Sunday, October 23, 2011

Female Hair Loss: For the Right Treatment, Find the Root Cause

There are two schools of thought on female hair loss treatments. One school is the use of a drug-based treatment such as minoxidil. Over-the-counter hair treatment drugs have proven to work in many cases but also may have side effects. The other drawback is that when a woman stops using it, thinning hair or hair loss can resume.

The other school of thought is to use a natural treatment that is rubbed or sprayed onto the scalp, and augment it with natural nutritionally complete vitamins and minerals specially made for healthy hair growth. There are many natural treatments available to the woman looking for a good solution to her hair loss.

Whichever hair loss treatment method a woman chooses, she should take heart, because there are solutions to female hair loss for her to choose from.

Prior to looking into treatments for female hair loss, it would be a good idea to try to determine the root cause of the condition. There are things that can increase a woman’s hair loss such as such as dyes, tight braiding, excessive hairstyling, or brushing the hair while wet, and blow drying and ironing.

Other causes could be hormone imbalance, pregnancy, anemia, stress, severe illness, trauma, surgery, an under-active or over-active thyroid, psoriasis, and crash diets. Another cause could be a poor diet that doesn’t supply the proper nutritional building blocks that the body needs to grow hair and keep it full, shiny and healthy.

There are other factors that can cause a woman’s hair loss such as heredity, chemical pollution, infections, illness and medications.

Hair loss can be a bigger problem to a woman than to a man. A woman who loses her hair can suffer real self-esteem issues. So a woman needs to find the root cause for the hair loss and then decide on a good workable hair loss treatment as quickly as possible. Be aware that all hair loss treatments do take time.

The sooner the root cause of hair loss is determined, a good hair loss treatment is then immediately started; in turn, the quicker new hair will appear.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Alternative Hair Loss Treatments: A Science or a Mere Art?

Quite a number of alternative hair loss treatments continue to exist as an art as its products and ways can be defined by purposeful, creative interpretations of limitless concepts or ideas that can be used. It has a lot to prove if it is to enter the precise and accurate realm of science.

It may be comprised of scientific products in itself but when used in the context of its intended purpose as a hair loss treatment mainly with creativity and in the absence of clinical trials and empirical evidences, it remains an art.

Alternative hair loss treatments cover a wide range of treatments including so-called natural products, herbs, vitamins, scalp massagers, etc. People have been chasing these miracle cures for thousands of years without much success. Indeed, alternative remedies have been used for more than 200 years in Western culture to address health problems.

Traditional approaches to medicine and health in Chinese, Indian, and many other cultures go back even further. And a large number of them directly address the loss of hair. Sadly, while some of them may be effective, still these lack the ability to prove their worth. The main barrier to the effective use of this treatment as a science is that most researches and clinical trials in support of such treatments have not been accurately documented.

You might be the kind of person who looks for natural alternatives to pharmaceutical products. Perhaps you are skeptical about medicines that could cause more harm than good. So it may make sense for you to consider this kind of treatment in your approach to preventing and treating hair loss. There is no reason not to consider alternative hair loss treatments. But the consumers must be made aware that its positive results may not apply to everyone as we respond differently to certain stimuli.

Moreover, since most alternative hair loss treatments still have room for error, be educated on how things work and how to find qualified practitioners who can safely and effectively deliver treatments.

For many people, baldness, alopecia or commonly known as hair loss could be a devastating problem. The tough part is there is no cure when it comes to baldness. However, targeting the root cause of your problem can be a good way to find the right treatment for your baldness or hair thinning problem.

By blocking the production of DHT, which causes the hair follicle to become small, weak and inactive, the hair follicle gets a new life through better blood circulation and proper nutrients. New and healthy hair emerges from the follicle and the process of producing new and healthy hair continues. This is an important part of hair growth and treatment of thinning hair.

Hair loss in women can be cured in various treatment forms. There are oral drugs, topical solutions, and surgery; but all these come with harmful side effects, risks, and high costs. A viable alternative is the use of hair loss products with organic-based ingredients and plant extracts.

In addition to biotin, you can take other B vitamins to stop hair loss. Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, helps with circulation at the scalp which promotes hair regrowth.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Female Hair Loss: Causes and Coping Mechanisms

It is often said that a woman’s hair is her richest ornament, and with good reason. A woman’s beautiful locks complement her beauty and appeal. It is one of the aspects that makes her desirable to the opposite gender. For women, hair and beauty go hand in hand, and this opinion has prevailed over the millennia.

