Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Understanding Permanent and Temporary Reason for Hair Loss

Have you been wondering why every time you wash your hair you find a many strands of hair on your bathroom floor? One of the most common phenomenons among people around the age of 40 and above these days is hair loss. If you feel that you are about to become one of those people who are losing their hair, it would be a good idea to understand the reason for hair loss before you start to panic and try those hair loss treatments which may not really be suitable for you.

Hair loss may be permanent or temporary depending on the underlying reason for hair loss. There are a number of reasons for hair loss, it could be genetic which have more or less a permanent effect, or it could be a medical condition. If the reason for hair loss is medically related such as chemotherapy or other medications being undertaken by the person or emotional problems and stress, such hair loss may be temporary in nature.

Permanent

The reason behind permanent hair loss is usually the genes of the person. There are certain people who are pre-disposed to baldness. If you belong to a family of men and women who lose their hair as they get older, genes could be the reason for hair loss in your case. Since this reason for hair loss would usually result in permanent baldness, it might be a good idea to see a hair doctor who could give you some advice on how to counter this problem.

Temporary

Stress is a reason for hair loss that is temporary. If you are emotionally disturbed, your hair could lose is luster and would appear dull and lifeless. In most cases, three months after a very stressful event, a person would start losing his or her hair as an after effect. Since this is a temporary hair loss, your hair could actually grow again in a matter of time.

Another reason for hair loss is giving birth. It is very common for women to shed off some hair a few months after they give birth. Hair loss after giving birth is nothing to worry about. In most cases, women would have unnatural hair growth during pregnancy that they would really have more hair on their head than in any other times. Shedding off some of the excess hair is normal after childbirth and is not reason for you to be alarmed.

Stop Hair Loss by Shaving Your Head or Using a Wig!

There are thousands of men who suffer from hair loss and it can be a source of some concern as well as insecurity and embarrassment to those who lose their hair and worse can follow in case of hair loss among the not-so-old who may even have such a condition prior to reaching their 30th birthday.

To stop hair loss, one may take recourse to a number of methods including completely shaving off their head or using hairpieces to cover the baldness or using plugs though such means are far from perfect and using such means may result in some social stigma or being otherwise frowned upon.

Hair Loss Products

To stop hair loss one may also need to try out products that are on sale and for which one may or may not need a prescription. Though no magic pill exists to stop hair loss, there are some hair loss products that promise to deliver and be effective in stopping hair loss. A few such products include Propecia, Rogaine (Monoxadil), Avacor and Proxiphen and these provide the user with different degrees of effectiveness and because of the huge demand for such products, and there are many non-prescription hair loss products also available on the market today for both men and women.

Taking vitamins is another effective means to stop hair loss and these specially formulated vitamins act to prevent thinning of the hair as well as be conducive to speedier growth of the hair. These vitamins may contain amino acids and zinc and many who use these vitamins are reported to acknowledge having thicker and more lustrous hair even though the idea is to have the hair grow back again and not just thicken. Other alternatives worth considering for stopping hair loss are supplements as well as hair loss treatments that actually target only balding and hair loss.

However, hair loss supplements can cost a fair bit and one has to choose only those that have been tested and been clinically proven. Being proactive is another method of stopping hair loss and this may involve correction to the hormonal imbalance in a patient and it is more evident in women who notice hair loss immediately after delivering a baby. Also, one should exercise care in not taking medications that may cause or otherwise aggravate hair loss and such medications may include blood thinners, gout medication as well as chemotherapy medications for cancer, among others.

The Amazing Connection between Stress and Hair Loss

Today stress is a part of our life, even of our mundane existence, which makes it hard to imagine eliminating stress from our lives. The amount of stress you go through each day is unimaginable and so you should have already known that stress takes its toll on every part of the human body.

Of course, stress also has an important part in regulating your daily moods and feelings. You know you cannot be stressed and happy at the same time but if you are stressed you are also worried, anxious, angry or depressed. This is why stress and hair loss and several life threatening diseases are associated with one another. Recent studies show that stress plays a role in high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke and diabetes. Sometimes stress and emotions cause these diseases whereas otherwise you would not have developed them.

Understanding How Stress and Hair Loss Are Related

Nevertheless, you are probably surprised about the link between stress and hair loss. You probably wonder what stress and hair loss actually have to do with one another. This should not surprise you because this is a medical condition called Telogen Effluvium.

Many people never realize this condition exists because hair loss does not occur until the stress ends. However, the hair follicles stop producing hair whenever a stressful event begins then the hair is shed when the stress ends. This is only a temporary condition and the hair follicles will heal and begin producing hair again. So, if you do not want to lose your hair, you will need to learn some ways to manage your stress. Of course, you cannot completely do away with the stress in your life. You can reduce stress’ impact upon your daily health.

Two of the most effective ways to manage your stress are to learn how to dissociate from your stress and relax for a few minutes each day. Of course, the longer you can stay in this state, the better your health will be. Another idea is to find an enjoyable way to relax and then do it often. Some of these ways include reading, taking a bubble bath or watching a movie. Regardless of what activity it is that you like, you should engage in it often. So, if your hair is important to you then you really do need to take the relationship between stress and hair loss seriously. Only then will you be truly healthy.