There are plenty of entirely normal reasons for hair shedding. In fact, it’s part of the hair cycle for hair to fall out. But, when you see abnormally more hair on the floor, pillow, or bathroom tile, you may want to consider yourself amongst the 55% of women or 85% of men facing hair fall. If it persists, you may experience some balding or hair thinning. The sound of that may be alarming, but it’s not the end of the world, we promise. You can stop hair fall before it worsens.
You are born with the most amount of hair follicles you’ll ever have in your entire lifetime. People don’t grow more as they get older. For an average person, this ends up being about 1,00,000 to 1,50,000 hair shafts.
Why do people go bald or experience pattern baldness with such an abundance? To answer that, let’s first explore the root of hair loss. After that, we’ll look at a few early signs of hair loss in males and females to stop hair fall before it becomes a huge problem.
The Triggers – for Lost Tresses
It has everything to do with declining hormones, advancing age, disease complications, medications, and even genes. These factors eventually program hair follicles to stop producing pigment, which leads to graying, or quit making hair which leads to balding.
The speed and severity at which this happens vary, which is why people’s heads can range from thick salt-and-pepper to Mr. clean head. But can spotting the early signs of hair fall in female and male be of any help? Yes. Absolutely.
Early detection Means Better Prevention
According to dermatologists, you should be concerned about your hair fall if you’re seeing one of the following symptoms:
- You have started leaving trails of hair in the car, pillow, or just by running your fingers through your hair
- You see a larger chunk of hair in the drain when shampooing
- You notice a sudden decrease in the density of hair over a 3–6 month period
- You can see more of your forehead, pointing towards a receding hairline
- You spot bald areas on the scalp or the crown of your head
Don’t panic yet if you’ve nodded worriedly to a few or all of the points mentioned. There’s much you can do to save your hair. Now that you’ve figured out that you are indeed experiencing hair fall, or at least are at the start of its episode, let’s arm you up with how you can tackle the situation right.
Care Tips to Curb the Hair Fall
- Improve your hairstyle : Hairstyles that cause hair to be pulled may lead to unnecessary hair shedding. In worse cases, hair could be stretched to the point of irreversible damage. That’s because it is possible to lose the connection between your hair and scalp by straining your hair away from the scalp.
- Avoid using a lot of heating hair appliances : With the frequent use of heat on hair, your hair follicles become dry and more susceptible to damage. Straighteners, dryers, and curling irons all harm your hair similarly.
- Don’t chemically alter your hair : When you bleach your hair, Keratin, a hair protein, breaks down. This leads to damaged and brittle hair and could trigger hair loss. So, if you’re already in the midst of a hair fall episode, keeping those colors, peroxide treatments, and perming styles away from your hair would be better. For a while, at least.
- Use a mild shampoo : Shampoos remove debris and oil build-up from your hair. But if you do shampoo too often, your hair might become dry, brittle, fragile, and frizzy. That’s because a few components present in it may contribute to certain individuals’ less than optimum hair health. Switching to shampoo as near to being all-natural as possible may be the right move in the early stages of hair fall.
- Use a natural fibre brush : Keeping your hair’s natural oil levels in check is essential to curb hair fall, and one way to do this is by switching to a gentle brush with natural fibres. However, the method of combing also matters. If you brush your hair from the top of your head and work to the ends, you’ll be smoothening and conditioning your hair cuticle. Also, if you want to avoid hair clumps in the shower drain, brushing your hair daily is an excellent way to achieve it.
- Try light therapy at a modest level : This treatment boosts cell growth and healing. This can be a successful therapy for men and women who face any baldness pattern.
Early signs of hair loss in males differ from the early signs of hair fall in females. Hair loss occurs in a particular pattern for both. Males begin to see receding hairlines or bald spots on the top of their heads. In women, they first experience hair thinning overall, leading to an enlargement of the midriff.
Final thoughts
Facing hair loss can be a difficult pill to swallow. But the fact is, it happens to all of us in varying degrees. Hair loss generally happens to people in old age, but if it occurs early in your case, it is better to seek an expert’s help to stop hair fall.
