Hair Loss

Hair Loss

With each passing year, you’ve noticed more and more of your hair ending up in the sink or on your brush rather than on your head. It’s not your mind playing tricks on you, says Dominic Brandy, M.D., clinical instructor in the department of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

At maturity, the human scalp maintains an average of 100,000 hair follicles. At anytime, roughly 90 percent of the hairs on your head are in the growing phase, explains Dr. Brandy. The growing phase lasts from between two to seven years, depending on your age. At the same time, 10 percent of the follicles are in a three-month resting phase. During this resting phase, about 10 percent of the hair is shed from the follicle.

When you’re young, your hair usually grows for six or seven years before falling. As the years pass, the growing stage gets shorter, lasting two to five years, says Dr. Brandy.

“As your hair grows for a shorter time, the hairs aren’t as long or thick, and they fall out more regularly,” says Judith Shank, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Plymouth.

Hair loss is a mostly natural occurrence and may be hereditary. Some health conditions, however, may be causing you to shed more of it. Studies have linked hair loss to high cholesterol levels, and, therefore, it may indicate a risk of heart disease. Here are some ways to keep your hair in place or at least make the most of what you have.

Try This First

Pump some iron. In some cases, iron deficiency can also cause hair loss, says Fredric Brandt, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. “Senior citizens should make sure that they eat well- balanced diets with a daily serving of one or two iron-rich foods,” says Dr. Brandt. Good sources of iron include lean red meat, cream of wheat, steamed clams, tofu, and broccoli.

Adding foods rich in iron is the best way to ensure that you get the recommended amount for people over age 50, which is 10 milligrams. Before turning to supplements, talk to your doctor, experts say, because high levels of iron can be toxic in adults.

Other Wise Ways

Get points for style. If your hair is thinning, get it styled in a manner that makes it appear thicker, says Barbara Bealer, assistant education director of the Allentown School of Cosmetology in Pennsylvania. Bealer suggests that women with thinning hair get an angled or blunt cut as opposed to a layered haircut. “When the hair is cut all one length, like a bob, it appears thicker than a layered cut,” says Bealer. “An angled cut can create the illusion that your hair is thicker, which can mask the fact that your hair is thinning out a bit.”

The same advice goes for men, Bealer adds. Don’t make the mistake of trying to pull hair from one area to another; it will make the hair look thinner. Men may want to go with a slightly layered cut. A bit of layering can keep a man from looking like Prince Valiant while still getting the thicker appearance that comes from the hair being close to one length.

Keep it clean. Dirt and debris can sometimes choke off new hair growth, so keep your scalp clean by washing it daily, says Dr. Brandt.

Bealer recommends using Nioxin, a treatment for thinning hair available only through salons, or another hair treatment recommended by your styist. Nioxin is applied after each shampoo, to stimulate growth and cleanse the pores. This ensures that there is no debris such as excess oil blocking hair growth.

Add bounce with biotin. If your hair is starting to thin, take some biotin supplements, available at many health food stores. “Biotin is a B-complex vitamin that is necessary for your body to process dietary protein,” says Dr. Brandt, who advises taking three milligrams (3,000 micrograms) of biotin once a day. protein seals the moisture in your hair, keeping it thicker and fuller. If you want to get your biotin naturally, good food sources include corn, barley, milk, egg yolks, and fortified cereals.

Shampoo in thickness. If you suffer from thinning hair, try a hair-thickening shampoo such as Redken’s Cat protein Reconstructing Treatment, Bealer says. “These types of shampoos coat your hair with protein and can help seal in moisture, thus increasing the thickness of existing strands of hair within six months,” Bealer says. Other hair-thickening shampoos on the market include Aussie Real Volume, Foltene Research, and Nexxus’ Diametress Hair Thickening Shampoo.

Take time to de-stress. Try to keep your stress levels to a minimum, Dr. Brandt says. Older people often experience hair loss after a stressful event like the death of a loved one, he says. But left unchecked, everyday stress can build up and cause you to shed some hairs. For more information on managing stress, see stress on page 504.