Each hair on your head has a lifespan of about 3 to 5 years. Hair follicles have a cycle of active growth, transition and rest. Hair loss occurs when your hair growth cycle is disrupted.
Hair loss is often caused by your genetics and is more common in older men and women. The second most common cause is telogen effluvium. This happens when most of your hair goes into a resting cycle.
Telogen effluvium can cause:
stress
pregnancy
drug interactions
other major health conditions
If you’re experiencing hair loss that causes hair loss, inflammation, or excess hair, see your primary care doctor or dermatologist for a diagnosis.
Whether your hair loss is the result of a chronic or short-term health condition, you can take steps to protect your hair. Read on for tips on how to keep your hair healthy and strong.
You can follow some hair hygiene tips to improve the health of your hair and prevent hair loss.
- Avoid hairstyles that pull the hair.
Hair is flexible, but research shows that your hair can only grow for so long before it is permanently damaged. Hairstyles like buns, tight braids, and ponytails can pull your hair away from your scalp and weaken the bond between hair and scalp over time. - Avoid high heat styling tools.
Using heat to style your hair dehydrates your hair follicles and makes them prone to damage. Hair dryers, straighteners, and curling irons can damage your hair over time by causing the moisture in your hair to expand. - Do not chemically treat or bleach your hair.
Chemical hair treatments, such as bleaching, damage hair by breaking down protein molecules called keratin. If you are concerned about hair loss, limit the use of dyes, highlights, peroxide treatments and perms. - Use a shampoo that is mild and suitable for your hair.
The purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair of dirt and excess oil. Shampooing can damage your hair. Sulfate and some other ingredients have been linked to frizz, dry scalp and brittle hair.
There is no evidence that any ingredient in shampoo causes hair loss, but it can contribute a little to ideal hair health. If you find your hair very dry or frizzy, try the most natural shampoo.
Most hair loss shampoos cost less than $30 and are not covered by insurance.
- Use a soft brush made of natural fibers.
Using a soft brush with natural bristles can increase the level of healthy oils in your hair. The keratin protein in your hair is held in place like staples in a roof, so you can apply it from top to end to help smooth and condition your hair’s cuticles. Washing your hair every day can help prevent hair from falling out of your shower drain. - Try low-level light therapy.
Low-level light therapy promotes cell growth and repair. It is a potentially effective treatment for male and female pattern baldness, the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women. This genetic condition causes certain types of hair. For men, this starts at the crown or scalp. For women, it is often characterized by general thinness that causes a wide part.
The authors of the 2020 study advise caution when interpreting research on low-intensity light therapy for hair loss, as some studies have conflicting findings.
Light therapy can be expensive and not covered by insurance. The Beverly Hills clinic costs $3,500 to $5,000 a year.
If you are concerned about hair loss, you may want to try some home remedies to see if you can prevent hair loss. It is important to diagnose and find the root cause of your hair loss in order to treat it properly.
Attachment
Many vitamins and minerals are essential for proper hair growth and development. Certain nutritional deficiencies can cause hair loss.
Supplementing with vitamin D can help reduce the symptoms of genetic hair loss or telogen effluvium. However, more research is needed to clearly understand the link. Iron supplements can help reduce symptoms in people with iron deficiency. People with iron deficiency may also benefit from vitamin C supplements if they don’t get enough.
Research has also found a link between low vitamin D and alopecia areata, hair loss caused by an autoimmune reaction. People with this condition are advised to supplement with vitamin D if they are deficient.
Currently, there is not enough evidence that the following supplements can help with hair loss:
zinc
riboflavin (vitamin B2)
folic acid (vitamin B9)
vitamin B12
biotin
Vitamin E
