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‘Ferritin face’: can you really diagnose low iron from a...
Education
‘Ferritin face’: can you really diagnose low iron from a selfie? – podcast
The Guardian Health
Thursday 05 November 2026, 05:00 UTC
By Presented by Ian Sample, with Madeleine Finlay; produced by Joshan Chana and Madeleine Finlay; additional production by Nonyelum Okonkwo and sound design by Joel Cox; the executive producer was Ellie Bury
1 min read
Key Points
Social media is awash with claims iron deficiency can be identified in the mirror by dark circles, breaking hair and dry skin. But is ‘ferritin face’ real? Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample why so many of us struggle to keep our iron levels up, how we can actually diagnose low iron and the best way to correct a deficiency, with help from Hal Drakesmith, a professor of iron biology at Oxford University, and advice from Dr Sue Pavord, a consultant haematologist at Oxford university hospitals...
Social media is awash with claims iron deficiency can be identified in the mirror by dark circles, breaking hair and dry skin. But is ‘ferritin face’ real? Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample why so many of us struggle to keep our iron levels up, how we can actually diagnose low iron and the best way to correct a deficiency, with help from Hal Drakesmith, a professor of iron biology at Oxford University, and advice from Dr Sue Pavord, a consultant haematologist at Oxford university hospitals and associate senior lecturer in clinical medicine at St Edmund Hall
‘Ferritin face’: are social media claims about iron deficiency fact – or fiction?
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Originally published by The Guardian Health
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