As you can imagine, hair loss in women could be a frustrating experience. Nearly every woman, without exception, is devastated when she experiences symptoms of a problematic scalp condition such as sudden hair fall, hair thinning, and excessive hair loss. Female hair loss can manifest itself as slight thinning or excessive and total hair loss, or somewhere in between. Hair loss can be chronic like androgenetic alopecia, which happens mostly in men, or it could be erratic and short-term such as alopecia areata and telogen effluvium.

Female hair loss is triggered by a number of factors. Commonly, hair loss in women develops because of hormonal imbalances (often with androgens) or due to genetic predisposition. Research has shown that females who suffer from hair loss have higher levels of the androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

DHT leads to the development of secondary sexual traits like deep voice and facial hair in males. Therefore, females with higher DHT levels mostly have excess body hair and also suffer from varying degrees of hair loss. Moreover, irregular menstrual periods, pregnancy, and menopause are all believed to have some correlation to hair loss in women. Stress is also known to trigger and aggravate the condition.

Regardless of degree, hair loss in women causes grief, anxiety and even depression. The social stigma associated with alopecia is irritating. A large fraction of adult women who are experiencing hair loss try to avoid social events because of decreased self-worth. Not only does hair loss in women cause distress, it can be economically draining too. Females suffering from hair loss spend a substantial amount of their income on treatment, some even quit their jobs.

Fortunately, female hair loss is treatable. Effective stress management will definitely prevent exacerbation and long-term recurrence. Steroid injections and contact sensitization therapy are particularly helpful for people with alopecia areata. Anti-androgens and hair growth stimulants are almost always prescribed for women with a clear diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern baldness.

Self-medication might worsen the problem. Seeking expert advice before starting any treatment is not just wise but absolutely essential.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Regrow Hair with Rosemary Oil

Photo Credit: jupiterimages.com
There are many people around the world who use rosemary herb in their kitchen, especially for Italian dishes. Food with rosemary can help increase liver function and relieve upset stomachs. Rosemary herb is not just useful in the kitchen, but this herb has also been shown to assist with a range of beauty concerns, especially to assist in improving hair growth.

You can get rosemary oil from the distillation of rosemary leaves. This oil is of a minty-balsamic aroma that is pleasant and therapeutic. The properties of rosemary oil include the following: astringent, antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, digestive, carminative, antiseptic, restorative, tonic and stimulating.

One of benefits of rosemary oil for hair is stimulating hair growth. It has been used by many cultures for centuries for many medicinal and therapeutic reasons. Some people say that rosemary oil cannot stimulate hair growth; however, there are still many people who use this herbal oil to prevent hair loss and baldness. The Italians, Spanish, and French have been using rosemary oil for hair regrowth for centuries; they usually use rosemary oil in a hair rinse and conditioner.

How Rosemary Oil Promotes Hair Growth

Rosemary oil can stimulate division of cells and dilate vessels of blood, and in line, stimulates hair follicles into creating new hair growth. Rosemary oil is not the only necessary oil that can improve hair growth.

Rosemary Uses for Hair Growth

There are many hair care products containing rosemary oil such as rosemary oil shampoo and conditioner, rosemary supplements, rosemary lotions. You can use rosemary oil shampoo to wash and condition your hair, or just massage rosemary oil onto the scalp to stimulate hair growth. You can combine rosemary oil with other essential oils to treat other scalp and hair problems such as tea tree oil, or you can substitute with other hair-growth stimulants like sage, geranium, lemon, or cypress essential oils.

Rosemary Hair Oil Recipe

You can use this rosemary hair oil recipe to thicken your hair and to induce hair growth. To prepare it, mix 1/2 teaspoon lecithin, 1/2 oz. avocado oil, 2 oz. sweet almond oil and 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil in a bowl. Then add 15–20 drops of rosemary oil. Mix the oils together, then pour it into a jar or glass bottle and leave it for about an hour or so. Boil two glasses of water and put the bottle of oil into it to warm the oil up. You can massage the warm oil to your hair about 10 minutes before rinsing it. You can use this rosemary oil at least twice a week.

Another rosemary hair treatment recipe: Mix 1/4 cup of warm olive oil, 2 sprigs of dried rosemary and 5 drops of rosemary essential oil. Blend all these oils in a bowl of glass, strain and pour it into a glass bowl or dark tinted glass. Apply this mixture to the whole scalp then wrap your head with a towel. Leave it on for half an hour and then thoroughly wash it off.

Rosemary Oil Benefits for Hair

Rosemary oil is good for hair loss; frizzy, brittle, dry hair; and an oily scalp. Using rosemary oil for the hair will assist in cleansing the scalp from contamination and dirt and will stimulate hair growth. However, don’t use rosemary oil if you suffer from high blood pressure or epilepsy or during pregnancy.