‘PREVENTING HAIR LOSS’

Hair loss is a very upsetting experience for everyone. Individuals with thinning hair or balding become the brut of our jokes, and may suffer lack of self-esteem due to the loss of hair. American consumers spend millions every year on products that are touted to work but usually have mixed results.

About 30% of people have hair loss by age 30, and about 50% have hair loss by age 50. Hair loss is so common that most of the time it is considered a normal variation and not a disease. The average healthy individual will loose 100 hairs a day, more during times of serious illness or extreme stress.

You do not have to give up and accept that you are going to loose your hair- first things first, find out if you have a disease process that is causing your hair loss and go from there. Hair loss is a treatable condition, if hair loss prevention measures are done early and regularly.

Common hair loss starts when the hair follicle becomes clogged with sebum, a natural oily waxy excretion that lubricates the hair. An overproduction of sebum clogs the follicle and causes the hair shaft to thin and finally break off right at the scalp. The follicle will continue to produce a hair shaft and be active until such a time that the follicle is completely clogged. After which time, usually about one year, all hair production stops. The good news is if you act when you first notice hair loss or thinning there’s still time to regain some of your lost hair.

Before you turn to Rogaine, surgery, a toupee or wig try these proven techniques, which will help you, keep your hair.

There are several natural shampoos and treatments that work to address clogged hair follicles. My favorite is a chamomile shampoo with aloe vera, biotin, horse chestnut and vitamins A, B-3, E and F. It helps dissolve sebum accumulations allowing the hair shaft to stay thicker and healthier. An overnight treatment with a torch-emulsifying complex will deeply cleanse the pores and the scalp and naturally lessen hair loss.

Use less product on your hair. Lessen the amounts of sprays, gels and other treatments that tend to block and clog the hair follicle.

A good healthy diet for the hair should contain proteins, vitamins and minerals. Foods rich in Vitamin A are particularly important for the hair and skin. Raw foods such as carrots, green leafy vegetables, broccoli and spinach are all high in pro vitamin A essential to scalp health. Fish and fish oil or flax seed oils are also necessary, along with nuts- walnuts, almonds and seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower. Follow other healthy common sense approaches to diet: reduce processed foods, alcohol, caffeine and artificial sweeteners and drink more water.

Of course genetics does play a role, and that’s the part we cannot change. But, if you work at it, hair loss can usually be prevented or at least dramatically slowed. Till next time, Rebecca

3/26/09