HAIR LOSS ADVICE / INFORMATION / PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION

WHAT IS HAIR LOSS 

Hair grows everywhere on the human skin except on the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet, but many hairs are so fine they’re virtually invisible. Hair is made up of a protein called keratin that is produced in hair follicles in the outer layer of skin. As follicles produce new hair cells, old cells are being pushed out through the surface of the skin at the rate of about six inches a year. The hair you can see is actually a string of dead keratin cells.

The average adult head has about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs and loses up to 100 of them a day; finding a few stray hairs on your hairbrush is not necessarily cause for alarm.

At any one time, about 90% of the hair on a person’s scalp is growing. Each follicle has its own life cycle that can be influenced by age, disease, and a wide variety of other factors. This life cycle is divided into three phases:

• Anagen – active hair growth that lasts between two to six years
• Catagen – transitional hair growth that lasts two to three weeks
• Telogen – resting phase that lasts about two to three months; at the end of the resting phase the hair is shed and a new hair replaces it and the growing cycle starts again.

BELOW ARE FIVE CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS IN MEN AND WOMEN:

1. Physical stress – any kind of physical trauma,surgery, a car accident, or a severe illness, even the flu can cause temporary hair loss. This can trigger a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. Hair has a programmed life cycle: a growth phase, rest phase and shedding phase. Hair loss often becomes noticeable three-to-six months after the trauma. The good news is that hair will start growing back as your body recovers.

2. Hormonal – like post pregnancy, thyroid issues or menopausal.

3.Genetic – Hereditary pattern baldness is the most common cause of hair loss. Hereditary-pattern baldness is not really a disease, but a natural condition caused by some combination of genetics, hormone levels and the aging process. Almost all men and women will notice hair loss or hair thinning as they age.

4. Disease – Medical conditions that can cause hair loss include thyroid disease, alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease that attacks hair follicles), and scalp infections like ringworm. Diseases that cause scarring, such as lichen planus and some types of lupus, can result in permanent hair loss because of the scarring

5. Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy may cause hair loss all over your body — not just on your scalp. Sometimes your eyelash, eyebrow, armpit, pubic and other body hair also falls out. Some chemotherapy drugs are more likely than others to cause hair loss, and different doses can cause anything from a mere thinning to complete baldness

6. Nutrients – two vitamins that could prevent hair loss. If you’re removing more hair from the drain than usual, you may want to take a closer look at your diet: Having a vitamin D deficiency and low levels of iron could be playing a role in your thinning locks.

THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF HAIR LOSS – ALSO CALLED ALOPECIA

• Involutional alopecia is a natural condition in which the hair gradually thins with age. More hair follicles go into the resting phase, and the remaining hairs become shorter and fewer in number.
• Androgenic alopecia is a genetic condition that can affect both men and women. Men with this condition, called male pattern baldness, can begin suffering hair loss as early as their teens or early 20s. It’s characterized by a receding hairline and gradual disappearance of hair from the crown and frontal scalp. Women with this condition, called female pattern baldness, don’t experience noticeable thinning until their 40s or later. Women experience a general thinning over the entire scalp, with the most extensive hair loss at the crown.
• Alopecia areata often starts suddenly and causes patchy hair loss in children and young adults. This condition may result in complete baldness (alopecia totalis). But in about 90% of people with the condition, the hair returns within a few years.
• Alopecia universalis causes all body hair to fall out, including the eyebrows, eyelashes, and pubic hair.
• Trichotillomania , seen most frequently in children, is a psychological disorder in which a person pulls out one’s own hair.
• Telogen effluvium is temporary hair thinning over the scalp that occurs because of changes in the growth cycle of hair. A large number of hairs enter the resting phase at the same time, causing hair shedding and subsequent thinning.
• Scarring alopecias result in permanent loss of hair. Inflammatory skin conditions  (cellulitis, folliculitis, acne), and other skin disorders (such as some forms of lupus and lichen planus) often result in scars that destroy the ability of the hair to regenerate. Hot combs and hair too tightly woven and pulled can also result in permanent hair loss.

I TRIED CELL-U-PLEX

Cell-u-plex is the product I’ve used in the vlog that I bought, it’s meant to: Encourage healthy hair growth, leave hair thicker and fuller, improve hair texture and not meant to strip hair of essential oils. I bought it from a shop in my town called Boyes for £3.99 each (not £3 like I said in the vlog, I was talking an average price!

