September, 2011
Want Your Natural Hair Color Back?
If you Google ‘gray hair treatment’ or similar search term, you are likely to find pages and pages of solutions, treatments and cures for graying of hair. But is it really possible to ‘cure’ grey hair and reverse this sign of aging that many of us tend to have rather early in life?
What Causes Grey Hair?
Genetics, environmental pollutants, age, lifestyle related habits and other reasons can all contribute to grey hair.
- A very significant proportion of those who grey early, probably had a parent (or two perhaps) who also grayed early, and so genetics is clearly a predictor of graying.
- Smoking, is a predictor of going gray before one’s time and is known to have a correlation with the discoloration of skin as well as hair.
- Stress, is another factor that contributes to grey hair; as the old adage goes, worry can in fact turn your hair white.
- So work related or personal tensions and so on can all cause one to have gray hair earlier than nature ordained.
- Certain health problems could also contribute to gray hair – A thyroid disorder, anemia related to a Vitamin B12 deficiency and other deficiencies could contribute to gray hair. Getting these conditions within control by taking medications or nutritional supplements could also help to control gray hair in many cases.
- Leukoderma or Vitiligo where the skin gets progressively depigmented (loses color or pigment) can also trigger graying of hair before its time.
Can you reverse gray hair?
There are a number of natural solutions offered that claim to cure gray hair – for instance mixing yoghurt and black pepper and applying this to the hair, applying certain oils and lotions to the hair, using tea leaves or henna are all supposed to help darken grey hair. Indeed these may well work for most people; however for many others this may have a very temporary effect.
Then there are all sorts of ‘medicines’ or pills and powders that are advertized as the definitive cure for hair turning white before its time. Unfortunately a large majority of these claims are fraudulent or misleading at the very least – many of these formulations claim to be natural or safe and effective and yet in most cases this is very far from the truth!
Some people speak of gene therapy as being one of the possible treatments for reversing the whitening of hair. However as of now there is no such therapy that exists; in the future who knows!
So in conclusion, it has to be admitted that the best options around are the natural ones, they may work for you or they may not. But in the very least you can be sure they won’t do any harm. One may choose to either color the hair or wear a hat or to flaunt that gray hair – is it not after all, a badge of wisdom?
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Popular Hair Loss Treatments for Women
The hair restoration and replacement profession has for many years been viewed as an enigma at best, snake oil merchants at worst. The aim of this series of articles is to help women worldwide become more aware of the treatment options available, which are popular, and most importantly, what works.
Date with your Doctor
No, I’m not suggesting that you should ask him or her out for dinner. (Mind you, if they are good looking and single, there’s no harm in trying.) What I am saying is that if you are beginning to experience thinning hair, you should make a date to see them for a blood test (ask for one that specifically deals with hair health, the endocrine system and thyroid function) and a general check up. For years, the condition of your hair has been seen as a good guide to your overall health, so it pays to get checked out if your hair is deteriorating or thinning. It is also good practice to get a referral to see a dermatologist (hair and skin specialist) who may be able to give you further insight into the type of hair loss you may have (e.g., female pattern thinning, a type of Alopecia, or a lupus condition).
Pharmaceutical Drugs for Hair loss
Doctors are often the first point of call for people, and frequently pharmaceutical intervention is their first suggestion. This could involve changing the type of birth control you are using (some forms of the pill cause hair loss, while others help to regrow the hair), or prescribing a drug that may help to regrow some of your hair – or at least slow down the rate of hair loss.
Some of the more common drugs used are Minoxidil (Regaine or Rogaine), Aldactone, Spirolactone, and some doctors have even been known to prescribe Propecia. Propecia is a drug that was previously given to men, but was not recommended for women. All of these drugs have been clinically proven to cause hair regrowth, though results will vary from person to person.
