How To Prevent Hair Loss

 

1.      Take care of your hair.

There are no guarantees that you can prevent hair loss that is genetically programmed or hair loss caused by factors not within your control. However, you can do the best by your hair at all stages to give it the greatest chance of staying in top condition and not leaving your head sooner than it needs to. Avoid layering cuts that lose a lot of your hair. If you're already experiencing hair loss, don't speed it up by having the hairdresser remove more hair.

2.      Wash hair.

Hair washing can form a part of preventing hair loss as it can keep your hair and scalp clean (preventing the chances of infections, etc. that might cause hair loss), and provided you use a mild shampoo, clean hair will give the impression of more volume than dirty hair, which tends to sit flatter and more parted than clean hair. Avoid rubbing hair vigorously with a towel after washing it. This can also lead to hair breakage. Pat it dry gently instead.

3.      Get your stress under control.

Stress damages all of your body, and your hair is no exception. Loss of hair can be one of your body's primary signals that you're overdoing things and that it's time to pull back. Exercise regularly. Good as a stress reduction strategy, physical activity also encourages better circulation, including for your scalp.

4.      Eat your way to top form hair.

Nutritional responses to preventing hair loss are simple common sense approaches to keeping you, your hair, and your scalp healthy and are beneficial for your health all round – a healthy body is more likely to have healthy hair than an unhealthy one. It is possible that hair loss can be slowed by a healthy diet filled with vegetables and fruits.

5.      Avoid food or eating habits that can inhibit hair growth or encourage hair loss.

There are some things you should not do or eat in order to avoid hurrying hair loss. The following things can harm your hair and bring about hair loss, either temporarily or even permanently depending on your genetic make-up. Avoid very low-calorie liquid diets. As well as depleting your energy in a major way, such diets can cause hair loss.

6.      Consider supplements.

Talk with your medical practitioner first but you might like to consider using supplements to prevent hair loss. The types of supplements to inquire about include biotin, inositol, iron, vitamin C, and saw palmetto.^[27] The latter, saw palmetto, is a herbal remedy used for prostate enlargement and some experts think it might help stimulate hair growth in men.^[28]

7.      Test your hair for thinning if you're concerned.

Testing whether or not you're suffering from hair loss can be done using what is known as the "tug test". Take a small bunch of hair, about 20-30 hairs, and hold it between your thumb and index finger. Pull slowly but firmly; if more than six hairs come out at the same time, you may have a hair loss problem.

8.      Consider treatments if you have hair loss confirmed.

While this article is concerned with prevention of hair loss, treatments can be used to arrest hair loss dependent on your background and personal needs and may play a part in hair loss minimization for a time. Ask your doctor about steroid creams, corticosteroids, or PUVA (a light/drug combination therapy) in the case of alopecia areata. Irritation can sometimes stimulate hair growth too, such as applying irritating chemicals prescribed by the doctor.

9.      Understand why hair loss happens.

Hair loss (alopecia) occurs mainly on the head but it can also happen on other parts of the body.^[40] It can happen at any age and will affect an estimated 30 to 40 percent of any population.^[41] It is not always easy to identify the reason behind hair loss in an individual case but the generally known reasons behind hair loss can range from genetics and aging to diseases and stress and poor diet. Even childbirth can trigger hair loss for some women.

10.  Remember how hair grows.

It's likely you've already read the statistics on how hair grows but it's worth being reminded. Around 90 percent of your hair is following a two to six year growth phase, while the remaining 10 percent is in a two to three month resting phase. After it rests, it sheds, and we can lose anywhere from 80 to 150 hairs a day, depending on our hair type and genetic background.^[51][52][53] As for eyebrow hairs, we tend to keep them for only 10 weeks!^[54] And the growth rate for hair tends to be about 1 cm (just under 1/2 an inch) per month.^[55]