P<\/span>eople go partially or fully bald for any number of reasons, including hormones, genetics, and aging.\u00a0 One factor is taking center stage especially these days: stress.<\/p>\n Stress can contribute to hair loss in several ways. Extreme stress can not only cause hair to suddenly stop growing and rapid shedding to ensue, but it can also contribute to autoimmune responses contributing to hair loss. Hormones released into the bloodstream when we are stressed can disrupt the natural hair growth cycle.<\/p>\n But for those who want to keep their hair healthy and full now and who hope to avoid reaching the point where they need hair-loss intervention, here are some tips \u2026<\/p>\n Keeping with a consistently healthy diet can provide essential nutrients and metabolism for hair growth. Some fad diets may have a nutritional impact on hair loss. It\u2019s really important to eat a healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. Take a multivitamin that includes vitamins A, B complex, C, D, and E, along with the minerals zinc, iodine, and iron, all of which help with hair health.<\/p>\n Regular exercise improves blood circulation, which stimulates growth in hair follicles. And it also helps us sleep better, which leads to better cell renewal.<\/p>\n Ways to significantly lower stress include healthy lifestyle habits such as staying hydrated; exercising; avoiding alcohol in excess, smoking, and recreational drugs; and practicing relaxation and meditation. Seek professional psychological help, if necessary, to manage stress.<\/p>\n Avoid showering too hot, which can strip essential oils from your hair. Use a balanced shampoo and conditioner for your hair type. And note that the way you wash your hair could undermine your efforts to prevent hair loss. As you wash, avoid pulling on your hair because that can put traction on the follicles.<\/p>\n The same goes for combing. It\u2019s less stressful on the follicles to wash and comb your hair forward, toward your face instead of toward the back of your scalp and neck. Also, long hair weighs more, so on its own, it can put more traction on the follicles. And be mindful that tight braids can cause traction.<\/p>\n Brushing your hair regularly is good because it massages the scalp and helps improve blood flow and circulation. The condition of your hair should also be in balance: not too oily and not too dry. Finally, don\u2019t overuse a hair dryer because that can make hair weak and brittle, which can lead to more hair loss. Other things to avoid include overuse of styling products that can cause scalp residue, which can contribute to scalp inflammation and miniaturization.<\/p>\n Seek professional medical help when you first notice significant hair thinning or loss. Hormonal imbalances and other medical conditions such as low thyroid and iron or iodine deficiency can contribute to hair loss. Avoid overuse of supplements and medications. Since supplements such as testosterone, human growth hormone, whey, and DHEA can cause thinning and hair loss, especially avoid excessive use of these.<\/p>\n These conditions include but are not limited to the following: seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, tinea, and lichen planopilaris.<\/p>\n Clinical research suggests that a scalp massage improves hair density, theoretically by increasing scalp blood circulation, affecting scalp gene and protein regulation and reducing stress.<\/p>\n Smoking or being around those who are smoking, air pollution, and radiation are environmental factors that affect hair loss.<\/p>\n Medications that can contribute to hair loss include:<\/p>\n Rogaine (minoxidil), initially developed as a blood pressure medication, is a vasodilator, which means that it helps increase blood flow to the scalp where it\u2019s applied, and that leads to some of that regrowth of the small hair. It makes existing hairs stronger and thicker. It also increases the duration of the growth phase of the hair cycle. Basically, it shifts more of the hair into a growing phase and away from the resting phase. The results tend to be more hair growth for a longer period of time. And the hairs are thicker and less miniaturized.<\/p>\n Propecia (finasteride) is a medication that prevents the conversion of testosterone to DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. Commonly known by the brand name Propecia, finasteride is by far one of the best oral medical treatments available for the prevention of hair loss and for maintaining as much hair as possible. Propecia is a 1-milligram tablet taken once a day.<\/p>\n The energy is targeted to the hair follicles and is thought to increase blood flow and, in turn, helps oxygenation and nutrient delivery. This may also keep hairs in the growing phase longer, increase hair shaft diameter, and slow and partially reverse miniaturization and active hair thinning.<\/p>\n Platelet-rich plasma is a concentrated source of the platelets and plasma from your own blood. During PRP, your whole blood is spun down to concentrate the platelets and to activate the release of their growth factors. These growth factors stimulate stem cells to help with wound healing. Think of a simple cut. As your blood clots, the platelets release growth factors to signal all the other tissue to come in and help heal the wound. By extracting those growth factors from your blood, they can be applied specifically to your wounds to enhance healing.<\/p>\n The use of PRP scalp injections with the growth factors can also stimulate hair follicles, triggering growth and promoting neovascularization (the formation of new blood vessels) and improved hair growth characteristics.<\/p>\n When efforts to prevent hair loss fall short, those who prefer to avoid baldness can explore the possibilities that modern science provides. Patients may consider a permanent solution in a hair transplantation procedure, such as robotic treatment, which helps patients regain their beloved locks. That process involves an advanced, minimally invasive hair transplant system that uses technology driven by artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Among the reasons that patients consider hair restoration is that they want to get back some of their youthful looks and feel better about themselves. Helping them accomplish that is one of the great satisfactions I get from being a plastic surgeon. Not every patient needs hair transplantation, though. Especially when it comes to younger patients, it may be best to start with other options.<\/p>\n Since the reasons for hair loss vary from person to person and are unique to their circumstances, a good place to start is by determining the cause of hair loss in the first place and then go from there.<\/p>\n Ideas for helping prevent baldness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2020","category-fall-2020-columns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10401"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10658,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions\/10658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Eat a Well-Balanced Diet; Know Your Nutritional Needs<\/h3>\n
Get Plenty of Exercise and Sleep<\/h3>\n
Lead a Healthy Lifestyle<\/h3>\n
Maintain Good Hair Care and Hygiene Habits<\/h3>\n
Treat Health Issues<\/h3>\n
Treat Any Skin or Scalp Conditions That Can Contribute to Hair Loss<\/h3>\n
Get a Scalp Massage<\/h3>\n
Avoid Unhealthy Environments<\/h3>\n
Avoid or Limit Medications That Can Contribute to Hair Loss<\/h3>\n
\n
Consider Rx Meds<\/h3>\n
Use a Laser Comb or Laser Cap<\/h3>\n
Consider Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatments<\/h3>\n
Dr. Patrick Angelos<\/a>, author of The Science and Art of Hair Restoration: A Patient\u2019s Guide<\/em><\/a>, is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon whose primary surgical interests include hair restoration and facial plastic surgery. He is certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"