Are you losing more hair than you’re comfortable with? Can you see more scalp than you used to be able too, which is causing you anxiety because you’re sure that you’re going to be bald in no time if you keep losing hair at this rate?
While hair loss has been traditionally associated with men, there are also a number of women who suffer from thinning manes of hair. On a typical day, many health experts state that you lose anywhere from 50-250 strands of hair, so if you lose more than that, you’re sure to notice the results.
What Causes Hair Loss?
One of the first things you’re going to want to do, if you can, is isolate the root cause of your hair loss. Some of the most common reasons that your strands fall out include:
- Genetics
- Stress
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Auto-immune issues
- Anemia
- Psoriasis
- Extreme weight loss at quick rates
- Menopause
- Pregnancy
- Having a recent major illness or surgery
- Too much vitamin A
As this list suggests, if other women in your family suffer from thinning hair, then your genes may be partially to blame for finding more strands in your hairbrush than you’d like. And, if you’ve recently lost a lot of weight or have been under a tremendous amount of stress, then you may be able to attribute your hair loss to that.
However, the rest of the causes may be further testing to find. So, you might want to make a doctor’s appointment and get to the bottom of your hair thinning issue to make sure nothing major is going on inside your body that you are unaware of.
Luckily though, most hair thinning issues can be remedied quite easily so look at this as a very short term problem. One which you can fix in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
How to Treat Thinning Hair At Home
Although most of us women know how rotten we feel when we’re having a bad hair day, when we’re faced with thinning hair, the situation seems much more dire. You can’t just wash your hair and start over because it isn’t going to change the fact that you only have a certain number of strands to deal with – a number that seems to be dwindling by the minute.
So, how can you fix thinning hair right now, without having to go to anyone else and ask for help? Here are a few suggestions you can try:
- Adjust your hair styling routine. When you use hot curlers, flat irons and moisture-wicking hair dryers day after day, you’re more likely to damage your hair and make it fall out at faster rates. The same is true if you wear a lot of pony tails or have cornrows, as well as if you color your hair or regularly use other chemicals on it. Give your hair a break every once and a while and let it naturally repair itself. Also, use hair products that enhance the volume of your hair so it is easier to disguise the thinner patches until you can get them to grow in again. Now is also a great time to experiment with different hair styles.
- Change your diet. If you don’t eat enough vitamin rich foods, your hair (or lack of it) is going to be proof of that. Ideally, you want to make sure you get adequate amounts of iron (which you can find in liver, red meat, leafy greens, beans, and artichokes) and zinc (think seafood, wheat germ, spinach, pumpkin seeds, and nuts) so that your hair gets and stays healthy and strong. Additionally, make sure you consume enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet via salmon, herring, tuna and other foods. If you have a hard time getting in these vitamins and minerals via food alone, you would probably benefit from taking a supplement just to make sure.
- Switch from using hot water to cold. While the effectiveness of this option is still up in the air, what could it hurt? Switch from using hot water to wash your hair to using cold water and your thinning hair may be less noticeable as it is suggested that the cold water makes hair look thicker.
- Try aloe vera. The substances found in the leaves of an aloe vera plant work wonders on thinning hair. Not only do they help promote growth of new strands, but they also make the ones that you do have healthier in the process. You can make your own hair repair gel at home and reap the benefits time and time again.
- Use oils. If you don’t want to use aloe, you can get similar hair growth benefits from other oils; namely safflower, rosemary, jojoba, and emu oil. Some may be easier to find than others, but check with your local health store and see which types they carry as they’re all said to work for thinning hair issues.
- Take the time to de-stress. If your hair loss is tied to massive amounts of stress in your life, you need to find a way to let things go. Talk to a trusted friend and share your concerns, go for a long walk to sort out your emotions or make an appointment to meet with a therapist for some outside help. The sooner you can get your stress under control, the sooner you’ll quit losing too much hair.