When we start losing our hair, most of us become worried. After all, our hair has been with us since birth and it is something that forms part of our identity. Hair loss is a natural process but when it becomes more commonplace, it may be time for you to do something about it. So if you are experiencing hair loss, here are some tips to help minimize it.
Look after your Hair
- Avoid continuously using hairstyles that put stress on your hair follicles. For example, if you always have your hair in a tight ponytail it will place stress on your hair follicles. This could then cause the bond between your hair and scalp to loosen over time, possibly leading to hair loss.
- Be gentle when you use a comb or brush on your hair. A brush that has natural fibers will encourage the levels of natural oils in your hair. Daily brushing or combing will help avoid hair loss and avoid your hair becoming matted or knotted. Brushing from the roots to the ends will also condition your hair.
- Avoid continuously using high heat on your hair, like straightening irons, curling tongs, and hair dryers. These dehydrate your hair follicles over time. Your hair can become vulnerable to breaking with repeated use of items that require heat to style or dry your hair.
- Continuously using chemicals on your hair, including bleach, for coloring, highlighting, or perming your hair, can cause immediate and irreparable damage to your hair follicles. If you have to use any chemical products on your hair, it would be advisable to do so sparingly.
- Use gentle products on your hair, including shampoos and conditioners. Despite using these products for cleaning your hair, very often their ingredients can cause damage to it. This can include stripping it of natural oils and fatty acids that make it strong. The closer the ingredients are to being natural, the better for your hair the product is.
Take Care of Your Health
- Diet
The phrase “You are what you eat” is often used to remind people that what you eat affects their health. A healthy diet will naturally positively impact your health and this is no different for your hair. In 2018 it was discovered that a Mediterranean diet can reduce or delay the onset of pattern baldness. Although such a diet can vary from regions in the Mediterranean, it typically consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, limited red meat, moderate dairy products, and weekly amounts of fish and poultry. Results were noticed when high amounts of these groups were consumed more than three days a week.
- Regular Sleep
Good quality and consistent sleep are vital for many health reasons, including for our hair. It enables growth, restoration, and regeneration. Poor sleep can inhibit this. The experts at groclinics.com.au/hair-transplant/clinic/sydney/ agree with this, describing lack of sleep on hair akin to a plant being deprived of light: it just won’t healthily grow.
The stress this causes on our hair can trigger telogen effluvium, which is a type of reversible hair loss that can, fortunately, resolve itself without treatment. But this can take time. Sleep deprivation can also trigger pattern baldness, which may require different treatment altogether.
- Vitamins
If we are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, our hair will suffer and we could experience hair loss. Vitamin A, B, C, and D, iron, selenium, and zinc are vital for our hair to grow and to avoid hair loss. In particular, vitamin D can help with regrowth caused by nonscarring alopecia as was discovered in recent research. Vitamin B-7 can encourage the fatty acids essential for hair growth which could be depleted if you’re found to be deficient.
Vitamins can naturally be found in food or our natural environments. However, for various reasons, we may not absorb enough to ensure healthy levels of these vitamins in our bodies. We can combat these deficiencies by taking vitamin supplements.
There are many conditions and subsequent treatments that can cause hair loss. Some of which can be gender-specific, for example, hormonal changes caused by menopause, pregnancy, and childbirth. Some conditions can cause permanent hair loss like alopecia, whereas others can cause temporary hair loss, like vitamin deficiency, as previously discussed. The only way you will know how to treat your hair loss is to understand why it is occurring. Therefore if your hair loss is substantial or has been happening for a considerable period of time, you may want to consider consulting your doctor for further advice.
