Hair loss is believed to be a predominantly male problem but a growing number of today’s women are losing their hair because of too much brushing, bleaching and styling.

Considered as a woman’s crowning glory, many women spend too much time taking care of their hair and unconsciously damaging it in the process. The use of chemicals for dyeing, tinting or bleaching can weaken hair and may ultimately cause it to break. Contrary to popular belief, brushing your hair one hundred times a day won’t make your hair shine; it actually destroys the hair!

Fortunately, hair loss in these cases can be treated. It can be remedied by following good hair habits such as avoiding tight pony-tails, curlers and strong chemicals and staying out of the sun whenever possible. Also, it might be a good idea to towel dry hair gently instead of rubbing it vigorously after showering.

It is normal for some hair to fall every day while new ones grow. The situation only becomes imbalanced when the rate of expelling old hair is faster than producing new ones. Abnormal hormone secretions, stress, medication and nutritional deficiencies can cause temporary hair loss.

Hair loss (excessive falling and thinning hair) can also follow childbirth, a high fever, surgery or an underlying medical problem. Once these conditions are corrected hair will grow back in few months.

Permanent hair loss, on the other hand, is caused by the weakening of the base of the root where the hair is born. The majority of permanent hair loss cases are caused by excess sebum production that blocks the growth of new hair. Treating cases like these may take anywhere from two months to a year, depending on the case.

For healthier sebum glands, a product that contains algae extract whose active ingredient is spirulina is highly recommended. The algae extracts work by absorbing excess sebum, regulating oily scalp and softening the dry ends.

In fifty-percent of women, however hair loss is permanent because of age, changing hormones and heredity. This condition is called female pattern baldness and it may first become apparent by age 25 to 30.

Unlike male-pattern baldness, female-pattern baldness starts on top of the head where women part their hair. Women won’t develop a receding hairline but their hairs gradually become fewer and shorter.

For these women, a topical 5 percent minoxidil solution can help. Minoxidil is a medically proven hair-restorer approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug was originally prescribed for hypertension but studies show that it produced moderate to dense hair regrowth in 26% of men between 18 and 49 and in 19% of women aged 18-45 after four months of treatment. Another study showed minoxidil helped hair to grow in 149 or 86% of 173 males suffering from moderate to severe baldness.

Minoxidil works by stimulating hair cells to produce longer and thicker hair. It also increases blood flow to the hair follicles. People using minoxidil report a noticeable decrease in shedding of hair. This means good news for those worried about hair loss!

To benefit from minoxidil, it must be used twice daily for three to six months. The 5 percent formulation is the most potent form.

Other recommended treatments for hair loss are:

o To treat hair loss caused by improper diet, increase your daily intake of vegetables, sprouts, fruits, milk and salad. Eat foods that are rich in protein like soya beans, nuts, buttermilk, wheat germ and yeast. Iodine rich food is also important to improve blood circulation in the scalp.

o Natural remedies like oil or extracts from plants can provide invaluable help. Here are some homemade recipes.

- Castor oil. Massage hair and scalp with warm castor oil for fifteen minutes. Cover the head with shower cap then rinse after one hour.

- Reetha. Soak it overnight in water then boil the mixture for ten to fifteen minutes. Get the water from the seeds and apply to hair.

- Coconut milk and lemon juice. Mix well and massage into the scalp.

- Neem Leaves. Boil neem leaves. Cool and use as hair rinse.

- Egg white. Massage into the scalp; dry it first before rinsing well.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Hair Loss

As the years roll on the skin across your scalp can become quite tight – in fact this can be a major factor contributing to baldness in men even when young – so it requires constant massage to keep it relaxed, elastic and supple. When taking your shower, with the water running through your hair, take your fingernails and run them quite sharply along your scalp front to back several times covering your whole scalp. You will feel your blood stimulate immediately in the skin and give your head a quite pleasant sensation.