Popularity of Pharmaceutical Treatment for Hair loss
If you were to determine the popularity of a treatment by the sheer number of people employing it, I think pharmaceutical treatment could be deemed “popular.” While it is probably the most common, it is most likely not the most popular in preference. Most people that we meet in our clinic prefer not to use drugs. Every drug has side effects and some prefer not to risk the various and possible side effects in the hope that it may cause future hair re-growth. Some come to us due to drugs causing their hair to thin, the mere thought of using other drugs to re-grow their hair is not an option they wish to pursue. Nevertheless, regardless of side effects, some people will use whatever pharmaceutical drugs possible to keep or re-grow their hair.
Pharmaceutical interventions do offer hope of reversing your hair loss, and even cause it to regrow again. It is our experience that these medications are often better at retaining your hair than regrowing it. Most people don’t notice they have begun to lose their hair until they have lost 30% of it already, and at best these medications might help to recover 10-15% of the hair. It’s also important to note that hair often does not regrow in the same consistency or patterns that it was before.
Your Expectations of Pharmaceutical Hair Loss Treatments
Instead of viewing it as a miracle cure, pharmaceutical drugs should be viewed as an option that will help you to retain the hair you have. For some, they may even help to cause further hair growth. In general, if you are able to re-grow ten percent of your hair, you have experienced a great result.
Our next article will deal with other popular hair loss treatments.
Author: Andrew Wilson
About the Author: Andrew is the owner and Director of Transitions Hair, Sydney, Australia. He has over 16 years experience in the Hair Loss profession. His father entered the hair loss profession over 40 years ago and the author has literally grown up around, serving clients from a very young age. He has seen many changes and positive developments in the profession. He has studied Trichology and constantly attends seminars relating to hair loss issues and concerns.
Transitions Hair is a member company of the highly esteemed Transitions International Group, over 70 studios world wide. He has been trained by a number of people who work with Hollywood ‘A’ list actors. His clinic is one of the few that offer all forms of hair restoration procedures meaning that they are able to give unbiased advice. Each persons hair loss and expectations is different, therefore they do not subscribe to a ‘one size (or solution) fits all’. Rather, choosing to use what will work best for each client. Only then, do you see great results, happy clients enjoying increased confidence – allowing them to be themselves again.
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3 Tips for Success With Rogaine
Rogaine is a powerful medication that is able to help curb hair loss for a significant amount of individuals; however, it seems that many users become frustrated with using the medication and give it up all too soon. This almost always leaves their hair in worse shape than before they had started taking the drug.
Statistics show that one in three males and one in four females will experience at least moderate hair regrowth with Rogaine, so why do so many reviewers give it such a bad rap? There are many users who give out during the first two months of use because of fear of shedding, lack of dedication, or whatever the case may be, and this is not even enough time to test the waters with Rogaine. To be successful with Rogaine, you need to have a regular application schedule, ignore the initial shedding, and stay committed. If you can follow these rules, then your chances for hair regrowth success will be multiplied.
- If you do not have a regular application schedule when you are using Rogaine, it will be much easier to fall out of the habit. One missed application will soon become two, and then you will eventually quit using it altogether. You have to apply the medicine twice a day, so try to do it as soon as you wake up and about four hours before you go to sleep. You want to be very prompt and adamant about applying the Rogaine for the first few weeks of treatment so that you can build a good habit. A good habit will keep you in the habit and lead you to success.
- About three weeks in to using Rogaine, users experience increased shedding which eventually stops after a few weeks. This stage scares users the most and oftentimes causes them to give up treatment in order to salvage their hair. This is a bad move, because the hair they lost will not grow back. The hair that you lose was going to fall out anyway, and the Rogaine ejects that hair so that better hair can grow in. Shedding at the beginning of Rogaine use is a good thing, so do your best to ignore it and move on. It may look bad for the time being, but it will look better eventually.
- All in all, you have to stay committed if you want continual hair growth. You will have to stay committed to using the Rogaine or else the hair you regrew will fall out. This is the most important thing to remember when using Minoxidil, for if you are not committed, you will lose everything you’ve worked hard for. A few missed applications here and there aren’t going to hurt you, but stopping use for weeks at a time could create problems. If you can’t keep the commitment, then you might as well save yourself the money and time.
