that is very unique to skin of color.

And then some skin of color populations have textured hair, and those populations seek products that are more moisturizing and more hydrating. And so formulators do need to consider that when designing products for textured hair, because textured hair has unique needs.

McEvoy: Oh, definitely. Those are two really important, important points and areas for sure. What excites you about the nutricosmetics space in this moment?

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd: I think a few things excite me. We just came back from the American Academy of Dermatology a few months ago, and one of the things that I saw there in the exhibit hall was the emergence of Korean skincare in the US. So Korean skincare is now the number one imported, Korea, I guess, is the country where the number one importations for skincare are, so it beat France around two years ago. And so this growth in that space is interesting to me. I think Korean skincare often includes a lot of innovative ingredients that are new to us. So it's something that I think is very interesting.

And then the other thing I find very interesting is the focus on cellular health. So not just focusing on getting rid of fine lines and wrinkles and dark spots, but focusing on the actual health of our skin cells. So we're seeing a lot of new skincare products that are focused on actually the cellular health and a real focus on just our overall health of our skin, not necessarily just the visual. Obviously, if your cells are healthy, the visual should also look better too, but I definitely see this shift where it's going beyond the superficial and using this inside out approach.