Naturally Treating Hair Loss
It's been called the "ultimate bad hair day" -- the moment a woman realizes that her sink contains a lot more than just the few strands she's used to seeing following a shampoo or even a vigorous brushing. The problem is hair loss, and whether the result of the aging process or a true medical or genetic condition, the number of women affected appears to be on the rise.
Experts say our tresses usually grow at the rate of about one-half inch per month -- with each hair having a growth phase of two to six years. At that point the hair "rests" for a period of time, then falls out -- and the follicle from which it sprang soon starts growing a new strand. And so the cycle continues, usually well into our senior years.
The most common type of hair loss seen in women is androgenetic alopecia, also known as female pattern alopecia or baldness and alopecia areata.
If lots of hair begins to fall out throughout the scalp, it’s obviously due to a change in the normal hair cycle: either a short anagen phase or an increase in the number of follicles that enter the telogen phase. When the majority of hair follicles “go telogen” it’s called telogen effluvium or stress alopecia. A shock to the body’s system, which stresses the hair follicles, is often to blame for this change in cyclical hair events. Two to three months after the stressor hits, up to 70 percent of hairs can enter the telogen phase and commence a massive “fall out”.
"The same foods that are good for your body and your health overall are good for your hair, including foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and have a reduced fat content," says dermatologist Michael Reed, MD, an expert in female hair loss at New York University Medical Center in New York City. Reed says that what you put on your plate may not put hair on your head, but it can help the hair you do have remain healthier longer.
Heller also warns women that another potential deficiency -- a lack of iron that often occurs during the reproductive years -- can lead to anemia, a reduction of red blood cells that is often an undiagnosed cause of hair loss in women.
"The deficiency may be so slight you barely notice it, but it can play a role in female hair loss," says Heller. Adding more iron-rich foods to your diet -- like broccoli or brewer's yeast -- may actually help reverse some forms of hair loss, she says.
Also important to healthy hair growth are foods containing vitamin B12 -- including eggs, meat, and poultry. According to dermatologist and hair loss expert Ted Daly, MD, it's a nutrient hair just can't live without, and women can easily develop a deficiency.
Other folklore treatments involving herbs and plants include licorice extract (thought to prevent hair loss, but can also increase blood pressure); horsetail (which is a source of silica, a component in healthy hair); apple cider vinegar and sage tea applied directly to the scalp (thought to stimulate hair growth); psoralea seeds (a Chinese herb applied to the scalp) and ginger (either taken as a tea or applied to the scalp).
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