Top Hair Loss Remedy
The most obvious change to aging human
hair is graying. Hair loss is also a natural consequence of getting
older. Often people begin to seek a natural hair loss treatment or go
looking for a hair loss remedy without realizing that their thinning hair is simply a part of being human.
Hair
is nothing more than a strand of protein growing out of a follicle in
the scalp. A single, normal hair lives four to five years before
falling out and being replaced. As we age, hair strands become smaller
and some follicles no longer produce the protein strand.
By the
age of 30 approximately 25% of men have some baldness. By age sixty,
some two-thirds exhibit typical male pattern baldness, a thinning and
recession of the hair on the top and sides of the head. In women, hair
becomes less dense with aging and the scalp is more visible. Facial and
body hair is also lost.
Premature Hair Loss In Children
Although
it is common to shed 50-100 hairs a day, any "shedding" beyond that is
abnormal. Premature or abnormal hair loss becomes evident when large
strands of hair come out while showering, shampooing, combing, or
brushing the hair. This is of particular concern in children, who
should not exhibit any premature hair loss.
When children do
lose their hair, the cause is normally traced to one of four
conditions: fungal infections, alopecia areata, trauma to the hair
shaft, or telogen effluvium. Normally these conditions represent a
temporary rather than a permanent hair loss although in fungal
infections and alopecia areata symptoms can reoccur.
Fungal
infections in toddlers and grade school children are very common and
highly contagious. The fungus, tinea capitis, is akin to athlete's foot
and causes patchy hair loss in round or oval spots. The condition is
treated with oral anti-fungal medications, creams, and shampoos. Once
the fungus has been killed, the hair grows back and the infection is
rarely seen after an individual reaches puberty.
The
localized baldness of alopecia areata is harder to explain and more
likely to return. It would seem that the immune system attacks the
body's ability to produce hair but medical science is not sure why this
occurs or what exactly triggers an attack. The condition is
characterized by sharply defined round and oval patches of baldness
that otherwise show no signs of irritation. Creams, lotions, shampoos,
and drugs to suppress the immune system are used as treatment but the
condition can reoccur into adulthood. Once a specific outbreak has
subsided, however, the hair does grow back into place until the next
outbreak occurs.
Balding patches from trauma are
common in girls who braid their hair or wear it in a ponytail. Friction
from hats, caps, hair bands, or ribbons can also cause bald spots and
the nervous habit trichotillomania, the obsessive twirling or pulling
of hair, is also a common culprit. When the trauma is removed, the hair
resumes its normal growth pattern.
Both children and adults can
suffer from telogen effluvium, a condition in which some event occurs
to interrupt the growth and production of hair. From 6 to 16 weeks
following this event, baldness begins to occur. Triggers in this
condition may be a high fever, medications, a crash diet, stress,
surgery, or an injury. However, telogen effluvium produces only
temporary hair loss.
Premature Hair Loss In Men
Without
question men are genetically predisposed toward hair loss, but male
hair loss can actually be made worse by worrying about losing your
hair! Stress is one of the major causes of hair loss and often times if
the stress level can be brought down by adopting an exercise routine,
taking a vacation, or following some meditative discipline, thinning
hair will improve.
The
stress from an illness or from undergoing surgery can also effect hair
growth but thinning and hair loss should improve in direct proportion
to the patient's overall recovery. Other culprits in premature hair
loss in men could be changes in hormone levels (perhaps as a result of
treatment for testicular or prostate cancer), the use of a new
medication (like an antidepressant), or an over use of vitamin
supplements as part of a fitness routine. Too much Vitamin A, for
instance, can cause hair loss.
Premature Hair Loss in Women
Female hair loss is often traced to fluctuating hormones during
pregnancy or during menopause. Thinning hair is but one of the many
temporary conditions that may occur while a woman is carrying a child
including gestational diabetes and varicose veins. Since pregnancy
lasts nine months or less, most treatments employed involve diet and
stress reduction with an understanding that the symptoms will normalize
once the pregnancy is over.
Women
in menopause face the annoying dilemma of thinning hair on their heads
and coarse, growing hair on their chin, upper lip, and cheeks. The
thyroid is at the root of many of these problems as is an increase in
testosterone during this phase of a woman's life. Menopause with its
myriad of symptoms and vicious mood swings also puts a woman under a
great deal of stress which can contribute to hair loss. (Since
anti-depressants are often prescribed to menopausal women and have been
linked to hair loss such medications are also a factor.)
