Tips for thinning hair

Shahnaz Husain *

While hair thinning and loss are common with age, watching your hairline go back a few millimeters each time you look in the mirror can feel justifiably stressful. Hair loss can result from genetic factors, nutrient deficiencies, stress, and several health conditions.

You’re born with about 100,000 follicles on your scalp, and you’ll never gain or lose any. It’s common to lose 50 to 100 hairs per day.

Any more than this could mean you’re shedding more than you should, which could contribute to overall thinning hair. Thinning hair doesn’t necessarily cause baldness.

It does, however, give the appearance of sparser spots of hair on your head. Thinning hair typically happens gradually, which means you have time to pinpoint the causes and figure out the best treatment measures.

Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is a vital part of ensuring that your hair is growing out healthy. A lot of the time hair fall is directly related to a vitamin or mineral deficiency.

Take a small bowl of sprouts daily. Sprouts contain amino acids, which promote hair growth. If the scalp is oily, or if there is dandruff, drink plenty of water. Add the juice of a lemon to a glass of water and have it first thing in the morning.

Add vitamins and minerals like Spinach, Salmon, Yogurt, Cinnamon, Guava, Oatmeal, Eggs, Oysters, Lentils, Liver, Poultry, Barley, Sweet Potato, Nuts and Seeds to your diet to promote hair growth. They help to reduce stress and control thinning hair.

Another way to save your strands is to always treat them gently. Damage and breakage can happen at the fault of your hair-brushing technique. Make sure to use the “bottoms-up” method as well as tools that are gentle on your hair.

"It's vital to detangle from the bottom up, starting at your ends, not your scalp. When you comb hair from the bottom up, you are working with less surface area to untangle at one time. Be extra gentle on your ends—that's where breakage comes from.

Don't brush your hair when it's wet and weak. Try to avoid using heat on your hair (blow dryer, curling iron, etc.). Skip hairstyles that pull, such as tight ponytails and updos. Never vigorously towel dry (leads to breakage). Take a break from daily blowouts and over-styling, which irritate the scalp.

Wash your hair according to hair type and season. In hot and humid weather, wash more often, to remove sweat, dirt, and oil deposits. Wash oily hair three or four times a week and dry hair, twice a week. Select a mild shampoo. Harsh products disturb the normal balances.

For oily hair, use a hair rinse, instead of a creamy conditioner. Use a wide-toothed comb for wet hair. Select products containing Ayurvedic ingredients. Herbal hair tonics are also available to promote hair growth.

Here are some home remedies that help thin hair.

Curry leaves are said to contain antioxidants, which bring back health to the roots and promote hair growth. Curry leaves also contain minerals like calcium, phosphorous, iron, and folic acid and also Vitamins C, B, A, and E, imparting health and vitality to the hair and body. Make a paste of curry leaves and apply to the hair. Wash off after half an hour.

Hibiscus has excellent tonic properties that control hair fall. Both hot and cold infusions can be made from hibiscus flowers and leaves, though cold infusions are more common.

For cold infusions, the flowers and leaves are allowed to stand overnight in cold water, in a ratio of one to six. The flowers are squeezed and the water is strained before use. Such infusions can be used to wash the hair and scalp, or applied on the scalp with cotton wool.

Apple cider vinegar also helps. For oily scalp and dandruff, mix ripe papaya pulp with gram flour, egg white, and four teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into a paste. Apply on the hair and wash off after half an hour.

The hair also needs external nourishment. Hair oil with amla helps to maintain the normal acid-alkaline balance of the scalp and keeps the scalp healthy. To make amla hair oil, take a handful of dry amla.

Grind coarsely and add it to 100 ml pure coconut oil. Keep it in an airtight glass bottle and keep the bottle in the sun daily for about 15 days. Then strain the oil and store it for application.