10 Habits that Can Make Your Hair Fall

Okay, so it’s not just thin, they are actually shedding more than usual. Well, it’s not too late to save your strands and your head from going bald. Thick and bouncy hair is just a simple tweaks away. Just avoid these 10 habits that can make your hair fall.

1. Not Eating Enough Protein

Your hair is about 90 percent protein. Protein malnutrition can cause your body to ration protein by halting hair growth and making hair thin and brittle. Iron and zinc are two other nutrients essential for healthy hair as they are needed for the growth of hair follicles.

2. Using Hot Styling Tools

Tools such as hair straighteners, curlers and even blow dryers produce scorching temperatures (up to 410 degrees F) that damage the protein that constitute hair as well as the protective cuticle that surrounds it. Cuticle damage disrupts the hair’s moisture balance causing strands to become weak. Damp or chemically treated hair tends to be especially vulnerable to heat damage.

3. Tying Hair Too Tightly

Tight hair styles place tension on hair follicles. The hair follicles progressively weaken, producing smaller and finer hair until they are lost completely.

4. Taking Hot Showers

Steamy water washes away the hair’s natural, protective oils, thereby dehydrating and weakening the hair. Additional pressure is placed on hair follicles to produce more oil can damage the roots and lead to hair loss.

5. Being Constantly Stressed

Individual hairs tend to cycle between phases of rest (in which the strand stops growing and falls out within one or two months) and natural growth. Stress causes physical changes that prompt a disproportionate number of hair to enter the rest phase. Hair loss that takes place on account of stress is temporary and normal hair growth is restored soon after the stress is alleviated.

6. Mistreatment of Wet Hair

When hair is wet, each strand’s cuticle is slightly raised, making hair very susceptible to breakage. Brushing hair while in the shower and harshly drying hair with a rough towel are two examples of mistreatment of wet hair that can result in increased hair loss.

7. Too Much Sun Exposure

Ultraviolet light damages not just skin but hair too. It does so by weakening the cuticle layers in the hair. Hair that has had prolonged sun exposure is often brittle, weak, dry and discolored.

8. Infrequently Washing Hair

Residue, dandruff, dirt and products tend to build up on unwashed scalps. This buildup can block hair follicles, thus, restricting hair growth.

9. Backcombing/Teasing

Backcombing hair against the direction of the protective cuticle cells causes permanent damage to the hair cuticle, essentially stripping it away from the hair fiber. This eventually causes the hair fiber to break or become loose.

10. Taking Certain Medications

Some medications are toxic to hair follicles and result in temporary hair loss. These include beta-blockers, blood thinners, female hormones and oral contraceptive pills, male hormones, anti-depressants and vitamin A.

Good bye hair fall!