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Archive for the ‘Hair Loss’ Category

Sep
01

Everyone sheds about 100 hairs a day, which is normal because each fallen hair is immediately replaced by a new one. The hair begins to thin when this hair regeneration process is not functioning properly and the speed at which the hair falls is exceeding the speed of the new hair growth.

There are four main theories that shed light onto the developments in human hair loss:

Evolutionary hypothesis

Despite a lack of general consensus on evolution of male hair loss, there is a hypothesis, proposed by several scientists, that suggests that male hair loss has evolved through sexual selection as a sign of aging and maturity, while things like risk-taking and aggression decrease in males with age. The aging and bolding male is in a higher social position and presents a lesser physical threat, allowing him to secure a partner and bring up his offspring.

Non-human hair loss

Hair loss is not an exclusively human feature. Other primates experience hair thinning and loss after adolescence. Some of these primates are even used in hair-growth treatment testing.

Genetics

A lot of research has been carried out to discover genetic causes in male hair loss and a suggestion is that it is mostly X-linked, however other genes unrelated to sex can also be involved. German academics identify the androgen receptor gene as the key condition for hair loss. They explain that a certain variant of it is required to prevent hair loss.

Other researchers name a different gene, also in the X chromosome as being responsible for male boldness.

Female hair loss

Female boldness is different from male one and should thus be addressed in a different way. First of all, it is less common for women to lose hair and the pattern in which this occurs is different. Usually, in women the frontal hairline is stable but the hair density decreases. The reasons of female hair loss are in contrast to male boldness, unrelated to the levels of testosterone. These reasons are however related to hormonal composition in a woman’s body. Women can notice hair loss in such conditions as pregnancy, a disease of ovarian cysts, menopause, contraception medication with high androgen levels, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Other conditions like anemia, thyroid gland disorders, chronic conditions and some drugs can also result in hair loss in women.

What causes hair loss?

To address the problem of hair loss in the most efficient way, and before taking medication like Propecia for it, you should devote considerable efforts to establishing the cause of hair loss. Various things can cause hair loss, some of them resulting in short-term hair loss, such as stress of a long-lasting illness, others bringing a long-term effect, like hormonal problems, often related to thyroid gland disorders.

Some medications can also cause hair loss and this effect may be reversed if you stop taking such medication. There are some infections that affect hair growth as well; so addressing these infections will prevent hair loss. Boldness can also be related to some underlying disease like diabetes and treating the disease is the most correct way to address hair loss.

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Aug
17

A lot of people look for medical hair wigs, men’s wigs and human hair hairpieces for women so that they appear more natural than others. Here are a couple of ideas on what to look for based on how to find wigs by face shape.

For your chin, people whose face is round, using less volume around the face makes it appear more flattering. So medical hair wigs or human hair hairpieces for women that takes away some of the roundness. Certain styles of wig hair cuts look better than others, and your face shape requires a cut that hits the chin or one where the layers are graduated so the face appears thinner.

Some wigs offer tapered ends, and even bangs are a great idea but they should be side swept or as long as the face to look idea with round faces. Do not get blunt cuts or curly short ones, because they will add roundness to the face. Some people with faces like yours are Oprah Winfrey, Cameron Diaz and Fergie.

Those with a square shaped face should try to get attention away from the jaw. There are a few men’s wigs and women’s wigs ideas that include textured ends, short spiked hair and curls or even a long cut that has layers beginning near the jaw that are ideal for this face shape.

Square faces should try to stay away from bobs of one length, as well as straight across or blunt bangs. These can make your face look more square than it is. Some people that have square faces include Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosario Dawson.

Those with oval shaped faces are the most versatile over all others in hair design. This shape would look nice in short or long bobs with curly or straight hair designs. For the most flattering overall appearance, look at your favorite features or what you think is your best feature and find a wig cut that accentuates it. For example, accentuating the eyes could mean using side swept bangs or for the chin, an angular bob.

Some people that share this shape of face are Jada Pinkett Smith, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. This face shape should try to avoid hair cuts that are short with layers, as this makes the head look even longer. If the wig is curly, you should avoid getting blunt cuts as this could make you look like a pyramid. Curly hair wigs should be worn long enough that the curls stay weighted down to avoid frizz and bouncing.

