Hairfall is a common phenomenon among people of all ages, irrespective of gender. But did you know that people lose about 50 to 100 strands a day? Although it is expected, this hair fall becomes an issue when it crosses the limit. There are several reasons like nutrition deficiency, modern lifestyle, or hereditary factors that play an essential role, especially if you are losing a lot of hair. This post gives you a glimpse of some of the best tips you can follow to stop hair fall naturally.
Why Does Hair Fall Out?
Hair fall is a widespread phenomenon among people irrespective of gender and age. Some people have their entire body affected, and few have hair loss in their scalp. Some of the factors that trigger hair loss are:
- If you have female-pattern or male-pattern baldness in your family history.
- Hormonal changes during menopause, pregnancy, and childbirth.
- Thyroid imbalance.
- Radiation.
- Medical issues such as hair-pulling disorder, alopecia areata, and ringworm.
- Medication for chronic issues like gout, high BP, cancer, arthritis, and heart issues.
- Tying your hair too tightly.
- Lack of nourishment.
- Too much use of hair styling tools.
- Advanced age.
- Stress.
- Too much weight loss.
How to Stop Hair Fall?
Although hair loss is quite common, it might result in baldness if it goes out of hand. Here are the few changes you can make that will show a tremendous difference in your hair fall.
1. Vitamins:
Vitamins are essential for the healthy functioning of our body. But when it comes to hair fall, both external reasons and deficiencies in vitamins H, D, and E play a crucial role. You can restore hair growth by restoring such deficiencies by supplementing your body with necessary vitamins (1).
Although promising, overuse of vitamin supplements might cause conditions like alopecia which might be a severe side effect. So, take vitamin supplements under the supervision of a professional.
[ Read More: Vitamins for Hair Growth ]
2. Scalp Massage:
Who doesn’t feel relaxed with a scalp massage? Along with relaxation, you will be able to reduce hair fall and stimulate hair growth by massaging your hair with some oils like coconut oil, argan oil, castor oil, and peppermint oil (2). These oils help strengthen hair from the roots and revive the hair follicles by entering the deepest layers of your scalp.
Ingredients:
- Coconut oil/argan oil/castor oil/peppermint oil.
Procedure:
- Warm the oil of your choice.
- Use your fingers to apply the lukewarm oil to your scalp.
- Gently massage your scalp in circular motions for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Repeat this procedure at least twice a week for effective results.
3. Pick a Gentle Shampoo Suitable for Your Hair:
After a warm scalp massage, all you will need is to wash your hair. But the marketplace is flooded with many hair cleansers that claim to be chemical-free and offer several other benefits making it tough to choose one for yourself.
But when you are looking for a product to control your hair fall, choose a medicated or a gentle herbal shampoo to wash your hair. Ensure to look at the ingredients list to rule out allergens and whether the product is suitable for your hair type.
Shampoo your strands using a scrunching motion and use a circular motion to massage your scalp. To remove dirt or build-up, try to shampoo your hair twice a week.
4. Don’t Forget to Use a Conditioner:
As necessary as choosing the right shampoo, a nourishing and moisturizing conditioner is a must to finish your hair care routine with a bang. In addition, a conditioner protects your shafts from damage making your hair manageable and preventing hair fall. Once a week, use a deep conditioning hair mask in the comfort of your home. Here is the recipe.
- Take honey, and milk and combine them in a bowl.
- Gently apply the mixture to your hair evenly and leave it for about 20 minutes.
- Use a mild shampoo to wash your hair, and don’t forget to condition your hair.
5. Dry Your Hair Gently:
Drying your hair might look like a mundane step in your hair care routine, but doing it well is necessary to prevent any harm to your hair. For example, you can use a soft towel to naturally soak the excess water, thereby dry your hair gently.
Make sure you don’t damage the roots or shafts while you dry your hair, and use a gently scrunching motion. Although frequent use of blow dryers is detrimental, you can use a hairdryer in a moderate setting if you are in a hurry.
6. Use a Wooden Comb:
Plastic combs are a common sight in every household. But the static electricity in plastic combs can cause tangles which might result in hair loss. So, to avoid any further damage and thereby hair fall, use a wooden wide-toothed comb to detangle your hair. Since the hair roots are soft and delicate after a head bath, avoid brushing wet hair. Instead, if you have tangles, comb from down and then move upwards.
