Falling Hair

Dear Friends,

Hair loss. Hair scare. Falling hair. These were the thoughts going on in my mind in the past couple of days since I heard reasons for the same.

It causes so much disturbance and distress in the mind of any person with this problem, more so if the person happens to be young (could be a male or a female).

When I thought about this for a long time all I could think of was that this condition occurs due to not applying oil onto the scalp regularly, having a shampoo bath often, not having enough proteins in one's diet like milk, curds or cheese in case one is a vegetarian. Usually non-vegetarian diet contains high proteins so this incidence could be less in people who regularly include non-vegetarian dishes in their daily meals.

These days everything is blamed on 'stress'. This could be true to some extent yet falling hair can be due to more better reasons as I found out when I was exchanging ideas on this phenomenon with my sister.

She said she noticed this happening to youngsters who travel and settle down in some of the western countries for studies or work. They often end up having this problem. Or those who move out of house and live on their own. You will wonder about these generalized statement until you hear the why of it. It made so much sense to me and I am sharing this with you all today.

Firstly in India we always tend to blame ill-health (usually a cold, cough, fever, stomach upsets, hair loss) on 'change in water' (when we we move to another city, state or country away from our usual place where our body got used to the local water. The ailment may continue for a few days until we get used to the new water of the new place. The period we are away also matters. If for a few days or weeks then the problem disappears once we get back to our place. When we stay on for years this problem could set in.
But again what is the connecton to falling hair to this change of water in a new place?
Water has different ratios of salt content however much it has been purified and supplied. My sis also rightly pointed out to free flowing water available in the western countries and how very tempting it is to show our heads under the shower and take longer baths to experience the 'feel good' factor!
We little realise how bad this exposure of the hair to water could be on an everyday basis.
While we are at it we are tempted to reach out for the shampoo which comes in big containers whether there is oil or no oil on our scalps to remove with. This further results in making our already bad hair dry and rough to feel when it finally dries of all water. In no time we notice falling hair and at times greying also occurs. We lose sleep over it. We do all kinds of panicky things to rectify this malady but do not know the right remedy for this problem until we discuss this with some well meaning but adventourous friends who might have some ready solutions for all types of problems! We follow their advice and end up even more miserable!

Here is a list and hope this helps regain lost hair even if it turns out to be a bit of a slow process in the beginning.

1. Do not take head bath everyday. Most water supplied through taps contain salts. These do tend to harm hair in more ways than one. Since salts in water differ from place to place we find water in some places to cause hair loss within days of using.
In India we take head baths once a week. It is more or less observed as a ritual with application of warm sesame oil in the scalp, soaking in it for at least fifteen minutes to half hour to allow it to be absorbed by the skin and scalp.
2. Heavy oiling needs heavy shampooing too to remove all that excess grease.
So little oil should do and little shampoo to remove the grease.
Hot water helps in breaking down grease easily too.
3. Never squeeze hair tight if you have to dry the hair manually. As wet hair is weak it could just break loose when too much pressure is applied over it. Wet hair comes off its roots easily when pulled/towelled with too much force. Towel gently. Do not stand under a fan as you could catch a cold.
Use of a hair dryer is not recommended on a regular basis for long durations at a time. Once in a while in an emergency a dryer can be used.
Here, I recall how a smoking charcoal used to be placed under a woven (stripped bamboo) basket and our wet heads placed on top of it so that the smoke could dry our hair gently. What was the added attraction was the sprinkling of the powdered 'saambraani' over the burning charcoal to perfume our hair at the same time. It would be such a blissful experience which is out of fashion unless someone thinks of it as a business venture just like they thought about ayur massages, steam baths, hot spring baths, the hamams, etc., which were ancient and healthy practices from the olden days.
To sum it all up:
4. Get into a routine of applying non-greasy oil (known as hair protein - some really good ones are available in India under ayurvedic brands) for nourishing hair growth.
Apply a few drops only, but every day without fail (perhaps at night just before hitting the pillow).
Do not bother too much about your head smelling oily, etc. We can't lose precious hair and the fact is it does not smell bad. Do not be easily discouraged by such comments by anyone.
5. Do not have a head bath every single day. One should ideally have one head bath a week and preferably on a particular day. Saturday or Sunday is ideal as these are weekends and we can spend some time in massaging our scalps. Massaging of scalp should be done lightly with one's fingertips. This enhances blood circulation.
6. These alone will not ensure good hair growth. One should internally feed the body with proteins too. One glass (approximately 8oz) of milk with some cereal, cut fruits (instead of juicing it) and perhaps a few assorted nuts like almonds, walnuts - even 2 or 3 almonds a day should suffice - particularly as a breakfast. These should provide and deliver the required amount of protein and fibre to the body early in the morning when absorption rates are quite high.

We were also discussing about going bald which is brushed aside by many as heredity catching up at last. This can be for men but when she mentioned that women who had short hair were balding too, made us conclude that it is certainly not something to do with hereditry.
Women cut short their hair due to time constraints and easy maintainence.
The same repeats for women too who are then tempted to shower from head to toe and reach for the shampoo too often leading to loss of hair. When the hair starts to grey a bit we dye it in bright colors - red, dark brown, black... All strong chemicals. These could make the hair more worse and could damage the surrounding skin too.
Exposing hair to harsh sunlight also is harmful. (Those who worked in the hot sun should wear hats to protect their hair).

The phenomenon of no hair loss in meat eaters should be checked and researched into more deeply but the premise here is that their food contains high protein and hence helps check hair loss or replaces lost ones with new growth quickly enough due to high protein intake.

There are oils recommended to rectify this problem. There are pills and concoctions. There are hair treatments galore offered including transplants. But simple and basic care if followed strictly can protect our hair from falling until we age too far into our lives.

Like the old saying 'every kettle has a lid' so also 'every problem has a solution' is true. Some of the simplest solutions ones are the best should we care to listen and follow. We can heal our ailments with simple routines and simpler remedies.

God bless.
Mahalakshmi