HAIRFALL-CAUSES AND REMEDIES

HELP YOUR TRESSES-HAIR FALL SOLUTIONS

I think one day every man and woman on this planet will turn bald .Thanks to not so friendly environment and eating habits. Its not only men who should be worried about baldness but women is equally affected .Receding hairline is equally demoralizing. When I look back to my Mom’s generation, I still see ladies with huge bun or hair like Rapunzel. Sigh!!! I wish I also had such hair -thick and straight. But If I have to blame anyone for this, it has to be me .You know with this rapidly changing scenario, all of us are so busy with our lives that we somewhere tend to forget that we need to take care of our body as well. We hardly have any time for ourselves. Running around for no cause...Anyways all this philosophical crap is written to make you realize that you also exist in this world for a reason. Just relax and take out some time for yourself.

A little information about your hair

Hair grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair grows at a rate of half n inch per month. An average scalp has 100,000 hairs and it is okay to lose 50-100 strands per day.

Let’s explore a single strand of hair:-

SURFACE OF SKIN (something which is visible on top)

HAIR ROOT (just below the surface of skin)

HAIR FOLLICLE (hair root is enclosed within a hair follicle)

DERMAL PAPILLA (at the base of hair follicle is derma Papilla)

BLOOD STREAM (Dermal Papilla is fed by Blood stream which gives nourishment to enhance hair growth)

 

THE HAIR GROWTH CYCLE

Hair follows a specific growth cycle with three distinct and concurrent phases: anagen (GROWTH PHASE), catagen (TRANSITION PHASE), and telogen (RESTING PHASE) phases. Each has specific characteristics that determine the length of the hair. All three occur simultaneously; one strand of hair may be in the anagen phase, while another is in the telogen phase.

3 PHASES OF HAIR GROWTH

3 PHASES OF HAIR GROWTH

 

• Anagen is Growth Phase which lasts about 2-6 years.

•  Catagen is Transitional phase which lasts about 2-3 weeks.

• Telogen is resting phase which lasts about 2-3 months.

•  Anagen phase starts once again.

Reasons for Hair fall:-

Reasons can range from simple like temporary hair fall due to changing climate, vitamin deficiency to more complex issue, like some health concern. Below given are some reasons collected from different sources:

• Physical and Emotional stress: This is worst of all. You don’t even know when you are falling prey to this. Physical stress is still okay because you know that it is temporary and one would start seeing hair growth after recovery. Physical stress includes accident or any severe injury or any type of surgery which gives you physical trauma,

     Illness like typhoid,

      Jaundice etc

      But emotional stress kills you within. It accentuates the hair fall like anything.Emotional    stress gives birth to “stress hormone” known as Cortisol which in turn causes hair fall.

REMEDY: Managing stress and anxiety is an important aspect .The best way to kill stress is to “MEDITATE”. Meditate, at least for half n hour and also do Pranayam. 

•  Hormonal imbalance: Females have more estrogen than men and that in turn helps balance out the androgens that leads to hair fall. But hormonal imbalance in females gives birth to hair fall. Now, this is a vast subject to be discussed because it includes various factors like pregnancy, PCOS, Menopause, Thyroid problems.

In the case of pregnancy, after delivery, hormones are still in shocking state so they need some time to settle down so a little hair fall here n there is okay for Post-Partum Mothers but good news is that this too is temporary and hair starts growing back.

Menopause can also lead to hair fall and thinning of hair is the most common outcome of Menopause. You may seek help from a good gynecologist or an endocrinologist can help you better for this.

Thyroid leads to Hair fall. Women with Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have a chronic hormonal imbalance. PCOS causes growth of unwanted hair on face and body and hair on scalp grows thinner.

REMEDY: visit your Gynae or Endo specialist to help you with hormonal imbalance.

• Faulty Vitamins and Iron deficiency: How could vitamins be bad to you? All our life we have studied that vitamins are good for your body then how can they harm us. But yes overdoing vitamins containing supplements can trigger your hair loss. For Ex: VITAMIN A. Also deficiency of some vitamins leads to hair fall like VITAMIN D, E and B and also IRON DEFICIENCY leads to hair fall.

