Hair Loss Is Devastating

Hair Loss in any form is a very devastating condition to go through. I know because I have suffered from hair loss and alopecia for over 4 years. Over the years I have tried many hair products, vitamins, supplements and even some very odd “rituals” to try and achieve hair growth.

Top 12 Reason For Hair Loss & Hair Thinning

Hair Loss and Genetics

If you have family members who suffer from premature hair loss, alopecia or any other form of hair loss, you may very well be predisposed to developing hair loss at some point in your life as well. This is not always the case, so please do not think that if your dad has premature hair loss then you will suffer from hair loss as well, or visa versa, if your father has premature hair loss, that is why you are suffering from hair loss. Each individual hair loss case is unique to the individual and may or may not be due to genetics, but the chances of you having hair loss due to genetics is slightly higher that you may develop hair loss.

Hair Loss and Age

As we get older, naturally, our hair will start to get thinner. There is no set age on when this starts or finish or how many hairs you loose per day. If you are use to a thick head of hair and have recently turned 50 (this applies to older and younger ages) and you have noticed that your hair is thinner than ever and if you have good health, then it may be your age. It may be very challenging and confusing to see others the same age as you and it looks like there hair has not started to thin or even change color, but that could very well be based on their genetics.  Each individual is different and as we get older our bodies will change. Hair loss and hair thinning is a very normal and common part of aging.

Hair Loss and Over styling

Men and women both style their hair. We like to look good and hairstyles gives us all a unique sense of style and creativity. Over styling is usually directed towards women. There are so many ways to style our hair, whether it’s long or short and we take full advantage of styling our hair. I will be the first to admit, that I have tried almost every style I could do with my hair. I have used braids, weaves, wigs, ponytails, buns, perms, hot combs and hair straighteners, blow dryers, curling irons, braids twists and much more! I have been to hair stylists that have braided my hair too tight, used straighteners that are too hot or who have used harsh and damaging chemicals on my scalp. I have lost my hair over the years and I know first hand that over styling or over processing your hair can cause hair loss and hair thinning. Take a close look at the products you are using in your hair and the styles you are putting your hair in. If there is a lot of tension and or pulling you can be causing hair loss, thinning , Traction Alopecia or you may even be permanently damaging your hair. (To read more Click here)

Hair Loss and Medication

If you are taking medication, there will always be some sort of side-effect. I was speaking to my doctor about this and he said that as long as you are taking medication that has been prescribed to you, there will always be a side- effect. The side-effects may differ from person to person and from  medication to medication, but there will always be a side effect. Hair loss and thinning is frequently labeled as a side effect on medication labels. If you are taking medication and are experiencing hair loss or hair thinning, please check the label to see if that is one of the side effects. If it is not listed as a side-effect, it is still a good idea to discuss your hair loss with your doctor. Hair loss may be a side-effect of your medication, but if hair loss does not effect a large enough number of people, it may not be listed as a side-effect, but it doesn’t mean that you are not experiencing hair loss from the medication.

Hair Loss and Protein

Protein is important for total body heath. Our body uses protein in a lot of ways. For example, our bodies make the part of our red blood cells that carries oxygen to our cells and this is called hemoglobin. This is a very important role because our red blood cells carry oxygen all over our body, including our scalp. Without adequate oxygen delivery to our cells, our body cannot carry out the tasks it needs to, which includes growing healthy, strong hair.We know that if your whole body is healthy you will be able to grow long, strong healthy hair. There is a specific protein that responsible for growing healthy, strong hair is called keratin. keratin is crucial for hair growth. If you are not getting enough protein your hair will be brittle and weak. If your hair is brittle and weak it will be harder to grow your hair, cause thinning and you may experience hair loss. Protein is very important to have in your diet so that you will not experience hair loss. (To read more click here)

