Top Hair Loss Remedy

The most obvious change to aging human hair is graying. Hair loss is also a natural consequence of getting older. Often people begin to seek a natural hair loss treatment or go

looking for a hair loss remedy without realizing that their thinning hair is simply a part of being human.

Hair is nothing more than a strand of protein growing out of a follicle in the scalp. A single, normal hair lives four to five years before falling out and being replaced. As we age, hair strands become smaller and some follicles no longer produce the protein strand.

By the age of 30 approximately 25% of men have some baldness. By age sixty, some two-thirds exhibit typical male pattern baldness, a thinning and recession of the hair on the top and sides of the head. In women, hair becomes less dense with aging and the scalp is more visible. Facial and body hair is also lost.

Premature Hair Loss In Children

Although it is common to shed 50-100 hairs a day, any "shedding" beyond that is abnormal. Premature or abnormal hair loss becomes evident when large strands of hair come out while showering, shampooing, combing, or brushing the hair. This is of particular concern in children, who should not exhibit any premature hair loss.

When children do lose their hair, the cause is normally traced to one of four conditions: fungal infections, alopecia areata, trauma to the hair shaft, or telogen effluvium. Normally these conditions represent a temporary rather than a permanent hair loss although in fungal infections and alopecia areata symptoms can reoccur.

Fungal infections in toddlers and grade school children are very common and highly contagious. The fungus, tinea capitis, is akin to athlete's foot and causes patchy hair loss in round or oval spots. The condition is treated with oral anti-fungal medications, creams, and shampoos. Once the fungus has been killed, the hair grows back and the infection is rarely seen after an individual reaches puberty.

The localized baldness of alopecia areata is harder to explain and more likely to return. It would seem that the immune system attacks the body's ability to produce hair but medical science is not sure why this occurs or what exactly triggers an attack. The condition is characterized by sharply defined round and oval patches of baldness that otherwise show no signs of irritation. Creams, lotions, shampoos, and drugs to suppress the immune system are used as treatment but the condition can reoccur into adulthood. Once a specific outbreak has subsided, however, the hair does grow back into place until the next outbreak occurs.

Balding patches from trauma are common in girls who braid their hair or wear it in a ponytail. Friction from hats, caps, hair bands, or ribbons can also cause bald spots and the nervous habit trichotillomania, the obsessive twirling or pulling of hair, is also a common culprit. When the trauma is removed, the hair resumes its normal growth pattern.

Both children and adults can suffer from telogen effluvium, a condition in which some event occurs to interrupt the growth and production of hair. From 6 to 16 weeks following this event, baldness begins to occur. Triggers in this condition may be a high fever, medications, a crash diet, stress, surgery, or an injury. However, telogen effluvium produces only temporary hair loss.

Premature Hair Loss In Men

Without question men are genetically predisposed toward hair loss, but male hair loss can actually be made worse by worrying about losing your hair! Stress is one of the major causes of hair loss and often times if the stress level can be brought down by adopting an exercise routine, taking a vacation, or following some meditative discipline, thinning hair will improve.

The stress from an illness or from undergoing surgery can also effect hair growth but thinning and hair loss should improve in direct proportion to the patient's overall recovery. Other culprits in premature hair loss in men could be changes in hormone levels (perhaps as a result of treatment for testicular or prostate cancer), the use of a new medication (like an antidepressant), or an over use of vitamin supplements as part of a fitness routine. Too much Vitamin A, for instance, can cause hair loss.

Premature Hair Loss in Women

Female hair loss is often traced to fluctuating hormones during pregnancy or during menopause. Thinning hair is but one of the many temporary conditions that may occur while a woman is carrying a child including gestational diabetes and varicose veins. Since pregnancy lasts nine months or less, most treatments employed involve diet and stress reduction with an understanding that the symptoms will normalize once the pregnancy is over.

Women in menopause face the annoying dilemma of thinning hair on their heads and coarse, growing hair on their chin, upper lip, and cheeks. The thyroid is at the root of many of these problems as is an increase in testosterone during this phase of a woman's life. Menopause with its myriad of symptoms and vicious mood swings also puts a woman under a great deal of stress which can contribute to hair loss. (Since anti-depressants are often prescribed to menopausal women and have been linked to hair loss such medications are also a factor.)

Continue to: General Causes of Hair Loss

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