Hair loss and hair thinning can be extremely damaging to a persons confidence and self-esteem. Although it may be hereditary or down to other medical reasons, it can still affect you and cause you to worry about your appearance.
What Can You Do About Hair Loss And Thinning?
If your hair begins to fall out, bald or even thin out in patches, you may start to think it’s the end of the world. But luckily, there are numerous things that you can do to either reduce the effects of hair loss, or even completely replace the original hair that was once there. Unfortunately, the effects that hair loss have on some people are ever-lasting, and the thought of completely losing all of their hair seems like a nightmare, but a lot of people pull it off!
It’s normal for everyone in society to have a full head of styled hair, which is why individuals with no hair or extremely thin hair feel so out of place and worried about the way they look. But we understand, and we are here to help. So we have laid out the top causes of hair loss to help you get the root of your problem, as well as how we can help and what you can do to minimise its effects.
What Are The Top Causes Of Hair Loss?
Alopecia
Alopecia is a surprisingly prevalent disease that affects those who carry in it in their overall genetic makeup. It is not a contagious disease, and it is implausible that if you suffer from alopecia that you will pass it down onto your children. Alopecia causes balding patches and hair loss when your body starts attacking its own hair follicles; this causes hair in certain areas to begin falling out.
Alopecia suffers do not only feel the effects on their scalp, but it can also cause the loss of eyebrows, eyelashes and any facial hair. Although there is currently no known cure for alopecia, scientists have discovered ways to help those affected by it grow back hair.
Anaemia
Anaemia is a common deficiency in which your body lacks the vital vitamins and cells to help your body run efficiently. General anaemia is a condition that can worsen when there are not enough healthy red blood cells being produced or running around your body. This means you can have abnormal red blood cells, or not enough, and can prevent your body from producing haemoglobin, and getting the correct amount of Oxygen that it needs.
As well as this, there is also Iron deficiency anaemia, which is caused when your body cannot produce or cannot hold enough Iron in the body. Hair loss can be caused by both of these conditions, as when your body can not collect enough Iron, it has nothing to transform into haemoglobin. As we previously mentioned, haemoglobin is responsible for creating the oxygen around your body that is responsible for growth and cell repairs. Because of this, it may cause your hair to fall out, as there is not enough Oxygen to help repair your hair follicle cells if they become damaged.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy as well as being a common cause for balding can also be a common gateway to contracting anaemia. A lot of anaemic people are often previously pregnant women as they have a lot of hormonal and bodily changes that affect the normal balance of their body.
However, you do not have to be anaemic from pregnancy to suffer from hair loss. During pregnancy, an elevated amount of hairs will go into what is known as the resting phase. This is a common part of any hair loss cycle and will not cause everlasting damage. If you lose hair through pregnancy, although it may be an initial shock and in large quantities, this hair should grow back between 3-4 months of your pregnancy ending.
Stress And Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are currently one of the leading causes of premature hair loss and balding. This is such a big issue that this has been affecting students as young as 16 who get themselves so stressed out over school life and exam periods. When you are overly stressed above coping level, it can lead to a number of health conditions that can stall things like hair growth.
The most common condition is called telogen effluvium, which is a disorder when your body tells your hair to stop growing hair more than it usually would. Which results in balding and hair loss in patches, or in worst case scenario even over your entire head. There’s even a condition called trichotillomania which can cause extensive hair loss. This is when an individual is so stressed that as a coping mechanism they will begin plucking or pulling our hairs on the body without even realising it.
Thankfully, when hair loss or balding is caused by prolonged periods of stress, your hair loss should only last as long as the stress period does. Hair loss may take up to 3 months after the climax of the stressful period to start taking effect. But your hair should begin growing back between 3-4 months after the stress has been eliminated.
