Hair loss can happen to anyone. While it’s normal to shed up to 100 hairs a day, losing more than that might point to a problem. Often, the cause is harmless, like your hairstyle or genetics, making it more of a cosmetic concern than a health issue.
Each strand of hair has a lifespan of up to 5 years, cycling through growth, rest, and shedding phases. However, some factors can cause hair to enter the resting phase prematurely. This is known as telogen effluvium and can be triggered by stress, pregnancy, medication, or certain health problems. Genetics can also play a role. If you’re dealing with significant hair loss, noticing bald spots, thinning patches, or unevenness, it’s a good idea to consult a specialist.
Talking to your dermatologist or primary care doctor can help you find treatments to prevent further hair loss. Additionally, both men and women can adopt various good habits to help prevent hair loss. Here are the top 5 tips to help you maintain your hair.
1. **Avoid Tight Hairstyles**: Wearing tight updos, ponytails, or cornrows frequently can lead to traction alopecia, a type of hair loss. To prevent this, opt for looser hairstyles and switch up your hairdos. Avoid regular use of tight buns, ponytails, cornrows, hair extensions, weaves, or tight braids. If you wear hair rollers to bed, minimize their use. Signs that your hairstyle is too tight include pain, stinging, crusts on the scalp, and scalp tenting.
2. **Limit Heat and Chemical Treatments**: Heat and chemicals are major culprits when it comes to hair damage. They can weaken the hair’s structure, leading to dullness, dryness, breakage, brittleness, and split ends. To restore your hair’s health, use products with strengthening ingredients like omega-3 fatty acids and proteins, switch to a protein-rich diet, use heat protection products, and choose repair shampoos and conditioners.
3. **Brush Hair Carefully**: Brushing wet hair can cause significant damage because hair is more fragile when wet. While regular brushing stimulates the roots and promotes faster hair growth, doing so immediately after washing can harm the hair’s bonds, causing breakage. To dry your hair without causing damage, towel-dry by squeezing out excess water and let it air-dry as much as possible before using a hairdryer.
4. **Quit Smoking**: The chemicals in cigarettes can damage your hair’s DNA and overall health, leading to hair loss. Tobacco smoke induces oxidative stress, harming the stem cells in hair follicles and impeding hair growth. Nicotine also reduces blood circulation in the scalp, depriving hair of essential nutrients. E-cigarettes can cause similar damage to your scalp’s epidermal cells. To keep your hair healthy, quitting smoking is crucial.
5. **Protect Your Hair from the Sun**: While short-term sun exposure is generally harmless, prolonged exposure to UV rays can cause dryness and breakage. Melanin pigments in dark hair provide some protection against UV damage, but as you age and lose these pigments, your hair becomes more vulnerable. Protect your hair from the sun by wearing a scarf, a hat, and using UV protection products.
If you want to maintain healthy hair, these five tips are a great starting point.