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Archive for the ‘Hair Care’ Category

Biotin plays a significant part in the prevention of hair loss. Most nutritionists agree that biotin is one of the important vitamins for supporting hair growth. It is also commonly advised to take biotin to supplement medical treatments such Minoxidil or Propecia.

A deficiency of biotin may cause hair to become frail and unhealthy, and hair breakage, which may result in hair loss. Biotin also keeps your skin and nails healthy as well as being an important element of new hair growth.
Supplements are sometimes needed to return biotin levels to normal, but it is recommended to include biotin regularly in your diet. Two foods containing good quantities of biotin are liver and egg yolks. You would have to eat thousands of calories worth daily to get enough for your hair needs, which is why I would also suggest biotin supplements.

Foods full of biotin include brewer’s yeast, green peas, oats, soybeans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, green peas, bulgur and brown rice. In terms of the egg yolks, your body’s ability to digest and assimilate biotin decreases with high intake levels of protein. Biotin binds easily to proteins, making it unavailable to your body, which in turn causes biotin deficiency and hair loss.  Try to steer clear of raw eggs in your diet, and cut down on protein powders and bars. Use one of the many shampoos that contain biotin and silica.

Additionally, those with type A blood don’t have the ability to fully absorb B vitamins. Biotin is classified as a Vitamin B, so if you have Type A blood, adding higher doses of 5-8 grams twice daily will be needed to help prevent hair loss. At this time, there are no known side effects at this dosage level.

People suffering from heartburn, acid reflux, or GERD and who are taking antacids may absorb biotin less and hair loss may occur as a result. Therefore watch your use of over-the-counter antacids if you are worried about hair loss.

To all bald-headed men.

When you drive at night do you have to turn your head down to low beam?

Yes, there are many such thoughtless jokes about baldness, in both males and females. However, loss of head hair really is a problem, which causes a great deal of worry and unhappiness, to those afflicted.

Hopefully, there may be some help and answers for you, within this web site.  It is often easier to reduce the ageing and thinning of healthy hair, than to regrow into follicles that are already dormant.

Reversing and preventing further hair loss may also be possible. Some products and techniques could be:

Topical ketokonazole, an anti-fungal/5-alfa inhibitor of reductase.
Finasteride and/or minoxidel, known in the United States as propecia and Rogaine, or Rogeine, respectively.
Placebos have average results, but not usually as high as other specific products
Hair cloning, or multiplication, using self replenishing follicle stem cells.
Hair transplants have been used for many years.
To lower androgen levels, aerobic exercises may be beneficial. This may also help stress reduction which can be an aid to slow the loss of hair.
Senanoa repens/saw palmetto, a DHT inhibit talk and a herb. Fewer side-effects and less expensive than products such as dutasteride, or finesteride.
Resveratrol is a lipase inhibitorl, made from grape skins.
Chinese herbs and Chinese medicine may be tried. Seek help from qualified acupuncturists, herbalists and holistic medicine practitioners.
Beta Sitosterol, found in oils of seeds, may also help by lowering cholesterol. Use an extract, as the heavy consumption of oils can aggravate the hairloss problem.

As we all know, baldness in males, is more common than females – thank goodness!

Baldness can be caused by a number of factors, including the trigger, an enzyme called 5-alfa reductase, which converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone – DHT, which can inhibit growth in genetically fine hairs. Some female baldness may be a result of an oestrogen reduction. Oestrogen usually counteracts testosterones balding action. Tight ponytails and corn rows, could also contribute to female hair loss, as may constantly wearing a hat.

This short article can, in no way, cover the wide spectrum of causes and treatments for hair loss. Search the internet through search engines such as Google, etc and seek help from alternative health practitioners, as well as traditional western medicine.

Hair diseases and hair loss are interrelated. One cannot be thought about without the other.

Common hair loss causes
No single factor can be marked out as the universal cause of hair diseases. There are several causes varying from person to person.

The two types of hair loss diseases
The hair loss causes can be broadly divided into the following two groups –

The temporary effect and the one involving a prolonged action, usually triggered by genetics.

a.) The temporary effect – Usually such cases can be cured by medications and treatments.
b.) Prolonged hair loss diseases – Such cases may require long term treatment. Sometimes the drug treatment might appear to be ineffective. In such circumstances surgery like hair transplantation may be the way.

The causes of temporary hair loss include the ones like child birth, using birth control pills, etc.
Another key factor can be hormonal imbalance. It can have a severe impact by causing pattern baldness. The latter comes in the list of major hair diseases.

Relation between hair diseases and hair loss
It is sometimes found that a particular hair loss cause is more commonly related to a particular hair disease. In this context one can refer to the acquired hair shaft defects. These defects are usually triggered by the excessive use of hair treatments and styling products.

Similarly, infectious diseases have their root in unhygienic scalp.

