Hair Care and Hair Loss

Posted by Dr. Skin in hair, What's New | 8 comments

Hair loss, or alopecia is a common problem in our society. Normal people lose about 100 strands of hairs everyday. Hair diseases resulting in hair loss either retard hair growth or increase hair loss.

Voluminous hair is a sign of health and is deemed a plus point in terms of appearance. Even if one does not suffer from any scalp or hair disorder, good hair care is mandatory to keep and maintain the voluminous hair. For a patient suffering from hair and scalp disorder, hair care is important to protect and maintain the remaining heathy hair.

How does hair care affect our hair?

Generally, inappropriate hair care may hair hair breakage near to the scalp causing sparse hair. Most of the time, the underlying hair follicles are healthy and unaffected as opposed to true hair loss caused by scalp and hair disorders.

How do we dry our hair?

Hair is weakest when its wet as it losses its elasticity and is more vulnerable to breakage. Hence, it is very important to take care of your wet hair. Vigorous towel drying of wet hair tends to break the hair. Blow drying also causes the hair breakage and is best to restrict the frequency of such procedures done to your hair.

Combing and brushing you hair also tend to cause hair breakage. If you have straight hair, it is best to comb or style your hair when its dry. However, if you have curly hair, combing and brushing while its wet is preferred.

How about curling or straightening our hair?

While it is best to avoid such procedures to our hair, sometimes you may want to style your hair for some important functions. The longer the contact of the curling or straightening iron with your hair, the higher the amount of hair damage will be. Limit the contact to 1-2 seconds on each segment of hair being styled and avoid aggressive pulling or tugging on your hair.

Hair styling

Products that promises long lasting hold are the main culprit. Combing or brushing hair after application of such products tends to cause hair breakage. Also try to reduce pressures to the hair shaft by avoiding tight braids or ponytails. The area that the hair parts tends to be the area with the greatest tension and the area prone to hair loss.

It is true that any chemical treatment to your hair such as colouring, bleaching and hair relaxation will alter the quality of the hair resulting in a weaker hair which tends to break.

Any relationship between sun exposure and hair loss?

Just as the skin, excessive sun exposure to the hair is also harmful causing hair loss. Some leave in conditioner offers UV protection and is beneficial in reducing sun damage to the hair. This conditioner also offers shine, decreases static electricity and improve hair strength. Hence, it is recommended to use hair conditioner.

 

In short, hair care can greatly influence the health of our hair. The correct way of hair care preserves our hair and make it a plus point to the overall appearance. Take great care on how you care for your hair to ensure healthy looking hair and scalp!