No matter how many times we see it, it never ceases to shock and appall us: a drain full of hair. We're not talking about shaving. We're talking about the long strands you know came from your head, the kinds that make you wonder if you're suffering from hair loss.
Breath. Relax. It's estimated that
50% of women suffer from hair loss. That's 30 million American women alone! If that doesn't ease your mind, let's talk about the reasons for hair loss and what you can do to avoid it through proper hair care. It might not be as scary as you think.
Educate Yourself on Causes for Hair Loss
The reasons for hair loss and hair thinning in women are numerous. Some are more controllable than others like:
- Stress
- Frequent hair treatments, colorings, etc.
- A lack of iron and vitamins
- Diet
There are medical causes for hair loss as well. The most common is various forms of alopecia —
hair loss defined by the loss of 125 strands of hair or more per day. Because alopecia is an autoimmune disorder, it's best to advise a doctor before using any hair growth products to treat it.
Outside of that, these tips to prevent hair loss may be your healthy hair helpers!
Let It Be
This may seem obvious, but we still feel the need to say it — let your hair do its thing! If you color, dye or apply heat to your hair every day, it may cause hair breakage and loss. Along with chemical treatments, these types of routines break down your hair's natural oils and make it dry and frizzy.
At first, you may be disappointed in a head of hair that's full of split, wild and fragile hair. Don't be discouraged. Give your hair time to replenish its natural oils. After a few weeks, you may be surprised just how naturally beautiful your hair is.
That being said, variety is the spice of life and that's especially true for hair. The rest of our tips to help repair your hair and prevent hair loss will be focused on how you can discourage hair loss between styling and coloring treatments.
Let Your Hair Rest
Sometimes, time is all you need to repair your hair. Once again, don't be discouraged if your hair loss continues for a while. Medical professionals recommend waiting six weeks after bleaching to see improved
hair loss results and hydration. If you've been getting similar treatments every couple of weeks for years, it may take longer.
Brush It Out
While frequent hair brushing may accelerate hair loss, it's actually healthy for your hair and scalp. Experts recommend
brushing your hair twice a day to:
- Distribute healthy hair oils throughout your hair
- Stimulate blood-flow in your scalp. This may actually encourage hair growth.
- Remove loose hair. It's natural to lose up to 100 strands per day.
All in all, you should shoot for about 100 brush strokes per day, but that may vary due to body chemistry and other health factors.
Add Hair-repairing Shampoo and Conditioner to Your Routine
If giving your hair a break and brushing it regularly doesn't seem to help, you can still avoid losing hair.
First, check out your shampoo and conditioner. While ingredients such as formaldehyde have been thought to be a cause, there is no known evidence
linking them to hair loss. However, not all shampoos and conditioners actually help.
Using a
shampoo with hair-preserving and enriching ingredients may actually enhance the results of treatments and prevent hair-loss-causing damage. Along with cleaning your hair, the right shampoo can:
- Protect your hair against UV rays
- Prevent static build-up
- Hydrate your hair
- Protect against hair treatments using salt and chlorinated water
A
maintenance conditioner should also be used in between hair treatments and colorings. With ingredients like green tea, lemon and sugarcane, these conditioners may stimulate hair growth, protect your hair, repair it and give it a healthy shine.
Use Rejuvenating Oils
If you experience dry, brittle hair between treatments, your hair may be stripped of natural oils and fall out. In that case, you need to introduce more
oil into your scalp. But wouldn't that make your hair greasy?
In most cases, it won't! A hair oil made with acai, a fruit native to South America, contains fatty acids and vitamins A and E to rejuvenate broken hair and protect it from environmental irritants. Other ingredients in a
rejuvenating hair oil:
- Protect against toxins
- Add moisture
- Prevent dandruff
- Promote strong hair growth
- Strengthen hair on a cellular level
Full of all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, your hair may be less likely to fall out after treatment and styling.
Tell Your Salon About Your Hair Loss Concerns
Let's say you've followed all of these tips to prevent hair loss, but you're still concerned. In that case, let your stylist or salon know. When the people working on your hair frequently know about your concerns, they may be able to help. Don't be embarrassed — they probably fight the same issues.
Sometimes, salons get supplier-exclusive products that aren't available on the retail market. Armed with the tools and
training required to build healthy, beautiful hair, your stylist can be your hair's best friend. They're not doctors, but if you're struggling, they can help.
Hopefully, one of these tips to prevent hair loss has been the missing piece to your hair struggle puzzle. At Magic Sleek, we help clients build beautiful hair with knowledge and a
range of hair-healthy products. Need professional hair help near you? Use our
salon locator to find salons that feature our products and keep an eye on our
hair blog for more helpful tips.
