What Causes Hair Loss?

And what can you do about it?

If you are experiencing hair loss or thinning please know you are not alone. I myself have been dealing with this issue after years of being frustrated at how slowly my hair grew.

I found myself on Pinterest looking for hair growth DIYs constantly. I tried many of them. Including an egg solution that I accidentally baked into my hair by using hot water when trying to rinse it out. Needless to say, I laughed, cried, and gave up for a while.

I would also like to admit that I did all this while being a fully licensed cosmetologist.

Since then I have done way more research and have found some things that have really helped me and my clients which I would love to share you, whether you are experiencing this yourself and looking for answers and solutions or you are a stylist looking to know some answers when your clients come to you for help. So let's talk about this!

Hair changes may indicate a change in health.

Your hair actually can indicate the condition of your health in a major way. This is due to the fact that hair is one of the fastest-growing tissues in the body, and any abnormalities in the chemistry of your body will show up in the growth structure of your hair. So when we notice a significant change over a few months or a year of our hair's texture while we are experiencing other health challenges it's good to bring this up to your doctor, because some illnesses can now be diagnosed by viewing your hair strand. I just would like to say that most western medicine doctors really want to address the hair loss issue with medications instead of finding the cause, I highly recommend visiting a holistic or integrated medicine doctor to address these issues. My experience so far with integrated medicine is that they really pay attention to these types of symptoms and will validate your suffering by trying to find the cause and help you with solutions.

Since the hair directly reflects the condition of one’s body, we now can expect that our hair also may be temporarily changed by things like pregnancy, menstruation, malnutrition, illness, anemia, and variation in blood pressure. Sometimes a woman will lose hair during pregnancy and grow it back in a few months or experience much growth during the pregnancy and then handfuls of hair after the child is born. The situation is dynamic. Texture and density changes can also happen temporarily for those that go through significant medical treatments such as chemotherapy, or dialysis or have received anesthesia during surgery. Medications and certain diseases can thin hair, like anti-psychotics and anti-convulsants.

Emotional stress can also affect the hair greatly. And I would say this is the most common cause of slow hair growth and temporary Alopecia that most stylists and clients don't consider.

Why does that happen?

Extreme nervousness appears to disrupt the proper flow of nutrients to the scalp. Many of the hair problems that people have can be attributed to their nerves.

When our bodies are under stress they shut down or slow down certain functions it deems unnecessary for survival. If you are dealing with PTSD like I do you probably have slow hair growth unless you are doing something to help your stressors. Your body diverts blood to your vital organs when you are under threat, our follicles take a hit here they need a blood supply to grow and it's just not happening to the extent it needs to when we are stressed. Stress also slows digestion which makes it challenging to be absorbing the nutrients you need to support a growth cycle, and that growth cycle may be even slowed because your body is in a heightened state of alertness, again not deeming the growth as a necessary process for immediate survival.

Bad gut health can significantly change your hair strength and density and I think we all should start there when we want to grow our hair faster. Diet can affect your hair significantly and it can help mitigate a lot of our hair frustrations. A balanced diet that includes vegetables, micro greens, good fats (like olive oil, avocado, coconut, ghee), probiotics, legumes, mushrooms, certain fruits, and cutting out many starches and sugars contributes to healthy hair.

I have noted clients hair growing rapidly after they start taking fish oil, EPA DHEA 900 mg a day, or algae pills. For myself adding micro greens, mushrooms, good fat, lentils and beans to my diet really helped improve the texture of my hair as well as supplementing with amino acids and things to help my stress cortisol levels helped my growth improve. Staying hydrated, taking your vitamins B's, D, K. and getting that blood flowing to the scalp will yield results within a few months.

So many of us are malnourished or are in need of some nutrient and don't even know it, a lot of us do want a quick fix or a $20 product we can order and try in a few days but the reality is there is a little more adapting we need to do to see real results.

I hear so often questions about the of use keratin shampoo. I personally do not recommend this, Keratin is insoluble in water and I note that it coats the hair and makes it brittle over a short period of time, I think that just because it's not really meant to be applied topically in some forms it's sold in, honestly, I am completely speculating but I just think its a greenwashed solution designed to get fast bucks.

I think your body is the one that makes the hair so feed what makes the hair... Keratin is particularly rich in cysteine (a type of sulfated amino acid), which forms disulfide bonds (the strongest bonds of hair) between molecules, adding rigidity and resistance to the entire structure... So I guess another reason to supplement with amino acids. What about Biotin? It doesn't hurt hair production, it's just not the single solution.

I personally feel that if you can't identify why you are having hair loss, thinning or texture issues you should have your blood work done to make sure that your thyroid, minerals, electrolytes, amino acids are all in balance.