Hair Loss and Iron

Our bodies need Iron and it is a very important part of growing long, strong hair. Like protein, iron is very important for our cells. Iron is actually a part of our protein hemoglobin. Remember hemoglobin is the part of our red blood cells that is responsible for carrying oxygen to the body, which we need for overall healthy bodies, in order to grow healthy hair. Oxygen helps our hair to grow healthier and stronger by stimulating, and nourishing our hair and scalp. Oxygen provides our scalp with the fuel it needs to build our hair. The blood flow supplies nutrients to the roots of our hair and other nutrients our hair needs and it enables our body to make protein, which forms our hair.Oxygen also stimulates our cells metabolism. This is important because this increases blood flow on our scalp which helps to generate new cells. Iron is also apart of a lot of the enzymes in our body that we need for proper cell functions. Without adequate amounts of iron our bodies will not be able to breakdown and distribute the nutrients from our food that our body needs to be healthy and thrive. If our bodies lack iron in large amounts you can develop and iron deficiency condition called anemia. So having the correct amounts of iron in your diet is another key factor to growing long healthy hair (To read more click here)

 Hair Loss and Diet

We have discussed about making sure you have adequate amounts of protein and iron in your diet, but your diet has to be well balance overall. You want to make sure you are eating whole, plant based foods to ensure that you are getting the various vitamins and minerals your body needs from a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains and legumes. If your diet has variety, you are more than likely to be getting all of the nutrients you need for hair growth. Along with eating the appropriate foods for hair growth, you need to cut out foods that may be hindering, stopping or causing you to lose your hair. Foods that are high in fats, trans fats, cholesterol, carbohydrates, caffeine and sugars are not good for your health and therefore are not a part of your growing the hair that you are seeking. While you are eating foods that promote good health and healthy hair growth and cutting out foods that are doing the opposite of this, you want to make sure you are taking a multivitamin to ensure you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals that you need. Sometime, even though you are eating the right foods, you may not be eating enough for your bodies daily requirements. A daily multi-vitamin can ensure that you are getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals each and every day. (Click Here To Read More)

Hair Loss and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a blessing and so much joy comes along with bringing a new, human being into the world, but before the new baby arrives, they do require a lot of the vitamins and minerals, to grow and to be healthy,  that you also need to be healthy. For this reason before you get pregnant, while your get pregnant and after pregnancy, you need to take more that your daily required amounts of vitamins and minerals or you could be deficient in your recommended daily needs. If you become deficient in protein, iron, calcium, Vitamin A, B, C, E. D, magnesium, zinc, ect., you will star to lose your hair. After pregnancy, due to hormonal fluctuations, hair loss is a normal and expected part of having a baby. Unfortunately, if you were deficient in your vitamins and minerals, while you were pregnant, you may lose more that the “normal” expected amount of hair. You may experience bald spots due to excessive shedding. This is devastating to a new mother and it can be minimized or avoided, bay ensuring you are taking and getting the adequate amounts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals while you are pregnant. Pregnancy can also bring about a form of extreme hair loss called Telogen Effluvium. Telogen Effluvium is when a lot of the 90% of hairs in the  anagan (growing) or catagen (transitional) phases all of a sudden they all switch into the telogen (resting) phase. This is most likely due to the hormonal changes the body is going through or the “stress” placed on the body by the growing baby or the birth of a baby.

Stress and trauma has a very negative effect on our bodies physiologically when there is a drastic change in our system. When we have gone through a traumatic experience or if we are just over stressed hair loss is a very normal and expected part of our bodies reaction to the added stress on itself. Stress can cause Telogen Effluvium. If you are dealing with a very stressful situation or a traumatic event, please seek a medical professional, who you can talk with and figure out healthy ways to deal with the stress. Exercise, meditation, prayer, reading enjoying your favorite hobby or anything else that is relaxing for you can help you to not over stress and lose more of your hair. Hair loss while you are stressed or having gone through a traumatic event can actually be a good thing. If you notice that your hair is falling out, thinning or even balding, you may get a wake up cal that there are somethings in your life that need to change.

