In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the things we can do to protect our hair and keep it in great condition. I’m also going to address some of the factors that affect how hair grows in the first place. Our hair grows from roots called follicles, and if these follicles are not getting the resources they need to grow hair in the first place, it doesn’t matter how well we look after our hair, it will still grow lifeless, lusterless, thinner and more slowly. Eventually, we may even lose our hair altogether unless we understand the root cause of the problem and address it.
5 Things That Can Damage Hair Strands From The Outside
- Heat damage
- Hard water
- Sun, sea, and swimming pools
- Chemicals/treatments/products
- Dry/humid conditions
Although these factors can damage your hair strands and leave your hair brittle and prone to breaking, they do not cause your hair to grow weaker in the first place, and they will not lead to any type of permanent hair loss.
5 Things That Can Cause Your Hair To Grow Weaker In The First Place
- Androgenic alopecia
- Protein, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including rapid weight loss
- Severe bouts of physical or emotional stress
- Hormonal changes
- Bacterial/fungal infections
Top Tips For Protecting Your Hair Strands From Damage:
- Tip 1: Avoid Over Styling And Overheating Hair:
- Tip 2: Choose Your Hair Products Wisely: Are shampoos and conditioners bad for your hair? A lot of the shampoos, conditioners, serums possess ingredients which are harmful for your hair. It’s worth taking the time to select products that are gentle on your hair and suitable for your hair type. Keeping hair strands moisturized is important when we live in hot countries and spend a lot of time in dry, air-conditioned environments. In Dubai, we also wash our hair with hard, desalinated water, which can leave our hair and skin feeling dry.
- Tip 3: Be Careful Of Too Much Sun, Salt Water & Chlorine Exposure::
Hair styling treatments like smoothening, straightening, curling, etc., often heat the hair and in the process dehydrate & damage it. When our hair strands are hot, or if there is a lot of static from brushing, our hair cuticles, the outer shell that protects our hair, open up and this leaves your hair strands brittle and exposed.
While it might not be possible to avoid these treatments altogether (what’s use of hair if we can’t style it to make ourselves beautiful?!), we can be aware that our hair is getting damaged in the process and use products that repair and nourish our hair regularly to repair the damage and moisturize our hair stands.
Many people believe that using moisturizing shampoos and conditioners will leave their hair feeling oily or greasy. In fact, the opposite is true. When we nourish and moisturize our hair and we use proper hair care products, our bodies actually need to make less of their own natural oil (sebum) to compensate for the dryness. So, it’s good to wash your hair regularly when you live in a country like the UAE. It just pays to be prudent when selecting the right hair care products.
Too much sun, sea and swimming pools can dry out our hair strands, leaving them brittle and easy to break. This doesn’t mean we need to lock ourselves inside and miss out on all the fun, but it does mean that if we are exposing our hair to these things, we should make sure we use the right hair care products to keep hair strands healthy and moisturized, including products like restructurers and rebonding serums to repair any damage we may have sustained.
Top Tips Growing Strong And Healthy Hair:
- Tip 1: Get Your Hair Checked:
- Tip 2: Watch Your Diet:
- Tip 3: Treat The Bacteria/Fungus Of Your Scalp:
- Tip 4 Stay Calm And Practice Mindfulness:
Why is my hair getting thinner and weaker? Many people wonder but fail to seek proper advice to find out. You can visit Advanced Hair Studio, where we perform an Advanced Hair Check to assess your hair loss condition.
The number one reason our hair is likely to grow thinner and weaker is genetic hair loss, otherwise known as androgenic alopecia, often referred to as female pattern hair loss in women, and male pattern baldness in men. About 80% of the human race will develop genetic hair loss at some point in their lifetime and about 50% of women will display signs of genetic hair loss by the time they reach their menopause. People suffering from androgenic alopecia usually develop progressively thinner and weaker hair strands, especially behind their hairline, across the top of their head and in their crown area. The condition is degenerative over time unless treated.
It is possible to prevent androgenic alopecia from progressing with the right hair loss treatments. However, the most important thing we can do is to consult a hair loss specialist to find out if we have genetic hair loss. Many people go on suffering with hair loss for years, wrongly attributing their condition to other factors. They try all sorts of different hair loss treatments to solve their hair loss problem, sadly to no avail. The sad truth is that hair loss shampoos, hair loss conditioners, hair loss serums and products with vitamins and minerals for hair loss do not help prevent genetic hair loss because they do not work on the root cause of the problem.
If you think your hair is growing thinner it’s imperative you do something about it, before permanent, irreversible damage occurs. The first step is getting the right diagnosis.
Book a hair loss consultation with Advanced Hair Studio today
What is the best diet for healthy hair? Which vitamins and minerals help hair grow? What should we eat to ensure our hair grows strong and healthy? These questions come up a lot in our clinics, so my second tip to help you grow healthy hair will address this subject.
