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7 Natural Ways To Help Prevent Hair Loss

Healthier Hair = Happier You
Healthier Hair = Happier You

Not all hair loss is irreversible. Sometimes, the foods we eat, the way we live and the amount of stress we deal with on a daily basis can effect the look and feel of our hair.  While some conditions, including simply getting older, will mean that some hair loss is inevitable, keeping well and adding extra nutrients to our bodies can help to prevent or delay hair loss however old we are.

If you are concerned about your hair thinning, excessive hair loss or bald spots you should visit your doctor or dermatologist to rule our any underlying causes or conditions.  If however, you are just looking for natural ways to improve the look and condition of your hair, try these 7 natural ways to prevent hair loss today.

 

1.Eat A Healthy Diet

We all know that enjoying a balanced diet can help prevent weight gain and certain medical conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, but we often overlook the fact that they way we eat also effects our hair.  Fresh fruit and vegetables, pulses and lean meats all include a variety of wonderfully beneficial, naturally occurring nutrients.  These include Iron, B Vitamins, Copper, Zinc, Sulphur and Vitamin C, which are all essential for healthy looking hair. Leafy green vegetables, blackcurrants, blueberries, oranges, strawberries and sweet potatoes are all readily available and do wonders for you hair.  So too does fish that is rich in Omega-3, like salmon and sardines.

2.Stay Stress-Free

Whilst thats not always entirely possible, ensuring that you get enough rest and “down time” from the strains of day to day life can help to prevent the damaging effects of stress on our skin and hair.  Stress promotes hair loss, and can lead to conditions like Telogen Effluvium, where the roots can be pushed prematurely into a resting state, causing hair loss and thinning.  Usually seen in women after pregnancy, extreme weight loss or a “shock” to the system, the condition doesn’t last forever and the hair will eventually grow back and fill out in time.

3.Look After Your Scalp

We spend much of our lives worrying about the way our hair looks, but then forget to consider the health of our scalps.  A nourished scalp is a healthy base for hair follicles to grow and flourish.  A scalp that is suffering from dandruff, infections or lesions, will cause hair to “die” early and fall out, leading to significant hair loss. Remember to treat your scalp well, and repair any damage using the appropriate medication.

4.Avoid Over Medicating

This is not always possible as some medications that can cause hair loss are actually vital for easing certain conditions and diseases.  Some acne medications, antibiotics, anti-fungal  creams, antidepressants, oral contraceptives, blood thinners and cholesterol-lowering medications however, can display hair loss as a side effect of continual use.  If you need to take your medication then that is clearly a priority.  But in some cases, natural alternatives can prove to be just as effective, without hair loss side effects as an additional concern.

5.Be Gentle With Your Hair

Years of constantly pulling and poking at our hair to achieve fabulous looking hairstyles will damage the hair over time. We know it is important to look and feel great, but too much over working of the hair can lead to excessive hair loss.  Losing a few strands here and there is normal and part of the natural cycle of the follicles, but continual loss, or clumps after brushing could be caused by traction alopecia, a direct result of over-styling or over-brushing your hair.  Try to keep you hair loosely tied back, or hanging free, and avoid tightly pulled ponytails or hairstyles secured with elastic hair bands.

6.Avoid Using Too Much Heat

Hair straighteners, curling wands and other electrical styling aids all heat the hair to achieve their desired look.  While occasional use will probably not make a big difference to your hair, daily or continual use will be detrimental to it.  Heat causes hair to burn, snap and split and can lead to hair thinning or even hair loss over time.

7.Add Some Instant Volume When You need To 

If thinning hair is causing you concern about the way you look, you can use a specially designed product to help boost its appearance, as and when you need to. An Instant Hair Loss Concealer for example, coats each strand to give the appearance of fuller and thicker hair, without weighing it down.  This is a temporary measure that can be used as frequently as you need to.  Easy to rinse out by simply using shampoo, products like RESTRAND Instant Hair Loss Concealer allow you to maintain a healthy regime for your hair, with the addition of instant volume and coverage, as and when you need it.

6 weird and wonderful hair loss remedies from history

The thinning of hair, for both men and women, is nothing new. This has been occurring for thousands of years, but for those who do not find their bald patches or thinning regions overly dignified, ways to combat the problem have only relatively recently become viable.

Sutherland Sister Hair Cleaner
Sutherland Sisters Hair and Scalp Cleaner

Treatments and preventions have always been available, as far back as 400 B.C., but of course, they have all had very ‘interesting’ levels of success, as you might expect. Fortunately, for those who are looking to hair thickening sprays today, there are wonderful options available to overcome the issue at hand. This got us to thinking about the weird and wonderful remedies that have arisen through the ages. We have listed six of them below, so why not take a look and see how it used to be done…

Tea

Tea. Yes, the quintessentially English beverage that is enjoyed in the thousands of cups-full, daily, was, in 19th-century England used as a hair loss treatment. Tea was used by people suffering from thinning hair by rub “cold India tea”, teamed with wedges of lemon, into their scalps. Did it work? We’re pretty sure you can guess the answer, which was a resounding no!

The Ancient Egyptian Solutions

For those enduring hair loss during the times of the Ancient Egyptians, there were, believe it or not, remedies on offer. The Ebers Papyrus, a medical text that dates as far back as 1550 B.C., highlights a host of recommended ‘cures’. A mix of fats from a tomcat, snake, hippopotamus, crocodile, and ibex was on option. Another was to use the leg of a female greyhound which had been sautéed in oil with the hoof of a donkey. Thirdly, they had the option to try a mixture of porcupine hair which was boiled in water then applied to the scalp for four days! Again, none of these were overly successful.

Hippocrates’ Theory

Hippocrates, a renowned historical figure, who was an ancient Greek physician born around 460 B.C., is regularly considered as the father of Western medicine. He personally suffered from male pattern baldness, and so prescribed himself, along with others with the same issue with a topical blend of spices, beetroot, opium, horseradish, and pigeon droppings. And guess what? Hairlines did not stop receding, post-potion.

Julius Caesar

When the famous dictator of Rome started losing his hair, he gave everything a go in order to try and reverse the effects of his balding. To begin with, he grew his thinning hair long at the back of his head and brushed it over his scalp in what was an early version of the comb-over. Following the failure of this idea, his lover Cleopatra suggested a home remedy consisting of horse teeth, ground-up mice, and bear grease. As you would expect, this did little for hair recuperation, and so the Roman dictator took to covering his scalp with a laurel wreath, which is widely seen in historical pictures of the leader.

Toupees

Popular in ancient times, hairpieces were revived during the 17th century by royals. King Louis XIII of France was one such royal who sported a toupee in order to hide his balding scalp. Massive wigs, often featuring elaborate curls that had been peppered with white powder, soon became all the rage among the noble figures in England and France. Wealthy American colonists took on the trend of donning this accessory as a status symbol up until the American Revolution, which killed off fashions with monarchy-inspired roots.

Snake Oil

In the United States, the 19th century witnessed the emergence of so-called “snake oil” salesmen. These people were, to every intents and purposes, swindlers masquerading as doctors who peddled sham potions that promised to treat all that ails you. A number of these tonics were cited to be formulated to reverse hair loss, including an ointment called Seven Sutherland Sisters’ Hair Grower, inspired and promoted by a family of sideshow performers with cascading locks.

 

Image: Joe Mabel under Creative Commons.