Hair loss or baldness has been a mounting concern amongst women especially living in urban areas. An estimated 40% women suffer from hair loss before they strike 40. Thinning hair and other hair related issues has been affecting people even as young as in their teens or early twenties.
In most cases, thinning of hair is often ignored as losing 50-100 strands of hair a day is normal. In fact, it is considered vital for regeneration and gives boost to healthy hair.
That said, there is an abundance of causes for early hair loss like hereditary, diseases, hormonal changes, medications, stress, atmospheric criteria, and bad hair care. Women often suffer hair loss due to a shift in hormone levels in their system which are usually followed by pregnancy, childbirth, discontinuing of birth control pills, and menopause.
Diseases like thyroid, scalp infections, few kinds of lupus, and alopecia areata cause permanent damage to hair follicles. In some cases, medications used to treat various cancers, heart problems, depression, high blood pressure, and arthritis also result in significant or complete baldness.
While, there are various medical treatments and procedures to regain decent hair-line, unless caused by medical conditions, here are a few do’s and don’ts to avoid baldness:
Here are four things you must do to prevent baldness
Make sure your diet contains an adequate amount of nutrients especially iron and protein Lustrous hairis a dream for all, but any deficiency in the body first takes a toll on hair. Both macro and micro nutrition is important. Macro implies a good protein diet and micro comprises all vitamins and minerals. Foods like spinach, sea-food, beet-root, chicken, lentils, nuts, seeds, yogurt to name a few are considered highly beneficial for betterment of hair.
Use gentle shampoos Amild shampoo is enough to cleanse the scalp and get rid of natural sebum secretion and environmental pollution.
Don’t forget to condition your hair Apart from conditioning using products, it is also vital to opt for deep conditioning using home-hacks like egg, henna, curd, and aloe vera along the length of your hair.This process will leave your lustrous hair and boost hair health.
Oiling Alukewarm oil massage using oils like coconut, almond, and castor will boost scalp circulation and tightening of hair follicles.
Avoid using products with a high sulphur content and artificial scents Organic shampoos are considered best as they don’t leave any residue on hair
Avoid long and high heat exposure Temperature more than 175 degree Celsius is considered hazardous for the hair. In fact exposure to this kind of heat for just five minutes is enough to cause physical damage.
Say no to chemical and heat-based treatments Excessive blow drying, heated combs, hair straightener, colouring products, bleaching agents, perms, and relaxers can dry out the hair strands to the core.
Never use heating products on wet hair Doing this can really damage your hair.
While these precautions can help you prevent hair loss, it is highly advisable to consult a doctor and seek medication or treatment in case you are already balding.
Dr. Arika Bansal is a hair transplant surgeon and co-founder of Eugenix Hair Sciences. She is also an MBBS, gold medalist MD (AIIMS, New Delhi), and a diplomate of ABHRS (USA). ...Read More