Stop Losing Your Hair

Many people find that as they age, they start losing hair. Male-pattern baldness, one of the leading causes of hair loss, can start as early as your thirties and forties. However, not all causes of hair loss are genetics. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to keep more of your hair.

The first thing to do is to make sure your hair is properly nourished. Hair is made out of protein, so if you aren't getting enough protein in your diet, your hair may be the first to suffer. Making sure you're getting enough protein in your diet is a key step in making sure your hair stays healthy and intact. Furthermore, other nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals also contribute significantly to the health of your hair. Zinc is a mineral that can also affect the health of your hair, so make sure you're eating enough of that too. A properly balanced diet is the key to the health of your whole body, not just your hair, but your hair can also be an important indicator of your overall health.

Some medications can cause hair loss by making it more fragile. The most well-known example is probably chemotherapy, but other medications can certainly cause similar effects. Talk to your doctor if you suspect one of the medications that you are currently taking may be causing you to lose your hair.

Some hair care products may be terrible for your hair. Using gels can make it difficult for your scalp to breathe. Perming your hair essentially fries it, and can cause you to lose hair much more quickly than you might otherwise expect. While using lots of strong detergent might seem like a good idea, stripping your hair of its natural protection of scalp oils will make it brittle and prone to splitting and breaking, so use a little bit of shampoo and use conditioners afterwards. Many people find that conditioners which contain simethicone can also damage their hair, so you might wish to switch to one that contains different smoothing agents.

Brushing your scalp can also be helpful. It helps stimulate blood flow to your scalp, which brings nutrients to the roots of the hair, allowing it to get nourished. The classical recommendation is 100 strokes per night, but brushing too much may simply result in pulling out roots if your hair gets tangled frequently.

If you are losing hair already, don't brush your hair when it's still very wet. Wet hair has much lower tensile strength, so it breaks very easily, and may take the roots with it. If your hair is tangled, work some conditioner into it and gently tease out the tangles with your fingers; let it dry to the damp stage before you use a brush or comb. If it dries completely, it may become knotted and difficult to comb out, so you should do that while your hair is still damp.

Hair loss is not a total inevitability. If genetic hair loss does not run in your family, you can slow the gradual loss of hair with these quick and easy tips.