Our hair requires a lot of resources to grow. Fortunately, most of the nutrient intake we need to grow healthy hair is exactly what we will get from eating a healthy balanced diet. If we are dieting, especially if we are on a calorie-restricted diet, we must support our nutritional intake with good quality multivitamin and mineral supplements for hair loss. Protein is the primary ingredient making up the keratin in your hair strands, so a balanced diet containing a good amount of protein is always beneficial.
Any shock to our system that might affect our physical or emotional wellbeing can trigger excess hair fall (telogen effluvium). This includes sudden changes in diet and nutritional intake, or a sudden calorie deficit. We can stop hair fall by supplementing our diets with treatments like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for hair loss, low-level laser therapy, mesotherapy injections for hair loss, and with medications such as minoxidil topical solution. It is important to note that excess hair fall is usually temporary, and however distressing it may be, eventually hair that has shed will regrow. The risk is that an episode of telogen effluvium can often trigger the onset of androgenetic alopecia, a progressive and degenerative condition that can lead to permanent hair loss if left untreated.
In a country like the UAE, the climate can be hot and humid and we spend a lot of time in air conditioned environments. This can put our sebaceous glands on overdrive as they constantly try to produce sebum, the oily substance our skin secretes to keep our hair moisturized and prevent our hair from dehydrating. The issue with this is that this oily substance is the perfect breeding ground for bacterial infections and fungal spores, which are carried in the dry and often dusty Dubai air. If left untreated, a poor scalp condition can lead to dermatological problems that can damage hair follicles, resulting in weakening of the hair strands and, eventually hair loss.
If you are already suffering from fungal-related dandruff (which is the most common cause of dandruff), or any type of skin infection, it is important to book an appointment with a dermatologist to get help and get the problem under control.
Book a consultation with Advanced Hair Studio.
The best way to avoid fungal and bacterial infections in the first place is to wash our hair regularly with a good shampoo and conditioner. Many people avoid washing their hair regularly because they believe the water causes hair loss, or hair care products damage their hair. This is not true. As discussed above, washing and conditioning our hair regularly is essential to help our repair and protect our hair and also to avoid issues, such as fungal and bacterial problems that stem from poor hygiene.
Does stress cause hair loss? Can stress affect the way hair grows? The answer is yes. When our mind and body is under physical or emotional stress, our body conserves resources as part of our instinctive survival mechanisms. In the cities of the world today, medical science protects us from many of the physical stressors that cause this reaction. Now emotional stress has become the number one cause of hair loss. Why does stress cause hair loss? Stress triggers our bodies to go into conservation mode. As a result, hair is affected because the roots of our hair will tend to do four things:
- Limit the resources to your hair so it grows weaker.
- Shed hair prematurely (telogen effluvium).
- Shorten the duration of the anagen (growth) phase of your hair growth cycle, meaning that our hair doesn’t grow as long as it used to.
- Increase the duration of the telogen (resting) phase of the hair growth cycle, meaning that there is less hair growth on our head than there would normally be.
All of these things will have a negative effect on our hair quality and our appearance, but fortunately this can be temporary, and regrowth of healthy hair can return once our stress levels return to normal. In many cases, stress, illness, changes in our physiology, etc., don’t just result in conditions like telogen effluvium. They also act as the trigger, and cause genetic hair loss to start, which is a far more concerning problem.
Visit Advanced Hair Studio: Put A Full Stop On All Your Hair Problems!
- Know Your Hair: Damaged hair, hair fall, and hair thinning are the symptom of a problem, not the problem itself. In order to stop hair fall, regrow hair, or stop hair from thinning and thicken it up, you need to get a scientific hair check-up done to ensure you identify the root cause of the problem and address it.
- Quality Reigns Supreme: We’ve been pioneers in hair care and hair loss treatment for over 50 years, and because we focus on quality and results, we’ve been fortunate enough to have the pleasure of helping over 1 million clients find a solution for hair loss.
- Get The Best Opinion: When you visit a hair loss specialist at Advanced Hair Studio, you can be sure you are talking to an industry expert with access to extensive resources, the latest technology and global knowledge.
- Complete Transparency: Hair loss is a deeply personal subject and people suffering from hair loss can often find themselves vulnerable to false or misleading information. At Advanced Hair Studio, we pride ourselves on absolute transparency relating to the objectives and limitations of different types of hair loss products, hair regrowth treatments, hair transplant, and hair replacement procedures.
- Confidence: With a network of over 300 studios and alliances, clinically validated hair loss solutions, FDA approved hair loss products, and testimonials from over 200 celebrity clients, you can be confident that we will deliver the best possible results.
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