Rogaine has performed miracles for those who have felt hopeless an at times disappointed those who had hope to begin with, yet the fact remains that the statistics say anyone’s chances for success are pretty high. It is true that Rogaine just does not work for some, but the medication takes at least six months to see good results. If you can hold on for that long, then you might see the hair growth results that you imagine. Success with anything whether it be a hobby or sport takes effort, and the case is no different with Rogaine. If you want to be successful with, keep your applications regular, don’t get freaked out by the “dread shed,” and keep a good commitment.
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Common Causes of Hair Loss
It is normal to lose between 50-100 hairs a day, this is part of the hair renewal process. But most people suffer from excessive hair loss at least once in their lives. There are very possible causes, including drugs, iron deficiency, chemotherapy, exposure to chemicals, hormonal and nutritional factors, mechanical damage, generalized skin disease or local stress.
Many of these causes are temporary and some are permanent. These are some of the most common causes of hair loss.
1. Hormonal changes:
Hormones are one of the main reasons of hair loss. The male hormones collectively known as androgens have by far the biggest impact on hair loss. Most important male hormone, testosterone is indirectly related to hair loss in men. A man who has the essential genes for hair loss, a small amount of this testosterone is produced by some of the hair roots into a derivative called dihydrotestosterone that is actually responsible for hair loss.
When dihydrotestosterone is produced, it is present in the surface sebum (grease), which is secreted through the sebaceous glands in the skin tissue. In these circumstances, the dihydrotestosterone enter the follicle (the hole in the scalp from which the hair has come), when a hair is shed and inside there it reacts chemically. What it really does is to miniaturize the hair root and follicle. As a result, new hair will grow through the finer. When the new hair is a fine new building after Dihydrotestosterone miniaturized follicle and the hair root, and even more after your hair is even finer. This process continues until the hair is so thin that it might not be there at all, and if this happens all over the area, so a thin man, of course, on this surface and thus the hair loss occurs.
2. Stress:
Physical and mental stress has short-term effect on hair loss. It does not occur immediately with the stressful event but generally takes about 2 or 3 months after a stressful period or event has begun. Therefore, hair can be lost is that the telogen phase of hair follicles happens prematurely than is normal. As a result, you do not start to grow new hair after old hair shed. However, the stress has been removed the loss of hair will stop and the new hair starts to grow in place of that lost once more.
3. Skin disorder
Some particular types of skin disorders like psoriasis, which could be the reason for losing more hair than normal. However, when treatment begins with skin disease and hair begins to grow again.
4. Medication
There are varieties of medications, which are partly responsible for losing hair more than is normal. However, the problem can arise when you could really happen when you have received the drug for a long time., So in case of any medication, it is important to consult a doctor whether this could be a side effect of the drug taken.
5. Genetics:
It is often considered that hair loss may also occur genetically. If one’s mother’s or father’s side relatives inherit this reason he or she may also suffers from the problem of hair loss.
6. Iron deficiency:
The lack of iron in human body occasionally causes hair loss in both man and women. Women suffers from this problem generally as they loss iron during their menstrual periods and develop iron deficiency. Low iron content in diets often causes iron deficiency in human body. Taking iron supplement or iron pills can solve iron deficiency.
7. Childbirth and pregnancy:
Many women face the problem of hair loss after giving birth although it does not seem to be much hair loss during the pregnancy. This happens as the hair enters the resting (telogen) phase. This problem resolves naturally after one to six month as hormone levels start to come back to normal after woman’s body recovers from her pregnancy.
8. Poor blood circulation:
Baldness occurs not by inheritance or as a result of the effects of testosterone on hair follicles in the target area. On the contrary it is due to poor blood circulation in the scalp (from a variety of causes) and for inadequate nutrients in the blood. Another reason that is poor drainage of waste products thorough the lymphatic system.
9. Mechanical damage:
Mechanical damage to the hair may occur either through intentional or unintentional. Some stresses continuously pull the hair until it comes out. Hairs styling treatments, trichotillomania or hair pulling and hair braids or weaves are responsible for mechanical damage of hair. Irregular chemical treatment like dyes, tints, bleaches, straighteners, relaxers and permanent waves make and weak the hair.
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