Hair Loss and Weight Loss

Losing weight gradually is very healthy and very good for your body. Trying to lose weight too quickly has a negative effect on your body, which will have a negative effect on your hair growth. Extreme weight loss can put a lot of stress on your body, which can cause Telogen Effluvium. Our bodies were designed to handle stress, but not the extreme stressed placed on our bodies when we lose a lot of weight very quickly. Whenever the word weight loss is seen our minds automatically jump to the conclusion of someone intentionally trying to lose weight. This is true for those who are trying to lose weight quickly by cutting their acceptable daily food intake amounts in half or less (to lose weight) or for those who spend countless hours doing rigorous work outs trying to lose weight. Both these examples do pertain to individuals purposely trying to lose weight. But there is a large group of people who are not trying to lose weight intentionally. Their weight loss is due to an underlying medical condition. This underlying medical condition makes it hard to keep weight on and also makes the body use up its ‘reserves” thus causing the individual to lose weight rapidly. Now wether you are trying to lose weight intentionally or wether there in an underlying medical condition as to why you are losing weight too quickly, both scenarios put extreme stress on your body, which in turn can cause hair loss.

Hair Loss and Sickness

We all get sick from time to time. A common cold or a stomach bug every now and again may not be any alarm that you may encounter hair loss. The illnesses are usually cleared up in a matter of days and our bodies (if they are healthy) should have no trouble fighting off the bad bacteria and curing itself. However, for those suffering with a very serious illness, like cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorder, ect., our bodies my undergo Telogen Effluvium. The stress from the illness on or bodies may cause us to lose hair at a very rapid rate. Our bodies may not know how to deal with the various attacks from simple things like eating a fruit or taking a walk on a sunny day. Due to this extra stress our bodies will shed a large amount of hair. Apart from hair loss caused by stress due to the sickness, our bodies may lose hair based on the sickness we are suffering from. remember of our bodies are healthy, we are able to grow healthy hair, but if our bodies are not well, it will be difficult, if not impossible to grow hair faster than we are losing it. My grandma passed away in April 2005 from cancer. I noticed that her hair was very thin, but at the time I did not know she had cancer. When I found out it made sense. The cancer cells were robbing her body of the nutrients she needed in order to grow her hair. I was suffering from Candida Overgrowth at one point. My hair was growing super slow and it wasn’t until I was cured of Candida Overgrowth, that my hair started to grow faster and flourish. candida Overgrowth is caused my yeast like parasitic fungi that survive by feeding on the food you consume. By the candida organisms feeding on the food you are eating, they rob you of your nutrients and minerals. My hair didn’t have a change at growing because it wasn’t getting nourishment. If you are suffering from any illness, please know that there is a chance that that is why you may be experiencing hair loss. Please don’t think that if you are sick you will experience hair loss. I know many ladies who have had some pretty serious medical issues, but there hair was still long and luscious. Everyones body is different and not everyone will experience hair loss due to sickness.

Hair Loss and Alopecia Areata (auto immune disorder)

Alopecia Aeata is a form of hair loss. This form of hair loss is thought to be caused my an auto immune disorder. I wanted to put Alopecia Areata as a reason for hair loss in it’s own and not group it in the sickness category reason, because its symptoms are so specific to hair loss. The theory behind why individuals have Alopecia Areata (which is what my doctors labeled the reason for my hair loss) is that their immune systems start attacking the healthy hair follicles for no reason. I stated that I wanted to touch on this “theory” a little further,  so I will do that here. I don’t believe that our bodies “do things” for “no reason”. I believe that the medical professionals do not understand why our body is attacking itself, but to say that it is for “no apparent reason” is not true. Instead they should be saying “it is for no blatantly obvious reason that we can see from doing a few little tests, but there for sure is a reason”. I know for a fact that when I started losing my hair, my body was under a lot of stress (mentally, emotionally and physically). I was getting sick very often, with little to no exposure to the outside world (meaning that a little boy with the sniffles wasn’t giving me a cold). When I went to my doctor and asked him about what was going on with me, he would tell me that I was fine and that it must have been stress and for me to relax. When I started to lose my hair, I asked him to check my iron, my thyroid, my vitamin B and D levels and he assured me that I was good and healthy, except for my thyroid levels which were a little high. He decided to send me to a specialist and the specialist said that my thyroid levels were a “tad bit” high, but it was so minuscule that he couldn’t prescribe me medication and that, that wasn’t the reason why I was losing my hair either. Well, at this point I was confused. If there appears to be nothing wrong, then the doctors say my body is “acting crazy”. Well, doesn’t that mean there is something wrong? I decided to do some research and I changed my diet to a plant based, whole foods diet for 50 day and after 50 days I was feeling better. All of my previous symptoms were gone and my hair started to thicken and get longer. *Note: I had noticed hair growth after I started using my shea butter mixture, but my hair, overall, was growing at a very slow rate. The doctors could not explain this “auto immune disorder” to me, but once I changed my diet and started living a more healthy life, I cured myself. Don’t let the doctors tell you, your body is “acting crazy” for no reason. There is a reason, but we have to do some research and take a look at our life and try to put the puzzle pieces together. Find Out: 1) When did this started happening to you? -Age 2) What changed in your life? – New job, new house, new marriage, new baby? 3) What did you notice was wrong? List your symptoms Start by answering these questions and then do some research. Trust me, when you take the time to look into your life, you will see things that you never thought bothered you or stressed you out, really did and you very well could be sick because if it. An auto immune disorder is caused by something and just because the doctors don’t know what caused your particular case, doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer or a cure. The doctor told me my hair may not grow back, but it did!