Those with an oblong face could use bangs that reach the eye brows, and bobs that are at least chin length so that width is added to the face. Curls or waves are ideal, as they also add width. Long hair styles will cause your face to appear much longer, so long layers should have 3 stopping points: nose, your chin and collar bone. One style that looks great on this shaped face is a V cut where the length in the rear is a bit longer than in the front and sides.

This face shape should avoid any extreme hair cuts, and never let hair fall longer than the collar area. Some people who have face shapes like this are Sarah Jessica Parker or Liv Tyler.

Jul
22

The early onset of premature grey hair can be one of the major hair thinning causes. This can be rather embarrassing for both men and women.

Strands of grey hair that appear in your 20’s and 30’s is quite normal. Some people start to go grey as early as their teens, early 20’s or 30’s; this can be classified as premature greying when the hair is at least 50% grey. Normally it is a gradual process.

Within the body there is a special type of cell known as Melanocytes which is concentrated within the epidermis throughout the skin. Through a process known as melanogenesis, the Melanocytes, are present in the hair follicles which are located next to the dermal sheath. The melanocytes are situated near the keratinocyte cells which produce keratin, the basic composition of hair. Melanocytes and keratinocytes both contribute to the hair pigmentation and growth.

Due to several reasons, the stem cells may produce less Melanocytes which interferes with sufficient production of melanin which produces healthy hair. Over time, hair will start to lose its natural colour due to a lack of pigmentation. This is due to the aging process where less pigment is produced as the person ages.

Premature graying of the hair may be due to a genetic predisposition, however there are also certain lifestyle factors which play an influential part in graying hair which consist of:

Smoking. Research has found that smoking is extremely bad. It is linked withpremature ageing and can slow melanin production therefore causing loss of pigmentation in hair colour.

Stress. It has been established that there is a link between stress and graying hair. According to research excessive stress is the catalyst of free and unstable molecules that can damage vulnerable cells such as Melanocytes and interfere with melanin production. Stress is also a main cause of a sudden hair loss known as telogen effluvium which causes hair growth to stop prematurely causing the Melanocytes to shut down in the body.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia. Vitamin B12 and the other vitamins in the B group are essential for healthy hair growth. These vitamins are vital to ensure that adequate pigmentation is maintained in order to deter the growth of premature grey hairs. If premature graying hair is brought on by conditions such as malnutrition including anemia graying of hair may only be temporary and when the underlying condition is corrected normal hair growth will resume. Healthy hair requires adequate nutrition otherwise you will notice that your hair will gradually become lighter, thinner and extremely brittle.

You are able to conceal grey hair with a good quality hair colour but you will need to ensure that the colour can provide full grey coverage as not all colours are designed for grey hair. Unfortunately grey hair is often dry and the colour may dry it out even more and therefore a wig or hair piece may be more of a practical option.

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Jul
08

If you are one of the many women the many women who suffer from loss of hair you are probably looking for a solution. Some magic product that will solve all your problems and give you back that full head of hair you once had. The thing to keep in mind is that there is no one female loss of hair treatment. Each woman is different and so is each woman’s loss of hair. You have to know the cause of your hair loss to figure out what the best course of action is for reversing your hair loss.
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If you are one of the many women who has loss of hair as a result of hormones, there really is not much you can do but to wait for your hormones to level out. Once they go back to normal your loss of hair should subside, though your hair may not go back to its former fullness. There are certain herbs you can take to help get your hormones back to normal. In the mean time, you can have fun picking out different wigs, which come in every different length, hairstyle and color. Or if your hair is only thinning, you can use different hairstyles to hide this. A good tip is to not feather your hair, as this will make is look even thinner.

If you suffer from female pattern baldness there are many options for you. There are shampoos, creams and even pills you can take. Just be cautious when you are purchasing these, as there are many scams out there. Don’t trust pictures on a companies website or their testimonials. Research the product for yourself. Look at many different reviews of the product. Currently the only female hair loss treatment for this type of balding tat is FDA approved is Minoxodil. Also remember that the hair growth process can take awhile, so don’t expect to see results overnight. It can take months before you see real results.