& REMEMBER TAKE CARE OF YOUR GUTTTSSSSS!

I noticed a big difference in my own body's ability to absorb nutrients after a month of drinking Athletic Greens every morning. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't know where to start with greens or supplements. It's pricy, but I credit it to my body being able to finally get out of my malnourished state.

So we just talked about internal causes and some ideas of possible solutions. What about topical causes and solutions?

Synthetics and detergents I feel strongly should be avoided if you are experiencing hair loss. Our bodies recognize some synthetic chemicals as hormones and they try to process them like they are, this results in endocrine disruption and a plethora of illnesses and side effects come with that. You don't need to give up smelling good, there are safe products that just use essential oils as their fragrance, I would like to say here that *essential oils are chemical compounds and not all are safe either* but when formulated correctly they are much better than synthetic fragranced products. Switch to a synthetic fragrance-free grooming and you will notice a huge difference in your health. Your body will even alert you when you are around synthetics after you cut them out.

How do you create a routine of care for your hair that will lead to growth?

Brushing and Washing Hair

I have curly hair and I just was under the impression for years, even after hair school, that curly hair shouldn't be brushed. I'm not saying I never brushed, I owned a paddle brush and I use to brush it right before I showered or in the shower ( a real no no for someone trying to grow their hair long)... I was so disillusioned. I had no idea of the true benefits of brushing. We talked about brushing at Aveda but it wasn't appreciated enough and so for me I didn't incorporate it into my own hair care routine, nor did I recommend it to my clients that now I can see were desperately in need of it. But because it has changed my life significantly I really want everyone to know it can greatly help them too!

BRUSHING BENEFITS

The need to brush your hair daily can be appreciated when you realize that your hair collects more than ten times as much dust as does your skin!!!!

Regular brushing of the hair enhances its appearance and improves its condition. By removing dust and grime, brushing contributes to a clean, glossy appearance, it helps distribute your natural oils down your hair shaft helping dry hair get some love. I recommend always brushing dry, the hair is the strongest dry. If you don't love the brushed-out look, brush your hair before you get it wet, never brush wet if you can help it, your hair is so fragile when wet because the bonds of your hair spread apart when wet, that's why your hair is longer when its wet than it is when its dry, if you brush the strand while wet, the saline and hydrogen bonds, the weaker bonds of the hair, get stressed and depending on your texture, porosity, elasticity and chemical damage present your hair may get permanently damaged while brushing or even towel drying roughly EEEEK (I recommend lightly scrunching your hair with a soft cotton shirt.)

Brushing daily also makes your hair grow because you are stimulating your scalp causing blood flow to that follicle. When brushing, the best position is with the head tipped toward the floor and the hair hanging down. This brings more blood to the roots of the hair.

OILY SCALP?

OH MY OH MY WHO KNEW THIS WAS THE SOLUTION!!!???

If a person has an oily scalp, brushing will also strengthen the scalp muscles and improve their control of fluids. YUP! I seriously feel so bad for not knowing this sooner I could have helped my clients so much more, I feel like all my clients with overproducing sebum lived in fear of touching their scalps thinking it would make it worse, but now I know the key is to brush and brush often and to stop using detergents immediately! Detergents just freak our poor scalps out, some people produce more sebum (oil) in order to protect their stripped scalps.

WHAT KIND OF BRUSH?

In cleaning the hair, a brush with natural bristles has advantages over one with synthetic bristles. The natural bristles are made up of overlapping layers that are similar to those of your hair, so they more readily hold and remove much of the debris. The need to brush your hair daily can be appreciated when you realize that your hair collects more than ten times as much dust as does your skin!!!!

I personally love a combination of synthetic nylon bristles and boar. The nylon grabs the hair sufficiently while the boat distributes the natural oils from the root down the strand.

My FYH collaboration brush can be purchased here or you can visit FYH to view Roxie's additional designed, if mine design isn't your thang. I highly recommend investing in this dual purpose tool for grooming and self care! Happy brushing!

WASHING

HOW OFTEN?

It is important to keep your hair clean, but do not overdo it. If hair is washed too often, it can lose its texture and some of its elasticity. Hair experts in the 70's when brushing was way more prevalent recommend washing it about every two weeks if it is hair that tends to be dry. Other types of hair that are in good condition might be shampooed every week or ten days. That is SOOOO not what we hear today in 2022. All we hear now is what kinds of products can take care of our hair issues. Simple grooming can take the place of costly niche green washed products. Wash less and brush in between washes and just rinse with water when you shower daily.

DULL HAIR & RESIDUE

Soft water is preferred when washing because soap often combines with chemicals in hard water, producing a residue that leaves the hair with a dull covering.

