Today, both men
and women face this problem.And the greater problem is that every person who
visits a dermatologist ends up thinking that everyone else out there suffers
from the same issue they’re facing! Let’s not also forget that medicines for
the scalp and hair aren’t cheap.
Hair loss is
caused by 2 types of factors:
1)
Internal factors: Diet or poor
nutrition, sign of disease
2)
External factors: Poor hygiene, poor haircare
If you visit a
website like amazon, and take a good and hard look at the supplements for
hair,skin and nails, you would notice an ingredient called biotin.What is
biotin?
Biotin is also
known as Vitamin H.It is one of the B complex vitamins that help convert food
into energy.
Biotin helps
keep your skin, hair, eyes, liver, and nervous system healthy. Biotin is also
a crucial nutrient during pregnancy, as it’s
important for embryonic growth.
Most people get the biotin they need from eating a healthy diet, but
there have been many claims that getting more biotin can regulate your blood
sugar, promote healthy hair, skin and nails, and help pregnant moms have
healthier babies.
Between 30 to 100 mcg is recommended for adolescents and adults.
Biotin has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Natural sources of biotin:
Egg yolks, nuts (almonds,peanuts,pecans and
walnuts),cauliflower,mushrooms,bananas, whole grains and cereals,
Legumes and soybeans (rajma,toor dal,urad dal,etc.)
From the above, we can surmise that most people claiming that they’re
losing hair when they’re diet is on point is that, the cause of hairfall is
something else.
Apart from a poor diet,
hormones,hygiene and scalp type matter.
“Hey! Don’t judge me! I shower daily!”
Sorry folks, just a shower ain’t gonna
cut it!
Hygiene involves, washing your
bedsheets,towels and pillowcovers regularly, sterilizing your combs everytime
you have a head bath,washing your hair thrice a week in case of people with dry
scalps with medicinal shampoos in case of a scalp infection.(By the way, people
with oily scalps or people that workout everyday would need to shampoo daily
because a buildup of sweat could trigger a fungal infection.)( Fungi develop in
moist,dark places.All the more, if you tie your hair even after a sweaty
workout and don’t have a head bath.)
At first, when you notice a lot of
hairfall, get diagnosed by a dermatologist and then get your nutrition and
hygiene in order.
Make sure that the salon you visit
sterilizes their instruments, so that you do not catch something from a previous
customer.This also involves towels used on your hair. ( My uncle went to a
barber that did NOT sterilize his equipment.Long story short: a kind of
alopecia attacked his hair follicles and even his moustache is gone.No
treatment for it.)Yup, better to be safe that sorry!
Hormones.
One of the causes of hairfall is
uncontrolled blood sugar levels.Many people have diabetes and they are not
aware. Get checked.
PCOS- Polycystic Ovarian syndrome. This
usually develops in sedentary females who have become fat by neglecting their
health over a period of time.Long and erratic work hours, snacking on junk food
(chats, popcorn) and lack of exercise take their toll.
PCOS
is an endocrine disorder and therefore because of the hormonal imbalances
caused by PCOS, many women deal with heightened levels of androgens or
testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). High levels of these hormones in
women with PCOS cause hair loss, specifically DHT. If you’re thinking that
testosterone is a male hormone, you’re right. women are supposed to have it in
small amounts. In excess, androgens, specifically DHT will latch onto hair
follicles and begin to affect the hair, eventually to the point of hair loss.
DHT also causes the follicle to stop producing new hair, essentially a DHT
clogged follicle is the result. This is called androgenic
alopecia. The bottom line here is that excess testosterone converts to DHT
and is responsible for hair loss and makes it difficult to regrow hair in
women with PCOS.
I
recommend that all women get blood levels checked specifically for these
hormones. With that said, it is possible to test and have a normal range
and still feel and see the results of a DHT or testosterone excess.
The
primary cause of excess testosterone in females is lack of exercise.
Get
on a workout plan including light weights and cardio to better your levels.
Thyroid
hormone:
Some
people lose hair due to their thyroid hormones being off.Get it checked to move
forward with treatment.
Iron-
Iron helps to make red blood cells , which carry oxygen around to cells in the
body, including hair follicles.Thinning hair can be one of the visible symtoms
of anaemia.
Vitamin
C is a powerful antioxidant that helps to absorb more iron into the blood,
which in turn promotes hair growth.
Vitamin
B3 or Niacin is another critical B vitamin that helps metabolize sugars and
carbs to provide energy in the body. Niacin should be at the top of the
list of anyone searching for how to get fuller hair. Niacin helps repairs DNA
and helps maintain the healthy cells, including those that make up hair
follicles, helping to repair damaged hair and promote hair growth.
Healthy, nourished hair has less hair shedding, hair breakage and hair loss. To
get more Niacin in your diet, eat more dairy products, marine proteins, lean meats and legumes. Or take a
supplement with complete hair vitamins for growth and thickness.
In
the light of all the factors affecting hair growth, I looked at hair growth
supplements online and read reviews. Amway Nutrlite’s Hair,skin,nails product
contains the extract of Saw Palmetto, which is actually a common garden plant
which suppresses free testosterone and prevents DHT in females with androgenic
alopecia.The reviews by happy women meant that it works.Sometimes Minidoxil is
not the answer lol!
In
the light of my injuries, I was snooping around Amazon and googling information
on supplements to heal a fussy tendon.I came across Collagen and gelatine.
These
are extracts from pigs or cows or aquatic life.
(Chicken
soup was used by many of our ancestors to heal sicknesses and was even given to
women post partum.Apparently, with all our modernization, we have lost this
nutrient dense blessing!)
Apparently
I have found many people online who have healed nagging injuries of
tendons,ligaments,brittle nails,weak hair,people advised hip replacements or
knee replacement surgery.
I
definitely think spending Rs. 2000 versus Rs. 2,94,000 is anyday better.Let me
not get into the long term complication of inserting metallic joints in your
body.
For
the sake of the vegetarians, I did a google search. Gelatine is not sourced
from any vegetarian life.
A
good diet,Vitamins and minerals are critical to overall body health.A visit to
an endocrinologist might be in order if hormones are suspected to be the cause
of hairfall.
Obviously,
you have to keep taking vitamin and mineral supplements for your hair if you
have persistent hair loss.In the past I have been prescribed Trichoton
Forte and later on Hairbless.
Currently
going to try Healthvit’s Biotin tablets alongwith Collagen powder and actively
managing stress levels to measure its effect on hairloss.
HairBless
costs Rs. 150 for 10 tablets.
Recently
discovered Essvit which costs Rs. 76 for 10 tablets.
Bear
in mind that you need other vitamins to absorb biotin,based on your nutritional
deficiencies.This is all the more important if you are on lower calories. Every
fitness competitor takes a supplement for hair,skin and nails.Not everyone
talks about it.
If
I come across any additional information,I will post a new article.
Thank
you for reading through! Have a blessed day!
Websites
referred to for this article:
(Props
to the bloggers that give credit to others!)
http://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=collagen+and+biotin+tablet
