3 Causes of Hair Loss that You Might be Missing
Hi everyone!
There are well-known, major causes of hair loss like: genetics, aging, and stress.
But here, I want to talk about some other, lesser known reasons.
1. Poor Blood Circulation
Blood carries nutrients and oxygen everywhere. If blood circulates improperly in the scalp area, your hair follicles would receive less nutrients and oxygen which might cause thinning or hair loss.
There’s also a study that shows ‘increasing blood flow to the scalp helps stave off baldness’.
So you might be wondering, “how do I improve blood flow then?”
Well here’s a few ways:
- Proper exercise, stretching, yoga
- Scalp and neck massages to stimulate blood flow to your head
- Drink (warm) water: dehydration lowers blood flow
2. Protein
According to Wikipedia, hair is “a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis”. Hair is mainly (80~90%) composed of protein, so if you don’t have enough protein, it could result in hair thinning and loss (so make sure to pay attention to your diet!)
These foods are high in protein: meat, eggs, fish, beans, cheese and nuts.
Be careful though! Some studies say that protein shakes actually have some ingredients which increase testosterone levels which can speed up hair loss. Better safe than sorry, and stick to getting protein from foods instead of shakes.
3. Heat
Washing your hair with excessively hot water may damage the lipid layer on your scalp, lowering your body’s ability to grow hair.
It doesn’t mean that you should always take an ice cold bath though (brrrrr). Warm water is good too for washing away germs, dirt, and whatever else might be up there. Finally, cold water seals cuticles, so a cold water rinse at the end of hair washing can be pretty helpful too.
I hope this helps! Until next time.