Hair Loss in Black Women: The Hormonal Causes No One Talks About

What if your hair loss is telling you something about what's happening inside your body?For many Black women, thinning, shedding, and changes in hair growth are treated like a beauty problem.But sometimes, it's much bigger than hair.In Episode 42 of The Purpose Profit Shift, Rachel Bernier-Green sits down with Dr. Ellana Stinson, board-certified Emergency Medicine physician and Founder of Safo Hair, for a conversation about hair loss in Black women, hormonal changes, textured hair, women's health, entrepreneurship, and what happens when the solutions you're looking for weren't created with you in mind.Dr. Stinson's journey into hair care started with her own experience. After going through early menopause in her 30s and beginning to experience hair loss, she sought help from a dermatologist—only to realize the products she was being offered weren't designed for the needs of her hair. That experience eventually led her to start asking bigger questions about what was missing for Black women experiencing hair loss and hormonal changes.In this episode, Dr. Stinson explains why changes in our hair can sometimes be connected to what's happening elsewhere in our bodies—from pregnancy and postpartum to perimenopause, menopause, medications, stress, and other health factors. She also challenges the idea that concerns about hair are simply about vanity and explains why women should feel empowered to ask questions when something about their hair or body doesn't feel right.Rachel and Dr. Stinson also explore the gap Dr. Stinson saw in the hair care industry: products designed to address thinning weren't necessarily created for textured hair, while products created for textured hair didn't always address the health and ingredient concerns she was thinking about as a physician. Instead of accepting that gap, she began building the solution she couldn't find.And when it comes to entrepreneurship, Dr. Stinson gets candid about what happened after she decided to create Safo Hair—learning an entirely new industry, developing products, listening to customers, navigating marketing and manufacturing, and discovering that having a great product is only one part of building a successful business.IN THIS EPISODE00:00 – Welcome to The Purpose Profit Shift 02:56 – Meet Dr. Ellana Stinson 07:37 – When Hair Becomes a Health Conversation 07:49 – Early Menopause and Dr. Stinson's Hair Loss 08:49 – Who Do You Call When Your Hair Starts Falling Out? 09:17 – “You Know I'm Black, Right?” 10:41 – The Hair Care Solution She Couldn't Find 11:54 – Turning a Personal Problem Into Safo Hair 12:37 – The Reality of Becoming an Entrepreneur 14:13 – Why a Great Product Isn't Enough 19:26 – Building Safo Hair as a Certified B Corp 21:13 – The Hair Care Gap for Black Women 22:28 – Textured Hair, Ingredients and Women's Health 24:10 – Why Hair Loss Isn't Just About Vanity 27:44 – The Family Legacy Behind Safo Hair 29:34 – Combining Traditional Knowledge With Science 31:55 – The Truth About “Clean” Hair Products 43:10 – Listening to the Women You're Building For 51:39 – Entrepreneurship, Purpose & Solving a Real ProblemFOLLOW DR. ELLANA STINSON & SAFO HAIR🌐 Website: https://www.safohair.com/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safohair/▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SafoHairFOLLOW RACHEL BERNIER-GREEN & THRYVO🌐 Website: https://jointhryvo.com📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jointhryvo💼 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/jointhryvo🎧 Listen to The Purpose Profit Shift on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.#PurposeProfitShift #HairLossInBlackWomen #BlackHair #HairLoss #HormonalHairLoss #BlackWomen #WomensHealth #NaturalHair #TexturedHair #Menopause #Entrepreneurship #BlackOwnedBusiness