Letting down our hair - Hair loss

Losing hair is normal, as hair renews itself every two to six years. The major problem occurs whenever hair grows back in ever diminishing volume. Heredity may be an important tip-off in this area. If one of your close relatives has problems with baldness, and you think that the volume of your own hair is decreasing, it is high time to consider saving and perhaps even increasing, the volume of your remaining hair. On the market today there are treatments which enable hair to be renewed normally, but there is no product which will allow hair to grow back in areas where it is no longer present.

CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS
Many factors may be involved in the loss of hair: a bad base of flu, a thyroid-related ailment, severe fevers, pelada or chemotherapy, to list just these examples.

A complete list would be too long to include here, but the most common factor is what is called androgenic-genetic alopecia, or, the effect of testosterone. Most of these problems should be referred to a doctor with specialization in this field, but the kind of hygiene to be practiced after treatments begin is the concern of the hair hygienist, who has received training for that purpose.

HOW DOES BALDNESS BEGIN?
Baldness begins in different ways for many people, but some signs can never be mistaken. If you have dandruff or itching, your body is giving you a warning – one that is that the hair system is being disrupted. This is always the time that you should consult a hair hygienist. Our body is a marvellous thing. If we know how to listen to it, many problems can be remedied before they take on unmanageable proportions.

In short, if you have dandruff or itching scalp, there is still time to find a solution to your hair problems.

DOES THE LOSS OF HAIR HAVE A PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT ON PEOPLE?
With few exceptions, everyone wants to keep their hair. You only have to look at the persons who are losing theirs to see all the acrobatics they perform in order to prove the contrary. When only a few hairs remain on the top of their head, some individuals will deprive themselves of going out, swimming or even going south in the winter (the reason: too strong winds).

At the most recent congress of the American Hair Loss Council, Thomas F. Cash, professor in psychology at the University of Virginia at Norfolk, made public an in-depth study of people who had experienced loss of hair.

His studies showed that society attaches a lot of importance to hair and that changes in their appearance are a source of stress for many men, considerably so if hair loss is extensive or if the person is young or unmarried.  Many of these people believe that the loss of hair attracts attention.

Many interviewees stated that they felt frustrated and disadvantaged, or that they felt older.  Others wondered how far hair loss would go and did not take teasing on the subject of their hair well.