There are also other ways you can treat your hair loss. There is laser therapy. This process is done in thirty minutes increments and puts a certain light on your scalp that will help stimulate blood flow to the area, which can help hair growth and prevent hair loss. You may even be brave enough to try different surgical options. Hair transplants take hair from your had in areas that are not pone to hair loss and transplant them into your bald spots. You can even try scalp reduction to minimize the surface area of your scalp, giving it the illusion of being fuller. If you decide to go under the knife, you need to make sure you understand all the risks involved.
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With any female hair loss treatment, you should make sure that you keep your stress to a minimum as this can cause hair loss. Another good tip is to take a multivitamin designed to help your hair stay healthy. Think of the positive, even though there are many causes of hair loss, there are just as many, if not more solutions

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Jun
30

Hair is not found on the surface of the skin only, it goes deeper than that. In order to understand how to take better care of our hair, we also need to understand what it consists of, its growth stages and rates, and what affects it. Hair plant roots are an important part of the hair and play an essential role in growth. If the roots somehow disintegrate, then there will be no growth in it.
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Hair strands are made up of keratin, which is a scleroprotein. Each has a root that is contained in the follicle. A follicle is a component of the skin that is responsible for growing hair. The follicle is connected to the sebaceous gland that is responsible for producing sebum or oil. Sweat glands and hair muscles also form part of the structure of the follicle. Hair muscles called arrector pili which makes the hair stand at a perpendicular angle. Found at the foundation of the hair follicle is a papilla which consists of connective tissue. The papilla is encased in the matrix of the hair. This is the part of the hair responsible for cell divisions. It consists of epithelial cells which are an integral part of the plant roots and hair fibers. The matrix also contains melanocytes, cells responsible for the production of hair pigment.

The hair begins to grow after the formation of the follicle. This often begins during the embryo stage. This is why babies are born with hair. As they grow, they lose the silky hair termed the lanugo, and begin to grow coarser hair. At the puberty stage, there is hair growth on the pubic area, in the armpits and on the face for males.

Hair grows in stages. The rate of growth tends to vary with age. The growth stage is termed the anagen stage. This stage is active for different periods of time for the different sites of hair growth. During this stage, the plant root cells rapidly divides in a process called mitosis. After every 56 days, the hair would have grown about an inch long. The length of this stage depends on the site of hair growth. On the head, it can last up to seven years whilst on the face it can last up to seven months. After the anagen stage, the hair goes into a stage called the catagen stage. In this stage, the hair will either regress or curl forming a club hair. This stage is very short, lasting up to a month. After this stage, there is the telogen stage when the hair follicle goes into resting. The club hair here has fully developed.
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It is rather important to keep the hair follicle as healthy as possible. In this way, there will be no loss of plant roots and subsequent loss of hair. It is best to avoid using chemical products on a frequent basis as well as shampoos that contain alcohol.

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Jun
02

Stress is a huge contributor to hair problems including thinning and hair loss. The reasons are varied it could be from poor circulation of the scalp itself, or lack of stimulation.

Diet is always a contributing factor for hair health. Does your diet lack in amino acids like lysine, minerals such as Iron or Zinc? Are you getting enough vitamins such as B1 or C.?

Here are 9 simple tips to reduce hair loss and promote healthy hair growth.

1. Either you or a significant other should rub your scalp gently with fingertips. Use a small amount of baby oil and gently massage it into your scalp for a soothing experience.

2. Boil dry pieces of Amla (Indian Gooseberry) which you can purchase at any Indian or health food store, in coconut oil. Then take the juice your have made and mix it with lime juice. Even amounts of each juice. Use it as you would a shampoo. The Romasanjana variety of Amla is well known to specifically stimulate hair growth.

3. Also found at the health food store are red clover tops liquid extract. Drink 30 drops of this extract daily.

4. Mix together apple cider vinegar and sage tea and put it a plastic container or bottle. This mixture is used as a rinse for your hair after shampooing.

5. Hot and cold compresses. Just like facials when you want to open pores and stimulate your skin, the same applies for your scalp. Use first hot then a cold cloth, it works great for stimulating your scalp.

6. For Vitamin supplements, add 30-60 mg of zinc daily.

7. An old but proven method for promoting hair growth cut a garlic clove and rub it on any problem areas an hour before bedtime. When you are about to go to bed, massage your scalp with olive oil and put on a shower cap.

When you wake up the next morning, make sure you shampoo your hair. Do this for a few weeks; you should see a noticeable change. Where hair was previously falling out should stop which is very good on its own, but you may also start to see new hair begin to grow in previously problem areas.

Make sure you have a friend or your spouse let you know if there are any lingering odors, so you can shampoo them away.

