Understanding and Preventing Hair Loss

Hair has a big part to play in how we communicate our personality, expressing attractiveness, sensuality and imagination. It’s no wonder it’s so upsetting to see signs that you’re losing your hair. Let’s take a look at the process to understand how to successfully treat thinning hair.

The health of our hair depends on several complex processes. Just like all the cells in our bodies, a strand of hair is alive and has a natural life cycle. There are three stages in hair growth:

• The anagen phase is the period when the hair is growing. This is the longest phase in the growth cycle, lasting from two to six years, and the vast majority of the hairs on our heads are in the anagen phase.
• During the catagen phase, which lasts around three weeks, the hair shaft ‘rests’ and no more growth occurs.
• Lastly, the telogen phase ends after about three months when the hair dies, breaking free from its root to leave room for a new hair in its anagen phase.

So as part of your hair’s natural growth cycle, you’ll be permanently shedding a certain amount of hair throughout the seasons – this is nothing to worry about, as long as the number of hairs in the telogen phase remains relatively low (fifty to one hundred hairs per day). However, there’s a limit to how many growth cycles your hair will go through: about twenty-five to thirty cycles, each lasting between two and five years – theoretically, this should be enough to give you a good head of hair throughout your lifetime.

Unfortunately, a number of factors can considerably reduce the length of these growth cycles, in which case individual hairs become finer and finer before falling out altogether. There has been a dramatic increase in diffuse hair loss in recent years, and now it affects from 20 to 40% of women. Typically, hair will be fine and sparse across the entire scalp, often due to external factors such as stress, tiredness, nutritional deficiency or a hormonal imbalance.

Countering hair loss

Hair loss should never be considered irreversible. Although there may not be any miracle solutions to wipe out all the causes of hair loss, there are lots of measures you can take to stabilize the situation. The first thing to do is clearly establish what is causing hair to fall out. Don’t hesitate to consult a dependable, well-informed specialist, who can give targeted recommendations after a thorough analysis of different factors. Medical treatment may be necessary for any underlying health condition, such as an internal problem, nervous disorder, nutritional or other deficiency. It’s also very important to make sure you take good care of your hair and scalp.

Excessive sebum, dust and pollution inhibit the scalp’s oxygen intake and disrupt the functioning of the hair follicles, leading to hair shafts that lack nutrients, and therefore vitality. So choose a gentle shampoo suitable for your hair type and scalp, and make sure you always keep your scalp clean.

Then get into a simple, effective routine to improve blood flow. Sluggish circulation leaves skin on your scalp debilitated and lifeless, unable to nourish the hair bulbs properly. Putting your head down and massaging the scalp gently for 1 minute keeps skin supple and stimulates surface blood flow. Finally, never skip the external intensive treatments that revitalize your scalp to replenish its energy. For a real pre-shampoo boost, apply Régénérescence Naturelle, a cocktail of essential oils that purifies, stimulates and promotes tissue regeneration. You can also revitalize your scalp and stabilize deficiencies with a deep-acting treatment used once a week instead of shampoo: a combination of Huile de Germe de Blé – a wheat germ oil – and Concentré Energétique will do the trick. Complexe Energisant is rich in amino acids and strengthening trace elements, so a vial provides long-lasting, effective action throughout the day. The less concentrated Tonique Vivifiant offers a practical solution for combating hair loss and bringing a daily dose of vitality.

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