7. Try Not to Style Too Much:
Although we all like to stay in sync with the current fashion and trend, using too many styling tools can damage your hair. Straightening, perm, colour, and bleaching your hair can make your tresses weak and brittle; so. Avoid repeated styling if you want to stop excessive hair fall.
You can follow DIY methods or use rollers to curl your hair without causing too much damage. Cover your greys by using herbal colours.
8. Nutrition:
A diet and proper nutrition play an essential role when it comes to reducing hair fall naturally. here are some things you need to include in your diet for healthy hair and scalp
Protein: Consuming protein-rich foods help strengthen and protect your hair because hair is made up of keratin protein (3). Skinless chicken breast, lentils, soybean, seeds, nuts, eggs, and fish are protein-rich foods.
Omega-3: Inflammation in our body can cause hair fall, and omega-3 helps low-grade inflammation and stress controlling hair fall naturally (4). Fatty fish and fish oil are the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Vitamin C: High accumulation of toxins can trigger hair loss, and Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that scavenges free oxygen radicles, reducing hair fall chances (5). Oranges, sweet limes, and gooseberries are some of the foods rich in vitamin C.
9. Vegetables:
Vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals that make your hair stronger by naturally nourishing your hair follicles. Try to include at least three different types of veggies in a day, such as spinach, ladies finger, bottle gourd, sweet potato, tomato, squash, pumpkin, and raw papaya. In addition, you can consume them in salads or curries.
10. Stay Hydrated:
If you want to stop your hair from falling out and thinning, staying hydrated is essential. Dehydration results in hair fall since not drinking enough water can lead to lifeless, dry, and frizzy hair. In addition, water improves the circulation of vitamins and minerals essential for hair growth by lubricating the hair follicles. So, to prevent hair fall, drink at least two to three litres of water per day.
11. Reduce The Consumption of Alcohol:
Vitamins and minerals are essential for healthy hair growth. Still, alcohol consumption reduces your body’s ability to absorb essential vitamins and minerals by causing dehydration, resulting in hair fall. To rejuvenate and strengthen your hair follicles, consume chilled fruit juice instead of alcohol.
12. Sleep Well:
Your entire body reboots while you are sleeping. Sleep time helps your body rejuvenate and gives your body to heal from wear and tear. The stress hormone levels called cortisol increase, making your hair follicles weak, resulting in hair loss if you don’t get enough sleep.
Strengthen your immune system, reduce stress, and rejuvenate your mind and body by getting six to seven hours of sleep. To get stress-free, uninterrupted sleep, switch off all the electronic gadgets, listen to soothing music, or take a warm water bath.
13. Breathing Exercises and Yoga:
A proper exercise routine is essential in maintaining both physical and mental well-being. In addition, breathing exercises and yoga help strengthen your immune system, promote hair growth by stimulating blood circulation. Some of the yoga poses you can try that help reduce hair thinning and hair fall are:
- Sirasasana.
- Sasankasana.
You can practice expel toxins from your body and boost hair health by practicing breathing exercises like kapalbhati and anulom vilom.
14. Stop Smoking:
Smoking is harmful to health is a sign that is written on the pack itself. The free oxygen radicals present in cigarette smoke can be detrimental for both active and passive smokers. In addition, it might lead to a weakened immune system if the toxins are not expelled. This increases hair fall since it damages the hair follicles (6). So to control hair fall, you need to reduce or avoid smoking.
[ Read More: How to Stop Smoking Naturally ]
15. Try to Maintain a Sweat-Free Head:
Scalp hygiene plays an essential role in maintaining the health and beauty of your hair. Try to keep your head sweat-free, whether you sweat a lot in general or whether you exercise a lot. Sweating too much will lead to bacterial growth, fungal infections, blocked pores, and lactic acid accumulation because your scalp gets dehydrated. Don’t forget to wash your hair every time you exercise and dry your hair with a clean and soft towel to prevent excessive hair fall.
Summary:
Although hair fall is quite common, making simple changes in your diet and lifestyle can make a lot of difference in the health of your hair. This will not only stimulate hair growth but reduce hair fall to a great extent. You can see good results by implementing the tips mentioned in this article. You should consult a doctor without fail if the hair fall persists in ruling out any underlying issues.