8. If you are having an odor problem rub aloe Vera into your scalp, that will cure it.

9. Using 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper and 1/2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar mix and dab lightly onto your scalp one hour before shampooing. This has proven to stimulate hair growth.

These are simple tips that can stop hair loss and stimulate the growth of new healthy hair. Find out what else your can do to stop hair loss now.

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May
14

Baldness is a condition that is common to both men and women. Although the exact causes of baldness is still yet to be verified, certain factors like hormones, heredity, age and even stress can be contributory factors of this condition. Hair loss that resulted from diseases or non-hereditary factors can still grow and be replaced naturally but hair loss resulting from common baldness is regretfully permanent.

In men, baldness begins with the thinning of the hairline. Then, there’s the appearance of a bald spot by the crown of the head. For women, bald patches are uncommon. They only experience a diffused thinning of hair.

The causes of baldness are conceptualized through factors like natural hormones, diet, improper hair care, pregnancy, medications and certain diseases. In order to find effective baldness treatment, you need to initially know the underlying cause of the condition.

As mentioned earlier, regretfully, common baldness is incurable. The only way to go about this is to undergo hair replacement therapy. This procedure has been existent since the 1950s. No worries – surgical hair replacement is a known low risk procedure.

What surgeons do in this procedure is remove tiny plugs of one’s hair-bearing skin. Then, they transplant them to tiny holes in one’s scalp. These plugs are actually taken from the band of hair that extends from over one’s ears to around the back of one’s scalp. In one session, surgeons can transplant 60 to 100 hair plugs. The diameter of each is just the same as the diameter of a regular pencil eraser. To minimize discomfort during surgery, mild sedation and local anesthesia is given to patients.

With this procedure, hospitalization is no longer necessary. In fact, after a couple of days from the operation, you’ll see tiny scabs forming around every hair graft. When these scabs disappear, donor hairs would fall out. Then, new hairs will generally start to grow after a few months.

At an average, the cost of this procedure would start at around $2,000 per round of surgery. The usual numbers of sessions are three to four, depending on how extensive the bald area is.

These days when hair has become a conspicuous element in most cultural definitions of youth, sexuality and fashion, it is only natural to be bothered at the sight of thinning hair. This is especially if it’s you hair that’s thinning and getting bald. Just as the causes of baldness vary, proper assessment is necessary in order to determine how you can bring back your lost hair. If it’s a permanent condition, don’t worry – there are currently more advanced ways to resolve this dilemma.

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Apr
15

Is it possible to have natural relief from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome without surgery? You bet!

A “syndrome” is a bunch of “symptoms”. Symptoms are things like tingling, pain, wheezing, headaches.

Muscles cause most of our physical pain. Good old-fashioned, everyday, commonly-overlooked-by-the-medical-profession muscles. This is not true in every case but it is true for most of our pain.

I met a fellow massage therapist who is also a pain relief specialist. She created a self-help program for carpal tunnel sufferers. I asked her why she created her carpal tunnel program.

Here’s what she told me:

  • She said she was frustrated with what people told her their doctors told them. She was frustrated that some people just wanted to let it just get so bad they needed surgery (expecting things to be all better).
  • She was frustrated when she told people what their problem was and she gave them a link to a free video she made so they could help themselves. But she could tell by the stats that they never went there.
  • And she was frustrated when she would overhear someone talking about their numb hands and offer to teach them how to locate their problem and do something about it. But then she would never heard from them.

I thoroughly understand what she means. I share her frustration.

Some people WANT help. Some people want to BE ACTIVE in getting well. But some people just want someone else to take care of them.

The problem with that is it doesn’t always work.

No one cares as much about you, your body or your health as you do. Or, at least, as much as you should. And so few people in the medical profession truly understand the roles that muscles play in causing pain.

There are even massage therapists who do not understand. Lots of them. Lots.

And did you know that people who are pro-active in their health care (the ones who take care of themselves) get better more quickly than the ones who want someone else to “do their push-ups” for them. (You cannot hire someone to do your push-ups for you.):)

What does this mean?

It means there is a very good chance that you can have relief without surgery. You have a smart body and it wants to be well. It just needs some help from you.

When you have pain, that is a symptom. It means that something is wrong. It doesn’t necessarily mean you need drugs or surgery but your body is telling you it does need something. Your body is calling out to you for help.

