Pattern Baldness, Hormonal, Pregnancy, The Pill, Diet and more.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, it is normal to lose 50 to 100 hairs a day. If our hair is shedding more than this, it can result in overall hair thinning or loss of density.
Hair thinning can be caused by many factors including genetics, medical conditions or lifestyle choices.
Genetics
If you have always had thin or fine hair, there may be a chance that it is just hereditary. Take a look at your family members (including your extended family members). Do you notice that any of them have fine hair like yours? If your fine hair is hereditary, it is very important to ensure you are looking after your hair, scalp and body as much as possible to ensure that further hair thinning from alternative stressors doesn’t occur.
Genetics usually play a part in the development of female pattern baldness. Female pattern baldness is a term used to describe hair loss in women and may also be referred to as androgenetic alopecia. Female pattern baldness can develop at any age; however it is often more common and noticeable after menopause. Female pattern baldness is caused by a genetically slower hair growth period and a longer period between the shedding and growth phases.
Male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is a type of hair loss and thinning that is common in adult men. It too is a genetic condition that affects how the hair on your scalp responds to particular male hormones. Male pattern baldness starts after puberty and develops progressively after that. Male pattern baldness usually affects the hairline and crown of the head.
Medical Conditions
Hair thinning can often be caused by certain medical conditions. You might be experiencing hair thinning if you:
- Are pregnant
- Have recently had a baby
- Are on the birth control pill
- Have recently stopped taking the birth control pill
- Are experiencing hormonal imbalances (PCOS, irregular menstruation etc)
- Have an auto-immune disease
- Have immune deficiencies
- Have vitamin deficiencies
- Have an eating disorder
- Suffer from scalp infections
Lifestyle habits
Another huge cause of hair thinning is lifestyle. Lifestyle choices/ habits that may play a part in hair loss include:
- Frequent or excessive colour and chemical treatments
- Frequent use of heat-tools
- Using non-natural haircare products – particularly shampoos containing sulphates and other harsh chemicals
- Wearing extremely tight hair styles
- Chronic stress
- Poor eating habits
- Poor gut health due to overindulging sugar and other inflammatory foods
Treatments and home remedies
Speak to your GP
If you are concerned about the amount of hair you are losing, absolutely book in to see your GP. Many health care professionals will encourage you to get a blood test to determine whether you are low in any essential vitamins as this may be the cause of your hair loss.
Pattern baldness, particularly in men, is hereditary and often cannot be prevented. However, speaking to your GP is recommended if you are concerned about this occurrence.
Look after your diet
Diet is everything. Hair needs adequate calories and nutrients in order to grow properly. Excessive weight loss, eating disorders, calorie restriction and nutrient deficiencies may all impact both hair structure and hair growth. Poor gut health can also impede the absorption of nutrients, thus affecting our hair. We suggest a low sugar, low inflammatory (gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol) diet while ensuring each meal of the day consists of protein, good fats and vegetables.
Get lots of vitamins
Essential vitamins and nutrients for healthy hair include B Vitamins (particularly B7), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, iron, zinc and protein.
If you don’t believe you are getting enough of these vitamins and nutrients through your diet (a lot of us are not) it is essential to seek them elsewhere – through supplements! Chat to a Naturopath or simply pop into your local health food store and ask for assistance.
Regulate your hormones
If you are pregnant, experiencing irregular menstruation, PSCOS symptoms, PMS symptoms, or are wanting support getting off the contraceptive pill, absolutely speak to a Naturopath. All of the above can affect our hair health and it is important to be guided and supported by a professional during these times.
Relax and de-stress
Stress and trauma can send your hair follicles into the shedding phase, causing more hair to fall out than usual. Stress is a common feeling amongst humans, but the good news is that managing your stress (while of course taking great care of your body) could be the key to your hair returning to a healthy rate of growth. Deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation, aromatherapy, music, reading and movement are all methods you can use to relax and de-stress.
Embrace the natural you!
Using hot tools every day, getting regular colour treatments and/ or regular chemical treatments all heavily contribute to hair damage, thinning and loss. Our advice would be to change your beauty standards! We all need to! Embracing the natural you may not be easy, but it is a cultural shift we should all consider, because being truly healthy is beautiful.
Use high quality, Organic haircare
What we put on our hair and scalps plays a HUGE part in the overall health of our hair. Using supermarket haircare full of cheap and nasty ingredients may just be the reason you are experiencing hair loss or thinning. Ingredients such as sulfates, sodium chloride, parabens, propylene glycol, silicones, formaldehyde and harsh alcohols are all linked to hair loss. Luckily, we have three beautiful, clean, natural haircare brands that are free from all of the above and actually nurture/ support your hair and scalp with the ingredients we choose to place in our formulas.
In particular, we have two EverEscents Shampoos that may be beneficial for those experiencing thinning or hair loss.
EverEscents Organic Rose Shampoo contains Organic Rosemary Essential Oil which is known to heal nerve damage, tissue damage and improve cellular turnover. Rosemary Oil stimulates blood circulation in the scalp, thus being beneficial for promoting hair growth and preventing hair loss.
EverEscents Organic Fresh Mint Shampoo contains Organic Peppermint Essential Oil which stimulates skin cell circulation in the scalp and can help with increasing dermal thickness, follicle number, follicle depth and overall hair growth.
Use Essential Oils
Essential Oils have been used for healing and as medicine for thousands of years. Rosemary Essential Oil in particular is a well reputed hair tonic that can assist with hair growth. Pump your desired EverEscents or Clever Curl Cleanser / Shampoo into your palms with 1-2 drops of EverEscents Certified Organic Rosemary Essential Oil and massage thoroughly into your scalp. Scalp massaging can increase hair thickness by stretching the cells of hair follicles – pairing this with Rosemary Oil means absolute heaven for your hair!
Hair loss and thinning can be uncomfortable and detrimental to our self-esteem. If you apply most or all of the suggestions above, your locks are going to be looking gorgeous, thick and full in no time!