Anxiety, although not the same as stress, can have similar effects on both your mood as well as your body. Anxiety happens when you are overly worried about something, or have an irrational fear of something. During this period, your body will use a fight or flight system that has been present in humans since the Neanderthals. This process is when your brain and body will work together to decide whether you will deal with a situation by using fight or flight. Flight is what triggers anxiety and is a runaway feeling that induces irrational fear and anxiety. Because of this, the regular balance of hormones in your balance may become disturbed, and all of the different levels of hormones in your body this could stall or prevent hair growth completely.
As well as this, anxiety comes hand in hand with stress. If you are spending every minute of every day worrying about something, it’s likely that you’re going to become restless and stressed. See here for more information on anxiety.
Lack Of Nutrients
There are a variety of nutrient deficiencies that accelerate hair loss or balding, but once resolved can stop the process altogether. The main culprit that causes hundreds of hair thinning cases each year is vitamin D. The primary function of Vitamin D is to absorb calcium in your body, as well as to strengthen and promote bone growth, which is why it is such a crucial part of children’s diet. A lack of vitamin D can result in soft bones in young children, making them more prone to breaking or fracturing.
In adults, a lack of vitamin D can create misshapen and fragile bones in adults. Another crucial function of vitamin D is to promote the growth of hair. Stimulating the hair follicles to grow is a large part of vitamin D’s job, and when there is not enough, this can slow the rate that your hair grows or prevent growth at all. Once the growth stops, and there are no vitamins to help growth, hair may be affected and begin to fall out or become extremely brittle. Other vitamins that have been linked to hair growth and can influence the rate it grows and how much of it grows are vitamin A, C, E, Protein and Biotin.
Overstyling
Over styling your hair can cause dramatic hair loss and thinning, dependant on the way you style your hair and the products that you use. In women, this is a common issue, with the combination of harsh chemical based hair products and heat from hair straighteners and curlers the hair follicles become extremely damaged, Results from this include brittle, frizzy and dry hair that can be partial to breaking off and falling out.
Men also frequently use heat on their hair with things like hair dryers, this can cause damage if done frequently enough and could result in weak, brittle hair. To reduce this, we would recommend investing in a high-quality heat spray that can protect your hair follicles for close range heat. As well as this we recommend to all of our clients that they avoid harsh hair brushing which can irritate the hair follicles at the root, and with enough force can pull clumps of hair out.
The main issue you have is styling gels, putty and other styling products that have strong, harmful chemicals that can irritate your scalp and cause extreme damage to your hair. Look for hair friendly products that have natural ingredients that can bring shine to your hair and promote its growth. We love the hair-friendly range available at Green People which contains organic and natural ingredients.
If you’re looking for a way to style your hair but are unsure how to yourself, or your looking for a new up to date look without damaging your hair then our men’s hair styling Milton Keynes could be your solution. Our competent team can plan a hairstyle based on your preferences and create you a new style that is up to date and suits your facial features.
Age
Unfortunately, as we get older, our bodies begin to produce a much lower quantity of crucial vitamins and hormones. For example, as you get older, your body may find it harder to produce the amount of Vitamin D you need or Iron. As we previously mentioned, this affects hair growth and could be the primary cause or balding or hair thinning at an older age.
Also, as you grow older, you may develop a form of controlled illness, although not necessarily life-threatening this could affect the way your hair grows and at the rate, it grows. This is often why hair thinning comes before complete hair loss, as the body slows down on the rate that it produces vitamins and hormones the hair slowly stops growing due to lack of them. Eventually, when these are at their lowest, this could result in the hair completely balding, but you can reduce this by taking vitamins and supplements.
How To Cope With Hair Loss
Although it may seem like the end of the world, there are plenty of things that you can do to help your hair, improve its condition, or even hide the fact that you are going bald. The most popular method of treating baldness or hair loss is with hair replacement systems Milton Keynes. This process is non-surgical and can be tailored to your hair colour, style and length. You can sleep, go to the gym and even swim with these hair systems and they will not budge, which is what makes them so popular with our clients.
Please feel free to contact a member of our team today for more information. Using some of these top tips its likely that you will be able to get to the root of the issue and resolve it in whichever way you feel suits you best. We hope that this article was helpful, if it was then why not share on social media?