Whilst that continues place all of the fingers of both hands against the sides of your head just above your ears where it begins to curve over the top of your scalp. Press firmly and push the skin vigorously upward and over the dome, inward and outward back down again. You may find the skin tight at the beginning, so persevere and continue thirty seconds everyday and after a week or two you will find that your skin loosens up considerably and becomes much more flexible. Once you have achieved this it is then easy to keep it supple with twenty to thirty seconds of massage every time you shower, or even by washing in the basin when not. You can even do it anytime in the dry.

This massaging will stimulate the blood flow streaming through that part of your scalp and feed all of your hair roots, which in turn will assist keeping the hair firmly rooted in its follicle instead of being strangled, dying and falling out.

Once this becomes a habit, you will automatically perform it first up in the shower or hand basin – thirty seconds combined daily of these two techniques will be enough to keep your scalp elastic, relaxed and happy. Also, you will notice that your hair begins to take on a sheen that wasn’t there before, has more bounce and if you have been losing hair that this massaging technique will reduce it considerably if not halt it altogether.

Now, here’s a radical idea you can try. Take all your shampoos and conditioners and throw them out! Can you do it? Add up how much you spend every year on these preparations and you can see how you can save quite an amount of money. Your hair doesn’t need shampoo as is illustrated by the fact that after you have washed it with shampoo(dries it out), you then have to apply conditioner – rather a pointless exercise don’t you think?

How to achieve this? Quite simply. As the water is running through your hair whilst you carry out your thirty second massage treatment it will get its wash at the same time, so you combine both treatments into one – easy huh? Once you step out of the shower, dry your hair in the normal way fluffing it up so that it looks nice and natural. You will be rather pleased with the effect.

Depending on how oily your hair is will determine how long it takes to revert to its natural and lustrous state. This varies from person to person and it could be just a few days for folks with less oily hair to a couple of weeks for more oily hair. But, once you have arrived at this point, your hair will feel and look just great and you will never spend money on all those hair care products again.

Vincent Bossley is a publisher and sailor and lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. He has is own website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com for cruising sailors, sailors planning their lifetime adventure, armchair sailors, virtual sailors and in fact anyone who has ever dreamed of sailing the oceans of this beautiful planet of ours. You can find him and his ebook ‘Voyage of the Little Ship ‘Tere Moana’ on http://www.sailboat2adventure.com

Hair loss can be the result of genetics, health issues, hormones, excessive use of hair dye or the natural process of aging. It can affect both men and women. There are many different prescriptions and over the counter treatments for this problem. This article will discuss the different types of products and treatments on the market today for the treatment of hair loss.

Some shampoo companies offer products that help your hair get the necessary nutrients to help prevent or slow hair loss. These shampoos can be helpful and can be found in most hair care departments. Another product that is often used is hair re-growth formulas. These products are more expensive than the loss prevention shampoo’s but have better results in most cases. Both the shampoo and the hair re-growth formulas can be used by both men and women.

Going the natural is often an option for those who don’t like medications are chemical treatments. Certain vitamins can be taken to help slow or prevent hair loss. Some vitamins that would be of benefit would be B vitamins, folic acid, vitamin A and Biotin. These vitamins are necessary to keep your hair strong and will promote hair loss. Taking vitamins is not a quick fix, but will show benefits if taken daily over a period of time.

Some people will opt for a hair transplant. This is a drastic move and other measures should be taken before embarking on this option. Having a hair transplant can be very costly and time consuming. Another option if all else fails would be to get a wig. Many beautiful life like wigs are on the market today and will help cover where loss of hair has been severe.

Your loss of hair could be temporary due to a health condition or even pregnancy. Many pregnant woman will report large amounts of hair loss while with child. This problem of course will resolve after the pregnancy is completed in most cases. Sometimes hair loss is due to a hormone imbalance. This problem can be cured with the correct hormone replacement. If you think your loss of hair is due to health condition or hormone imbalance it’s best to check with your doctor for the appropriate treatment and to rule out any possible health concerns.

Hair Loss Shampoo is one of the most commonly used treatments and can be purchased without prescription. Check out the site more more information, including how the shampoo prevents further loss of hair and stimulates regrowth.