No one wants to lose their hair, but as we get older or deal with the genetic hand that we were dealt, it can happen. Losing our hair can happen gradually as our hairline gets thinner and thinner as we age, or it can all fall out in clumps and leave us bald before our time. No matter what stage of hair loss we happen to be at, there are some ways to slow down the loss of our hair or even grow it back.
Of course, the simplest solution is to wear a hat, but if you would rather show off your head of hair instead of covering it up, then here are some things you can do.
Change your diet
Yes, our diet can do a lot of things for our bodies, more than we know, but can it really affect our hair? Well, yes it can. Modifying our diet can strengthen our hair growth and our hair strength.
First, eating more protein can help out as well as eating more fruits and vegetables. However, the best thing to do is to avoid a ‘crash diet.’ This is where you eat very low calorie diets in order to lose weight. While this does work, diving too hard into a crash diet can deprive the body of nutrients, and some of those nutrients need to be used for healthy hair. In some cases your head can go bald because the hair contains nutrients that the body just isn’t getting from a crash diet.
Multivitamin supplements can also be helpful when it comes to your hair and your overall health, because you will get several vitamins and minerals all in one dosage that can help all of your body.
Change how you treat your hair
Of course, there are some natural remedies you can use for your hair loss as well, such as giving your scalp a quick massage every single day. You can also use coconut oil or other essential oils to fix damaged hair that was damaged due to your grooming habits or damage from UV rays. You just need to apply the oils directly to the scalp and they can show some promise at strengthening your hair and reducing damage.
Just make sure to go to sleep with dry hair, as sleeping with wet hair can weaken the strands and cause hair breakage and damage. Additionally, you can use a silk pillowcase to prevent friction from damaging your hair as you toss and turn at night.
Finally, while we often use caffeine as a wake up call for our bodies, it can also do the same thing for our hair. Using shampoos or conditioners that are infused with caffeine can also prevent hair loss as effectively as over the counter medications.
Take medication for your hair loss
Medication is also another great way to overcome the effects of hair loss, and there are several medications available that are safe and able to be used over the counter. Minoxidil has been used to treat hair loss, and it and Rogaine can be found bought over the counter. Minoxidil is also used to treat hair loss due to chemotherapy as well.
You can also get the prescription drug finasteride (Propecia) which can be taken orally by taking some finasteride 1mg tablets or topically for your hair loss as well. If you don’t want to take medication, you can also use red light therapy (low level laser light therapy), which uses low wavelength red light to stimulate the growth of your hair. You can get hats or caps that coat your hair in red light as well.
Rock the hair loss
No matter what you do to recover your lost hair, you might find that you are still having to wait a while for results. While you can wear a hat or a wig until your natural hair starts to come back and starts to thicken, don’t be afraid to rock the hair loss. There are plenty of people who don’t have a lot of hair or who have some bald spots who aren’t ashamed of it. Instead, they are confident and don’t let a little bit of baldness stop them.
Confidence doesn’t come from the amount of hair on your head, but rather what is inside of you, and even the baldest person in the world has that. So don’t be afraid to rock being bald until your hair comes back and you can show off your locks again.
David Tobin did his degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
