Hair loss prevention is far easier to manage than trying to regrow hair once you start to lose it. Of course, there are all kinds of reasons why you might experience hair loss. Your first port of call in such cases should be your healthcare practitioner, to identify any possible causes.
However, if you’re focusing on hair loss prevention right now, we’ve compiled some of the best things you can do to support healthy hair. The following tips should help you achieve this.
Limit Heat Styling Methods
Heat-styling tools can damage your hair. They can dry it out and make it more prone to breakage. If you can leave it to dry naturally – or at least do so as often as you can – you’ll help protect your hair from heat damage. This is particularly important if you’ve already noticed any split ends or hair damage from styling.
Avoid Tight Hairstyles
Updos, braids, and tight ponytails – are you guilty of using any of these? The occasional ponytail is fine, along with an updo for a special occasion or indeed any other tight hairstyle. However, if you use these styles regularly, you’ll be more prone to something known as traction alopecia.
Alopecia refers to hair loss, but there are many different types. Traction alopecia occurs when the hair is continually pulled, which can potentially damage your hair. It can also lead to damaged hair follicles, and if this happens, the hair won’t be able to grow back.
Reduce Stress
Any major change in the body can affect hair growth – and loss. There are times in life that can prove stressful, and we cannot always avoid them. This could mean stress on the body from an illness, or stress imposed from other life events. This could produce telogen effluvium, where lots of hair follicles go into a prolonged rest period. Hair in the affected follicles will drop out, so you may lose more than is usual over a short time. Alopecia areata is another example of hair loss, which is thought in some cases to be caused by stress.
A more direct example of hair loss may occur in some people who begin playing with their hair when dealing with a stressful time in life. Some people may even pull their hair out – a condition called trichotillomania.
As in other cases, seek advice from your healthcare practitioner if you notice hair loss or develop the compulsive need to pull hair out.
Eat a Balanced Diet
This is great for our overall health, although you may not automatically include your hair health among them. Vitamins A through D have roles to play in supporting healthy hair, particularly vitamin B7, which you may know as biotin. Eating a healthy and balanced diet will ensure you get a good range of vitamins and minerals each day. You shouldn’t need to take supplements unless there is a specific reason, or you’ve been found lacking in one or more.
Avoid Over-Processing Your Hair
You might already know these processes can damage your hair. It doesn’t always happen, but the longer you bleach or perm your hair for, the more likely it is that you may experience some hair loss due to chemical damage.
You can see that more natural styles that do not require heat styling, coloring, perming, or tight styling are the best way to take good care of your hair. Bleaching can also cause damage for similar reasons. The more chemicals you apply to your hair, the more chances there are for damage to occur. And since you may not realize there is any hair loss until you notice you’re shedding more hair, this can happen for a while before you spot any signs.
The good news is that you can see there are lots of things you can do – and avoid doing – to keep your hair in the best condition. Sure, life sometimes throws us a challenge or two that can raise our stress levels. That makes sense and it would be impossible to continually do everything possible to keep our hair in the best condition. However, even if you adopt a few of the above recommendations, you’ll be far less likely to experience any hair loss in future.
Are you experiencing hair breakage, damage or hair shedding from overprocessing your hair? Unique Hair Concepts located in Ardsley, New York in Westchester County just 18 miles north of Midtown Manhattan offers complimentary, private hair and scalp analysis. Contact us to schedule an in-person consultation.