Hair loss is common and in the below video I wasn’t able to explain it all correctly! There is excessive hair loss or minor but any hair loss depending to the individual can be an emotionally upsetting time.

May just look like the way it’s parted but it’s where it’s started to become thin. I used to have enough hair for a full fringe and now my forehead resembles an egg! However with each pregnancy it’s thinned due to hormones and I know at times of stress it thins – I’m talking massive chunks out!

Every year it’s got thinner and thinner so it could be a mixture of age and stress related alopecia as it was initially diagnosed at when I was 20. I had several blood tests and no issue was discovered – it’s pretty embarrassing but if others have these issues it’s best to talk. I need to be positive and if that’s what is happening I’ll deal with it – there are decent wigs out there anyway if I go full bald, right?!

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HAIR LOSS PRODUCTS

Let’s say you’re at your favorite supermarket or pharmacy, and you’re looking at various hair growth products, particularly shampoo. You look at the label and notice a variety of ingredients you’ve probably never heard of before. Don’t be alarmed, however, because the chances are that they’re ingredients common to most hair loss shampoos and products, including:

1. Ketoconazole

Ketoconazole controls fungus growth on the scalp (and the entire body when used in other applications) and thus inhibits hair loss.

2. Biotin

Various studies show that hair loss is sometimes the consequence of a Biotin and zinc deficiency. Biotin is also known as vitamin B7.

3. Saw Palmetto

An extract of saw palmetto may block an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. As previously mentioned, DHT shrinks hair follicles and contributes to hair loss.

4. Caffeine

Yes, caffeine, the same stuff that gives you that much-needed morning jolt. We’ll get more in-depth about caffeine and its role in promoting hair growth and reducing hair loss in our product reviews below, but just know that it works (and belongs in that bottle of hair-loss shampoo that you’re holding in your hand).

5. Finasteride

Finasteride, more commonly known as Propecia or Proscar, is a drug that treats men with male pattern baldness (MPB) and is also used to treat prostate issues.

6. Minoxidil

Better known by the Rogaine brand name, Minoxidil is effective in treating MPB and also thinning hair in women.

HAIR AND SCALP TREATMENTS

1. Bestseller! RegenePure DR Hair and Scalp Treatment 

It combines vitamin B6, emu oil and jojoba oil to smooth and restore the appearance of healthy, more voluminous locks.

2. Rene Furterer RF 80 Strengthening Formula

Featuring natural oils, plant peptides, zinc, copper and vitamins A, B5, F and biotin, it neutralizes the factors that cause reactional thin hair as it restores shine, body and vitality.

3. Keranique Follicle Boosting Serum

This serum is specially formulated to address thinning hair at its source: the hair follicles. Complete with powerful ingredients—biotin, keratin, plant stem cell and biopeptides—to preserve and stimulate scalp follicle activity, each application almost instantly strengthens and reinforces your locks to visibly boost volume.

Growth-Stimulating Vitamins for Hair

4. Bestseller! Elon Matrix 5,000 – Vitamins for Hair

Aside from over 4,000 bottles sold? This dietary supplement combines a high level of biotin with two other nail and hair enhancers: silicone dioxide and L-cysteine, which makes it an essential supplement for those with dry, brittle and weak hair and nails.

5. Viviscal Extra Strength Hair Growth Supplements 

Why we love it: Probably the most buzzed-about hair growth vitamins, this dietary supplement combats common unhealthy factors like overstyling and poor nutrition with an exclusive marine complex and horsetail extract.

Hair-Strengthening Shampoos

6. Revivogen MD Bio-Cleansing Shampoo 

This revitalizing cleanser purifies the hair follicle while bioactive nutrients moisturize and nourish the hair from root to tip.

Hair Thickeners & Scalp Concealers

7. Keranique Thickening and Texturizing Mousse

Aside from nourishing and hydrating your hair, this weightless mousse is designed to thicken and fortify strands for a voluminous appearance.

8. Toppik Hair Building Fibers 75 Day – Black

This product features colored keratin fibers that fill in bald spots and help you achieve fuller, thicker, more natural-looking hair.

WHAT NOT TO BUY

For many people, losing their hair is distressing enough that they become willing to try just about any product. Sadly, there are plenty of products out there that are about as effective as snake oil in treating anything.

A site that offers tops on how to be confident during hair loss!!My Pinterest ideas on managing the hair and about hair cycles!

NHS on hair loss