Hair loss | Hair loss Reasons and Prevention | How does hair grow

In today’s world, knowledge, appearance and talent are the key factors for success. When it comes to appearance , it includes everything from Hair care to foot care and overall well being. With today’s technology anything and everything is possible like changing your appearance completely through plastic surgeries, Hair transplantation and so on. Hair loss is a very common problem among youngsters today. Baldness is no longer a problem confined only to adults above 30 years of age but even to teens. There are many reasons for hair loss like Stress, Dandruff, excessive Sebum secretion, stopping Cycle tablets without doctor’s permission, hair coloring, hair straightening , Harmonal imbalance and many more. Lets First have a look at normal hair growth cycle, to know the natural hair growth mechanism.

Normal Hair Growth Cycle

Dermatologists say that hair grows at rate of about .3-.4 mm per day , 0.5 inches per monthly upto 6 inches an year. But what is the mechanism behind hair growth ? The answer is Cell Division.
Cell Division creates larger number of new cells every day. These new cells push the older cells forward. As a result hair grows in length. Hair follicle is the place where this division occurs. Technically hair follicle is part of skin that bundles up cells for hair growth. From a single follicle 4-5 hairs can emerge. How many hairs a follicle gives out will determine the density or thickness of hair.
Hair growth and Hair loss are something very random. At a time, various hair will be in different phases or stages of growth. There are three stages of Hair growth. They are Anagen, Catagen and Telogen. They are detailed as below.

Anagen

Anagen is the longest phase of hair growth or the most active phase. Anagen phase normally lasts for about 2-6 years. So, depending on the time period of this phase one’s hair length can be determined. Normally during this phase hair grows upto 1cm for every 28 days. Those who have longer active cycles of this phase will have a longer hair. Sometimes hair growth stops when this phase is interrupted by taking some drugs.

Catagen

Catagen is an intermediate stage between Anagen and Telogen. In this phase, the hair growth will stop completely. The hair follicle detaches from blood supply and begins to shrink in size. The hair bulb is pushed forward giving space for the new hair to spring up. This phase lasts for about 2 to 4 weeks.

Telogen

The final and resting phase in the hair growth cycle is the telogen phase. In this phase hair falls out. About 50 – 100 hairs will fall out per day. This phase lasts for about 3 months. From the place where the hair has fallen, new follicle will emerge.

Reasons for hair loss

Few major reasons for Hair loss are listed below.

Harmonal problems

When the primary harmones of the male and female body are not secreted properly, then it leads for hair fall. In case of males, it is caused by the formation of Dihydroxy testosterone which affects the follicle.Female hair loss occurs when less amount of Estrogens is produced in the body. With less estrogen , the testosterone are free without control and get converted into Dihydroxy testosterone which causes hair loss.

Stress

Stress can be it Mental stress or Physical stress , both can cause Hair Fall. Stress can normally cause hormonal imbalance in our body. Due to hormonal imbalance, the natural aids donot reach our hair follicles and weaken them and thereby causing hair fall. Not only that , but habits like scratching your head when confused , pulling your hair tightly can also cause hair loss. This is because a large number of hair cells are pushed into the resting phase Telogen and thus more hair loss, where ideally only 15-20 % of the cells are in this phase. In some people intense stress can trigger a type of hair loss which is called alopecia areata. Here the white blood cells attack the hair follicles. As a result the hair growth stops and affected hair falls out. But normally this can be tackled by reducing our stress.

Dandruff

Dandruff is a condition where dead skin scales and white flakes are shed off from the scalp. Dandruff can caused by both internal and external factors. It can be caused by fungus, pollution, excessive intake of fat, not taking care of your hair properly or not washing it regularly. Dandruff causes irritation in the scalp which naturally leads to people fidgeting with their hair, which leads to hair loss. Dandruff can not only cause hair loss but can also cause skin problems when the white flakes fall on our face. It can cause pimples, rashes and make our skin dull.

Excessive styling of hair

Excessive styling given to hair can also cause hair fall. Straightening, curls, ironing causes hair to lose its normal texture, its normal characteristics and therefore causes weakens the Hair root and leads to hair fall. Excessive chemicals used in Hair coloring can also adversely affect our hair growth.

Other reasons for hair fall

• Radiations
• Injuries
• Toxic substances
• Heredity factors
• Mineral Deficiency

Baldness

Baldness is one of the major aftermath of severe hair loss. To simply define baldness is lacking hair growth in some places of your head or even completely. There are many types of baldness among which the most common one is androgenic alopecia. It is also known as male pattern baldness. In women, baldness can occur in the form of Female Pattern baldness. Here thinning of hair starts in the crown region and gradually increases as commonly found in cases of women suffering with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Treatments for Hair loss

Noone will be ready to get bald. So once you notice that you are losing hair then you have to to wake up. First and foremost step is consulting a dermatologist to find out the cause for the hair loss. There are many Laboratory tests to find out the cause for Hair loss. After performing these tests and after finding out the cause, the doctor will advise us to follow certain specific drugs to prevent hair loss. Mostly Minoxidil is generally given by Dermatologists to prevent hair loss and promote hair growth. Besides there are many clinics like Batra’s , Hair care which advertise for hair regeneration.

Before and After Treatment for Hair loss with Minoxidil

Prevention of Hair loss

Diet is a major factor for hair loss. Any deficiency in diet can result in loss of nutrients , nourishment to hair roots , hair follicles which can cause hair loss. For natural care of hair through simple tips for hair growth without any medicines and at a very low cost, check out

Hair loss | Hair loss Reasons and Prevention | How does hair grow | Causes of Hair Fall