So when a product may not be working as expected it could be because of the hard water and the chemical formulation of the product. A mild soap can diminish this problem with hard water, I recommend Cult + King's Wash Bar, that is what I recommend if users of New wash have this issue because of hard water.

IF NOT SHAMPOO THEN WHAT?

A non toxic synthetic fragrance free cream cleanser is what I recommend for basically every human with every texture, the best one I have used is New Wash by Hairstory, it brings out the luster of the hair by its nutrient rich eco friendly ingredients that gently cleanse each strand leaving it bouncing but not poofy, clean but not stripped, soft but not oily.

It is the only cleansing and conditioning haircare I have used for 3 years, my hair just gets better with time. It's like a treatment every time I use it. I really don't hate my hair anymore and I wear it mostly in it's natural state with a minimal amount of attention. I went from spending about 45 mins styling my hair to 10. I love this product and I do want people to try it and know how to use it well.

This link it will give you 15% off and free shipping on your first order reflected at the last step of check out. Leave a review with them and they will send you a 10% off your next one. They have a 30 day money back guarantee. *Hairstory does not sponsor these posts it's just a product I have fallen in love with as a stylist and user, Hairstory writes its own informative posts and I suggest you check them out! I do get 25% commission from my direct sales, thank you for your support, Hairstory believes stylists should actually get paid for the products they use and recommend unlike most professional company suppliers stylists purchase their products from.*

I don't believe in excessive haircare, I believe in minimalist sustainable haircare. I appreciate Hairstory's model of subscribing and saving because of that reduced plastic by 91%. And that's what I do and that's what I recommend to my clients. I haven't disposed of a plastic shampoo or conditioner bottle in 3 years because I get New Wash in a big refill pack that lasts me 6 months, I just use New Wash in replacement of shampoo and conditioner, oh and all the treatment masks and OLAPLEX I use to put in my hair.

I just love Cult + King, their formulas are incredible and on my shop page I have my top recommendations from them. Tonik is a wonderful botanical formula that will help balance the hormones that rest on your scalps surfaces that slow and inhibit hair growth, you should use it daily for best results.

HAIRSTYLISTS A WORD TO YA!

If you work with a lot of hair care and you are sick all the time switch to a minimal back bar, New Wash is your best friend with all textures and chemical services, In my opinion, it makes the hair feel even better than OLAPLEX does. Get some free formulas to try here, and check out the way they support the industry, and if you want to have a little chat about using it for your back bar and want some tips I'd be happy to have a gab over zoom, don't be shy to reach out if you need help!

DETERGENTS AND REDUCING EXPOSURE

I think the less you use the safer you are. Detergents cause hair loss, they are dangerous for humans and the environment. They cause eye damage, and come on who hasn't had a little shampoo in their eyes at one point?

I highly recommend to everyone reduce their beauty products if they are experiencing hair changes or rashes or blisters or anxiety when styling their hair with heat. I have noted this reaction in stylists and clients from synthetic fragrances being heated up that are in styling products, that's why I choose synthetic-free; just essential oil fragrances.

Haircare products are NOT tested for inhalation before they are out on the market and they are NOT regulated because they are proprietary blends and the FDA doesn't require them to report whats in the proprietary blends. They do have some standards they have to meet, but the truth is a lot of things are sold without meeting those standards and because they are never reported for it they don't get tested, it causes a lot of underlying health problems that you wouldn't even know to attribute to your grooming products.

Your haircare should be working for you not against you, they should be making your life easier not causing problems. You do not need more than 3 things to take care of your hair, if you are using 6 hair products to wash and style and you have a lot of health problems, please try to eliminate these from your routine for at least a month to 6 weeks. Most people when they are sick will try an elimination diet, well let's try this with our beauty products too!

SEVERE HAIR LOSS & THINNING

For severe hair loss and looking for a permanent solution, I recommend going to see an office that specializes in Neograft hair restoration. A truly wonderful life-changing result. *tip RealSelf is like yelp for aesthetic medicine doctors, find someone trustworthy with experience*

If you are in need of a temporary solution to hair loss and you are ok with the ethics of human hair distribution, tape in hair extensions for volume and length I found to work great. I have in the past had them myself and applied to others. They are not as expensive as great lengths and other sew and bead bond methods. I'm not comfortable with human hair distribution after I learned more about it so I do not offer this service anymore but to the ones, I serviced it greatly helped them with their self-esteem and I don't judge anyone who finds themselves choosing that solution. My hair felt like it stayed the same length for 5 years I was sick of it and grieving a death and needed a change, I had them for 6 months and then I got really hot and ripped them out... *Seemed like a good Idea at the time. Kinda a Pedro Napoleon Dynamite moment*

I hope this has been a little informative and helpful to those that are experiencing hair loss.

Stay Groovy!

xx