What You Need to Know about Hair Loss

Our fast paced lives, as well as constant, growing stresses can take a toll on our bodies. One of the most common negative results of current lifestyles is hair loss. This can be a difficult and embarrassing problem to deal with. Let’s take a look at hair loss in detail.

Causes of Hair Loss

Hair loss is primarily a genetic disposition. However, there are a number of reasons why hair loss can take place:

• Hormonal Factors: Hormonal conditions are often the primary cause of male or female pattern baldness. Seen most commonly in men, this condition is usually triggered by changes in the body’s hormones. As we all know, hormonal changes first occur during puberty. That is why a lot of men who are genetically predisposed to baldness usually lose their hair from puberty onwards (actor Patrick Stewart is a good example).
  
  Hormonal changes can also occur due to other factors. A poor diet, where the body is not getting enough Vitamins A and B, can result in hair thinning and baldness. Mental stress can often lead to hair loss as well. In women, some of the common causes of female pattern baldness are pregnancy, menopause, stress of child birth, and cessation of birth control pills.


• Medical Conditions: A variety of medical conditions can also be the cause for hair loss. Some of the most common diseases are:
  • Scalp Infections: After hereditary conditions, infections like scalp ringworm, folliculitis, and dermatitis, can create oily, scaly skin on the scalp, causing hair loss. However, these are treatable, and the hair grows back once the patient is cured of the infection.
  
  
  • Thyroid Problems: To a great extent, hair growth depends on the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. Hence, if the gland is underactive (hypothyroidism), or overactive (hyperthyroidism), it can cause hormonal changes in the body, which leads to hair loss.
  
  
  • Alopecia Areata: This is a type of auto-immune disease where the immune system begins to attack the body’s hair follicles. This can result in hair thinning, short hair stubs, and in rare cases, complete baldness.
  
  
  • Skin Disorders: Besides skin infections, a variety of skin disorders can also lead to baldness. Common skin conditions include:
    • Psoriarsis - High skin cell growth leads to shedding and flaking of old skin. The old skin flakes accumulate on the skin surface, resulting in redness, and itchy skin.
    
    
    • Lichen Planus – A skin rash triggered by the immune system.
    
    
    • Atopic Eczema – An itchy skin condition and a form of dermatitis.
  
  
• Medication: Hair loss can also be a symptom of debilitating or life threatening diseases. Drugs that are prescribed to treat conditions like cancer, arthritis, heart problems, depression, or even high blood pressure, can result in hair loss.

Needless to say, it is important to look after your skin, hair, and body, to reduce or prevent the onset of hair loss.

Is Medication the Answer?

One can find a variety of pharmaceutical products in the market to treat hair loss. However, it is always advisable to choose alternative courses rather than allopathic medication. The greatest disadvantage of allopathy is that the patient can suffer from many side effects. For this main reason, it is advisable to look at pharmaceuticals that are developed from natural ingredients.

How to Find the Right Medication to Treat Hair Loss

Since there are a number of medicines made from natural substances, the easiest way to choose the right product is to look at the ingredients used in a product’s formulation. Having this knowledge can reduce the number of trials and errors, and help you find the most suitable product for your scalp needs.

Here are some of the common ingredients that are used in naturotherapeutic medications:

• Aloe Vera: Perhaps the most popular natural ingredient in hair products, aloe vera is largely used as a hair moisturizer. It also helps to keep the scalp moist in dry weather, and eliminates the growth of flaky skin. It also has anti-bacterial properties, which makes it useful to fight germs and prevent infections.


• Baicapil: This is an active ingredient in many hair products. It consists of a combination of soy, wheat sprouts, and the flowering plant baicalensis. Baicapil enhances the growth (anagen) phase of hair follicles, activates the rest (telogen) phase of hair follicles, and increases the overall proportion of the two phases.


• Avocado Oil: A popular ingredient in many natural hair products, avocado oil is known for its stability and deep scalp penetration. It is extremely rich in Beta carotene, as well as Vitamins A, B1, B2, D, and E. It is particularly useful for dry hair.


• Kerarice: This is also an active plant ingredient, and is obtained from rice grain. Kerarice contains peptides, amino acids, phytic acid, and polysaccharides. Kerarice offers a variety of benefits such as increasing hair shine and softness, protecting hair from UV rays, preventing the fading of hair color, and repairing internal hair structure.

While hair loss is a common problem, it can be reduced or even eliminated. A good understand of hair loss, its causes, and the various ingredients in hair products, can help patients choose the best solution to this growing problem.