Can Hair Loss Be Good?

Hair loss can be good for the simple fact that it lets you know something in your life and/or body needs to change. Hair loss can be a tell tale sign that you need to talk to your doctor and seek medical advice on why you are losing your hair. You may be shocked at what you may find out, but it could save your life!  If you are experiencing hair loss in any amount that is more than normal for you, please talk to your doctor.

 Top 10 bad habits causing your hair loss

If you have read the Top 12 Reasons You Could Be Losing your hair and you have found that none of them have applied to you and that you are a fairly healthy person, but you are still losing your hair, this may be the list you are looking for to help you answer your question of why you may be losing your hair.

1) Wearing your hair out too often

When you wear your hair out it is more susceptible to the out door environments (including articles of clothing and accessories you are wearing). The outside environment and the weather can cause breakage to your hair strands. If the weather is too hot or too cold, your hair can get damaged more easily causing damage and breakage. If your hair is damaged it will fall out overtime. When your hair rubs against your clothing, accessories our jewelry, you are also putting your hair at risk for developing split ends and breakage. Again, if your hair is split or damaged, it can cause the whole strand of hair to split, causing weak dry, brittle hair and causing your hair to fall out. Protective Styling can help you to keep your hair safe, protected and growing longer, stronger and healthier (Read more Here)

2) Playing in your hair too often

Similarly, when your hair is out you play in it more often. By you running your fingers through your hair or twirling it around your finger, you are causing your hair to lose it’s moisture and you may accidentally snap, snag or damage your hair with the continued movements or from your nails or jewelry. By playing in your hair you strip your hair of it’s natural oils and you can actually be making your scalp/hair dirty. I am guilty! If I can just touch my hair, I will. I don’t know why we do this, but we are putting our hair at risk for damage. I am now a pro at keeping my hair protected. You can read more about (How I do This Here)

3) Styling too often

Styling you hair too often is one of the Top ways, us ladies, damage our hair. Using the brush and comb frequently will cause snags and knots in our hair. The constant friction of the brushing/combing motion will cause breakage and split ends. Using head bands and hair ties (even the “ouch-less” brand) and other hair accessories can cause our hair to be damaged, by causing spit end and breakage as well. The best way to reduce the chances of this, would be to keep your hair in a Protective Stye and leave it alone.

4) Shampooing too often

Washing your hair is great and we all need to do it, but over washing can be a huge problem and another habit that causes hair loss. When you over wash your hair you are stripping you hair of all of it’s natural oils. These natural oils actually protect and nourish your hair, specifically for your body. You cannot buy an oil that gives your hair and scalp the nutriments it needs, specially designed for you. When you strip your hair of it’s natural oils you leave your hair vulnerable to a dirty scalp, which leads to blocked hair follicles, itching or lice. It also leaves your hair susceptible to dry, dull, life-less looking and feeling hair. If you wash your hair, try to use a natural soap or shampoo (Learn What I Use Here). Also, if you wash your hair, try to minimize how often you wash it. (Learn How Often I Shampoo Here) If you do cleanse your scalp daily, you do not need to use harsh shampoos. (Learn About Other Washing Methods Here)

5) Wearing tight hair styles

Wearing tight hairstyles like braids, weaves, tight buns and ponytails can actually cause a hair loss condition called: Traction Alopecia (To Lern More Click Here)

6) Trying too many new products

This kind of persona can be referred to as a “Product Junkie”. They love to buy new products for their hair and try them out for various reasons. They make like the smell of a new product, they may read the label and want to try the product, they may find a sale on a product and decided to buy it, and many other reasons.