The common causes of hair loss diseases –

The common causes of hair loss diseases include the following –
• Hormonal imbalance
• Ailment
• Faulty hair styling
• Inadequate diet
Hormonal Imbalance
In men – Hormonal imbalance is a major cause of hair loss diseases among men. The male hormone testosterone plays a key role in actuating hair loss. The enzyme 5 alpha reductase in the hair follicles turns testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The latter is the most potent androgen promoting male pattern baldness, the common hair loss disease.

In women – Imbalance in thyroid hormone is a key cause of sudden hair loss among women. The thyroid gland’s being n the state of overactive and under active might cause hair fall. Thyroid hormones largely influence cellular metabolism of scalp proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and minerals. And the hair matrix cells are highly affected by the thyroid hormones’ excess or deficiency.

Hormonal imbalance also causes hair loss during pregnancy. Pregnancy witnesses a high level of estrogen hormones. This causes hair follicles percentage in anagen growth phase. But post-child birth there is a rapid fall in the estrogen level. Consequently a large number of hair follicles shift to a catagen phase. And gradually hair falls.

Women may also experience hair loss during post-pregnancy period. It is generally temporary in nature. But if it continues for months, then it may indicate hormonal imbalance in the body. And hormonal imbalance for an extended period requires proper treatment.

Ailment
Some of the serous ailments like high fever, severe infection, or flu may lead hair follicles to a resting phase. This condition called telogen effluvium results increased hair fall. But it is a temporary condition soon to be followed by normalcy.

Some cancer treatments also prevent the hair fiber growth. The hair becomes thin and breaks off. And gradually hair loss occurs. The condition starts within one to three weeks after the beginning of the chemotherapy treatment. The treatment may witness the patients losing up to 90 percent of their scalp hair.

Faulty hair styling

It means using certain hair styling techniques resulting in hair loss diseases like traction alopecia. In this condition the hair fibers are pulled out from the hair follicle by a hairstyle that pulls on the roots of the hair fibers. One example of such faulty hair styling is braiding cornrowing.

Cosmetic treatments like bleaching, coloring or hair straightening like chemical relaxing can also create problems if proper procedure is not followed.
Inadequate diet
Taking up crash diets for rapid weight loss may lead to hair loss. Such diets are low in protein, vitamins and minerals, thus causing malnutrition. Abnormal eating habits lacking important nutrients can also result into hair loss.

The decision of when to perform a laboratory evaluation or a hair analysis test in women experiencing hair loss should be made on an individual basis by the hair restoration specialist. In this article we briefly describe some of the situations where a hair restoration doctor may order lab tests. It is important to note that this is just an overview for your general information so you can understand the reason and the result if you are asked for hair analysis or laboratory tests.

When a hair loss specialist or physician orders some laboratory tests, these hair analysis tests are ordered only after specific clinical information or after observing and carefully evaluating your hair loss. Understanding the basis of these hair analysis tests helps you to understand the cause of your hair loss and also helps you to make an informed decision for a particular hair loss treatment.

While hair loss directly due to a deficiency in a nutrient is believed to be rare, a large industry has developed in recent years based on nutrient “hair analysis”. Several clinics and laboratories claim to be able to define a deficiency of a nutrient or vitamin through analyzing a sample of your hair. The Internet enables these clinics and laboratories to advertise worldwide and a quick search should provide you with numerous web sites offering hair analysis.

These investigations have a simple yes – no question, is the drug, toxin, or heavy metal there or not? There is also the advantage that most of the metals and toxins looked for have a fairly stable chemical nature. They are un-reactive compared to nutrients so they are less likely to change with exposure to the environment. With nutrient analysis the laboratory is attempting to define shades of gray – exactly how much of the nutrient is there? This has been shown to be virtually impossible to do. Even sending hair samples from the same donor to different analysis labs yields contrasting results.
Each vitamin and most minerals are present in blood in extremely small concentrations. Blood also contains a great number of chemicals and molecules and many of these tend to interfere with vitamin and mineral tests. For this reason, a procedure like HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) that separates the vitamin or mineral from contaminating substances is usually performed prior to conducting the actual test.

Following separation or purification by HPLC, the vitamin or mineral is detected by a color reaction or fluorescence reaction. In these reactions, the amount of color or fluorescence that is formed is proportional to the amount of vitamin or mineral in the sample, allowing the amount of nutrient present in the original sample to be calculated. In the case of some nutrients, the purified factor of interest is reacted with a special chemical (reagent) prior to detection.

Hair analysis helps the hair loss specialist to reach a diagnosis on hair loss. There can be several Causes of Hair Loss in Women and Hair Loss in Men and after a correct diagnosis is made, the correct women hair restoration treatment can be suggested.
This is not to say all hair analysis is invalid. Analysis of hair is a very useful method of defining exposure to heavy metals. A hair analysis can reveal whether a person has had a chronic exposure to chemical toxins in the environment. And of course hair analysis can be used to show that an individual has been using illegal drugs. The test is known as Hair Follicle Drug Testing. These forms of hair analysis are looking for the presence of a particular chemical that is not normally found in hair, or looking for expression over and above that which is known to be safe.