If you look in the drain after taking a shower and notice strands of hair clumped together, you're not alone. According to dermatologists, recent studies show that although hair fall or hair loss is typically associated with aging, an increasing number of millennials are experiencing this issue. Among the causes are hormonal changes, autoimmune diseases, thyroid disorders, stress, and diet. But there’s no need to worry. Having the right hair fall treatment coupled with some lifestyle changes can help address this concern.
Stress Affects Your Hair Growth Cycle
Stress can heavily affect the growth cycle of your hair. To better understand this, there are four phases in the hair lifecycle: anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen. Anagen is the growth phase of a human scalp where hair lasts from 2 to 6 years. After this stage, hair enters a short catagen phase, which lasts for a few days, when the follicle shrinks slightly. This is then followed by the telogen phase, when hair remains stable for about 100 days. Finally, it enters the exogen phase, during which the strand falls out.
It’s a continuous process, and normally, an average person loses about 50 to 100 strands a day. However, stress can interrupt your hair’s growth process by moving hair out of the growth phase prematurely. This leads to higher amounts of hair falling out.
To help prevent stress, try practicing these habits in your daily routine:
Meditate in the morning.
When you’re stressed, there’s an increased level of cortisol – the stress hormone – in your body. This produces harmful effects such as sleep disruption, depression, anxiety, increased blood pressure, and fatigue. Throughout the day, when you experience stress, your body automatically responds to it. This is otherwise known as the fight-or-flight response.
Meditating affects your body in exactly the opposite way that stress does. It triggers the body’s relaxation response and restores it to a calm state — helping the body repair itself. It can calm your mind by quieting down stress-induced thoughts that keep your body’s stress response triggered.
Simple steps to start your day on a positive note with meditation:
- Sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes
- Breathe naturally and focus your attention on inhaling and exhaling
- If your mind wanders, return your focus back to your breathing
- Do this for 10 to 20 minutes
Find time to exercise.
Apart from increasing your overall health and well-being, exercising bumps up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins. These endorphins trigger a positive feeling and interact with receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Research even shows that exercising is effective in treating mild to moderate depression.
If you’re looking to build a , there are many available resources online that . Find an exercise that you enjoy doing so it’s easier for you to commit to it.
Learn to put healthy boundaries.
Setting healthy boundaries and letting people know your needs and limits can put you in a better place mentally. Though this process may take time, the result will be well worth it: you’ll have relationships with your family, friends, and colleagues that involve a greater level of respect, that meets the needs of all parties, and that creates much less stress for everyone.
Simple habits like putting off replying to a late-night email for the next day or muting chat groups during mealtimes can help you practice enforcing these boundaries for yourself.
Get enough sleep.
Sleep is one of the most powerful stress reducers. It calms and restores the body, improves concentration, regulates your mood, and sharpens decision-making. You can also cope with stress better when you feel well-rested.
Try to get about 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day. Though binge-watching your favorite Netflix show all night or playing online games with your friends seem tempting, discipline yourself when it comes to what time you should be sleeping so your body gets enough rest.
Malnutrition Can Increase Hair Loss
Nutritional deficiencies have also been proven to cause hair loss, so eating the right food can help lead to fuller, healthier hair. Try adding fatty fish, eggs, leafy greens, fruits, and nuts into your diet. Fatty fishes are rich in omega-3s and vitamin D, which promote healthier hair. Eggs have biotin, which is vital in keeping hair, skin, and nails strong. Leafy greens like kale and spinach are known to have vitamin A, which regulates the production of sebum—an oil that protects hair by keeping the scalp moisturized, thus also .
Fruits contain several antioxidants like vitamin C, which protects hair follicles from free radicals and helps the body absorb iron and produce collagen, one of the proteins that build hair and reduce hair loss. Lastly, nuts such as almonds, flax seeds, and chia seeds contain zinc and selenium that are essential elements for hair growth.
Products to Prevent Hair Fall
Managing your stress and eating better indirectly help prevent hair fall. It’s also important to use effective products for hair fall treatment like Dove Men+Care Strengthening Shampoo, which is formulated with caffeine and calcium to strengthen each strand from root to tip and make hair visibly fuller and thicker.
If you , you can alternate this with CLEAR Cool Sport Menthol Anti-Dandruff Shampoo for Men to remove dirt, pollution, and residue that get trapped in your scalp – and may also lead to hair fall. Infused with activated charcoal, this shampoo deeply cleans to leave your scalp fresh and healthy.
When it comes to hair fall treatments for men, prevention is always better than cure. Practice these tips and habits regularly, and you’ll notice how much healthier and fuller your hair will look!