Preventing Hair Loss
Make no mistake about it. Some hair loss is not preventable. Every one of us loses 100-150 hairs a day in the natural cycle of hair growth and death. It is normal and should not be cause for concern. Further, larger amounts of hair loss can occur at specific times in life: illness, surgery, pregnancy, life-changing events, anxiety and stress, and certain diseases. Again, these are treatable and, in most cases, temporary.
More-than-normal hair loss can be prevented in several ways:
1. Keep your body healthy. Physical health translates into scalp health and allows follicles to continue to produce hair to regrow hair which is lost. Healthy diet and regular exercise, to increase blood circulation are important.
2. Stop injuring your hair: Harsh shampoos and coloring/treatment products, used in excess, will kill your hair. Your follicles cannot replace hair as fast as it is falling out when your hair is severely damaged. Likewise, use dry heat as little as possible, blow dryers and curling irons dry out and crack hair, causing it to break off in more than normal amounts.
3. Find ways to reduce stress and anxiety in your life. If you over-react to stressful situations, lose sleep, worry constantly, you are on the road to more health concerns than just hair loss. But make no mistake about it, your hair will fall out in greater amounts.
4. Use topical treatments for your scalp. Essential oils and combinations of herbs can be very helpful in keeping follicles open and productive.
5. Use medical products developed by a variety of pharmaceutical companies, both in lotion and pill form.
6. Start early. As soon as you notice hair loss that has been confirmed not to be a result of serious health condition, begin your investigation of the wide variety of hair loss treatments available. You will have to experiment and you will have to be patient. Many hair loss products require 3-6 months before you see visible results.
7. Don't give up. Use the hair loss product that works best for you right now, and look for new advances in the area of hair loss. Medical research is ongoing spending substantial amounts of money on research into a permanent, universally effective treatment.
8. If no prevention hair loss treatments have the effect you desire, consider wigs, hair pieces, extensions or even hair transplantation. Worry and stressing over hair loss is not worth your time and effort, especially if it begins to affect your mood, your social life, and your general emotional well-being.