By taking care of the problem areas in your muscles that are causing your symptoms you can get natural relief. Sometimes those muscles are quite far away from your symptom areas. In the case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome they can be all the way up to your neck!

The problem with surgery is that it often treats the symptom rather than the cause. In order to heal and avoid a “repeat performance” you have to get rid of the cause of your pain. If you don’t treat the cause, your symptoms will either stay or come back again.

You might choose to have a massage or muscular therapist help you. Or you may choose do-it-yourself therapy. Both ways can be very beneficial in helping you get rid of your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome without surgery.

 

Common Serious Symptoms:

With the constant use of computers among the majority of people these days, carpal tunnel syndrome is often feared. Of course, you can also get this condition simply through doing repetitive tasks, not just computer use. The good news is that it is treatable, especially if you catch it early. In order to get the best results from treatment, you should know the signs to look for.

The first symptom most people appear to feel is a general aching in their forearms or hands. It could affect one arm or both. It may also become a general tingling or numbness, and can even affect the fingers.

Note that every finger except your pinky will likely have symptoms, as your smallest finger is controlled by a different nerve than the others. Thus, if your pinky fingers also hurt, it could be caused by a different issue altogether, and should be mentioned to your doctor.

The tingling might not sound like a big deal, but it will eventually turn into pain, which can even radiate from the tips of your fingers up to your forearms. Clearly, this could start to affect your daily habits. In fact, you might start losing sleep because it hurts so much, either after doing a repetitive motion or even when trying to sleep.

Aside from the pain, you may experience other annoyances. For example, the numbness in your hands and fingers could cause you to start dropping things. You may also start feeling like your hands are very cold, even though the rest of your body is fine, and your hands could fall asleep often. These issues could be due to losing circulation in the area.

Obviously, these symptoms could harm your productivity at work, whether you need to type or merely pick objects up. If you cannot even do daily necessities, including buttoning your shirt or tying your shoelaces, carpal tunnel syndrome is clearly impacting your life. Loss of sleep and inability to carry anything without the risk of suddenly dropping it are also major issues that will start to negatively affect your life.

If you want to eliminate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome as soon as possible, you need to get to a doctor. Treatment will not only reduce many symptoms with some time, but it can also completely eliminate them if you catch the condition in time. The main issue is excess pressure on the median nerve, so if your doctor can figure out a way to get rid of this problem, the condition should eventually clear up.

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Mar
26

If you have been wondering about how to deal with your balding issues I am sure you have heard the term Hair Plugs. When I first heard about these I wasn’t sure what it meant so I did some research to find out. Actually, the hair plugs procedure is not new at all. The term originated in the 1950’s when a couple of pioneering surgeons started to treat balding by transplanting growing hair from one area of the patient’s scalp to the bald spot. But, the procedure was first utilized twenty years before that.

During the 1930’s Japanese doctors were doing facial hair implants using this same method. They were mostly interested in eyebrow implants for women and mustache and beard renovation for men. They were really quite successful and were getting good results until World War II started which put a stop to their research. Most of their information was lost due to the war effort.

In the 1950’s surgeons in the US started experimenting with the procedure. They were interested in treating baldness caused by male pattern baldness which is the result of a genetic condition named Androgenic Alopecia. Since the balding area of a man’s scalp is so large it was determined that groups of hair would be transplanted. There were two main methods used. The first actually removed a round plug of scalp from the back of the head which had 10 to 15 hair follicles and their hair shafts intact. Men almost never lose their hair at the back of the head so this is a place to use as a donor site.

Then, once it was removed and cleaned, the plug was inserted in an incision that had been made in the balding area. There were usually several hair plugs transplanted in this way. This did give some hair growth in the bald spot but it was spotty and not very attractive. The hairs tended to stick out every which way because the surgeon had very little control over the directional placement of the individual hairs.

Although these were plugs which were being transplanted, the name actually came from the appearance of the new hair growth. It looked like the artificial hair which is plugged into the a cheap doll’s head with tufts sticking out all over. As you can imagine this was not very pleasing.

Now fast forward almost 60 years and we have a completely different set of results from hair plugs. Now individual hairs and their support structures are removed from the donor site and inserted in the thinning area with no cutting and sewing. A specially designed surgical instrument actually does both processes. This allows the hair restoration surgeon to place each individual hair in a way that matches the directional growth of the surrounding hair giving a very natural and pleasing appearance.

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