Trying new products can make your hair dry, dull, lifeless and very unhealthy. When you put too many products on your hair or are trying too many new products, your scalp may not like it. It may be too much for your body to handle or you may be allergic to a product, which can cause your hair to fall out.

I use to be like this. I wanted to try all the “Hot” products the celebrities were using, then I switched to all natural and organic products and then I would buy things on sale. Well, being a product junkie cause up to me and I used one too many products. My hair started thinning, but I didn’t know why. After losing my whole hair line, I finally realized that I was allergic to Aloe Vera. If you look in almost any natural and or organic hair product Aloe Vera is in there somewhere.

If I had just stuck to a few main products, I would have caught this a long time ago, but I did know which product I was using (because there were so many), I didn’t know when I used it or how long I used it for, so this was a huge problem when it came to figuring out why I was losing my hair.  It was like trying to find “a needle in a drawer full of products”.

7) Using too many or too harsh chemicals

Perms, Hair Dyes, Hairsprays are all filled with very harsh and serious chemicals. These chemicals not only affect the overall look, feel and “health” of your hair, but they are very damaging on your scalp and body in general. I use to perm my hair every 4 to 6 weeks. My hair stylist use to leave those chemicals on my scalp, until my scalp would start to burn. Once it was burning, she would leave it on my scalp for another 5 to 10 minutes (depending on what she was doing). After I got the products washed and my hair was styled my scalp would hurt and sometimes my scalp would be so damaged there would be puss oozing out of my hair follicles. I did this for about 5 years of my life. After 5 years I decided enough was enough. I did not want to have “good looking hair”, but feel like someone was stabbing me in the scalp with a knife to look like that. The chemicals are so harsh that my hair dresser had to wear gloves to apply the perm, but her hands were more tough than my scalp was. That is just a little comparison to how harsh those chemicals must have been. Overtime of using constant and irritating chemical processes you cause damage to your scalp or you can even cause permanent damage to your hair follicles called scarring alopecia or central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA).

8) Using heat too often

Using hot combs, straighteners, curling irons, blow dryers (the heat setting), ect., can cause major and irreplaceable damage to your hair. You can burn your hair, which causes your hair to be weak and brittle. The heat will cause your hair to be frizzy, dull, dry, have split ends and cause hair loss due to breakage and damage.

9) Sleeping on a pillow (not covered with silk/satin)

Sleeping on a regular pillow case can cause friction as you toss and turn for hours on your pillow at night. Keeping your hair in protective styles in the day is just as important and keeping your hair protected at night.   When you turn and rub your hair on the pillow you could be causing breakage and split ends. You are also stripping your hair of its natural oils and moisture which leads to dry, dull and brittle hair. You can reduce the chances of this happening by sleeping on a silk or sating pillowcase. The material of silk/satin keeps moisture in your hair and the silky material allows your hair to move around reducing the risk of snags, knots and split ends caused by friction.

10) Smoking

I have known people who have smoked all of their life and they seemed to have been healthier than me. They even said they feel great! They have said that they had energy and they feel and they look good too. Because of this, I decided not to add smokers to my previous list of Why People Lose Their Hair, but I will add this to habits of why you may be losing your hair.

When you smoke the toxins from the cigarettes are causing damage to the DNA of your hair follicle. This causes an imbalance in your bodies systems that are responsible for tissue and cell formation and generation. This will cause confusion in your hair growth cycles and it can also cause inflammation of your follicles causing your hair to fall out.

I also revealed some of the benefits of oxygen for hair growth above and we now know that clean oxygen is good for your body and scalp, but oxygen filled with toxins can damage not only the cell carrying the oxygen, but any organ that the toxic oxygen is delivered to.