      REMEDY: Check with your Dermatologist and ask for tests to check deficiency   in the  body.

• Lack of Protein: Lack of protein is another major cause of Hair fall. Our hair is build up of protein and it needs protein to sustain hair growth.

 REMEDY: Include Salmon, Meat, Eggs, Lentils, soya paneer, channa, green peas, green choliya etc.

• Heredity: It could also be factor .You may inherit hair loss from your parents, grand parents but I wonder why do all the bad things travel from their body to ours. There should be a restriction board inside the body to stop all this but the truth lies in this fact that hair fall due to heredity is one of the main reasons.

REMEDY: Do you seriously want me to suggest one for this. It could be only killing yourself but you can try minoxidil or tugain solution for the same. But they also have certain side affects like dandruff and dry skin. 

• Chemotherapy: We all know how dreadful it is for someone to undergo chemotherapy but for cancer patients it is must. It actually kills dividing cells that includes hair also.

REMEDY: Once chemotherapy stops, hair will grow once again.

• Over styling/straightening/perming/use of hot iron/blow drying.
• Crash diets
• Weak liver.
• Sinusitis/Migraine.

 Some home made remedies:-

•  You can make an amalgamation of 2-3 different oils.Combine  1 tbsp. coconut oil,1 tbsp. olive  oil,1 tbsp. castor oil,1 tbsp. almond oil,1 tbsp.tea tree oil.and heat it on a low flame.Remember do not boil the mixture.Apply this to your hair and wait for for half n hour Repeat this more often at least twice a week.You can use essential oils like rosemary (very good for controlling hair fall), Eucalyptus oil, and lavender oil.

AROMA MAGIC LAVENDER OIL

All these oils are easily available on http://purplle.com .You may get them in aroma magic range.

• Mix 1 tbsp fenugreek (methi) powder (easily available at Mom ‘n’ Pop shop/More/Big Bazaar), 1 tbsp Triphala powder (available at khadi Bhandaar), 1 tbsp. Amla Powder (available at khadi Bhandar) and 1 cup yoghurt & allow it to stand overnight. Apply this pack to your scalp & leave it for an hour or two. Repeat weekly or twice a week as time permits you. You will definitely see improvement in your hair fall.

FENGRUEEK SEEDS

• Mix 2 eggs and Olive Oil and apply it to your scalp for half n hour and wash it with a silicone free shampoo (see below).
• Mix shikakai and Amla Powder to wash your hair.

• Take few cloves of garlic, crush them and add coconut oil and let it boil for few mins .Allow it to cool and then apply it your scalp 2-3 times a week.

• Rub Onion and garlic juice on your scalp and to avoid smell you can mix honey and rose water .It helps in hair growth.
• Boil green tea and let it cool for some time and then apply green tea to your scalp.
• Avoid brushing  your hair when wet. Allow your hair to dry and then comb.

• Use silicon free shampoos like L’occitane (I myself use loccitane, which is meant for dry n damaged hairs), patanjali shampoos (I have not tried any of them) but heard good reviews about them, Organix (I have used almost all the range), Organic surge, The Nature’s Co., Forest Essentials.

• Eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and Amla.

• Drink lots of water.

• Eat Salmon.

• Include Flax seeds in your diet. They are full of antioxidants.

YOGA AASNAS:-

• Bend your head down for some time (Downward Facing Dog Pose). Blood circulation in body helps in hair growth.
•  Try rubbing your nails. Curl the fingers of both hands and rub nails against each other.
•  Try Uttanasana.Stand straight and Inhale deeply. While exhaling lift up your hands bend forward and try to touch the floor. Breathe normally. You may check you tube for more clarity.

  AND THE BEST OF ALL IS TO REMAIN STRESS FREE AND DON'T FORGET TO EXERCISE DAILY.

*All the images are from Google except Aroma magic Lavender oil which is from Purple.com.