We receive email after email asking the question "My hair is breaking off (I'm losing my hair), what can I do?" As much as we'd love to answer that question for each client who asks, simply put, we cannot. We are not there with you and cannot look at your hair, analyze your environment, your maintenance routine and your genetic history all of which may be necessary to diagnose what is causing your hair loss. Hair loss and hair breakage can be caused by a number of factors or a combination of factors. Some are very easily treated, some are not so easily treated. The best we can do is give you general guidelines about general hair health and some things to consider when you're trying to determine what is causing your hair loss.

Hair loss can be devastating, particularly to women.   To understand the treatments for hair loss, it's important to understand the causes.  To understand the causes, it's helpful to understand what hair is made of and how it grows.  Treasured Locks offers treatments that help prevent hair breakage and can help with certain types of hair loss.

This short article will cover these topics:

Hair Structure
Hair Life Cycle
Hair Growth and How to Make Hair Grow Faster
Hair Loss
Hair Loss Treatments
Hair Breakage and Hair Breakage Prevention
Summary


Hair loss is a complicated subject. There are many reasons why you might be experiencing hair loss (hair coming out at the roots or not growing from the root) or hair breakage (hair breaking anywhere along the shaft- usually near the end). We will first discuss the normal hair growth process, then we’ll talk about some reasons why your hair might not be growing as much as you’d like and what you can do about it.

Hair Structure

Hair is made of a form of protein. Hair grows from the roots. So, the oldest part of your hair will be the part at the ends- furthest away from your scalp. Hair is essentially dead. Once it has come out of your head, there is nothing you can do to improve the structure of the hair itself. However, there is a lot you can do to damage the hair. Once the damage has been done, repairs are limited. If the structure of the hair itself has been damaged, the repair to that particular part of the hair shaft is irreversible. You have to wait until the hair grows out more and cut off the damaged part or until the hair is replaced by a new hair (you will see soon this is a very long proposition).  This is why a relaxer or a perm is really "permanent".  Once a perm alters the structure of a piece of hair, that particular piece will never be the same.  The new growth will be "virgin".  Even the new growth of the same hair shaft.

Hair Life Cycle

On a normal head of hair there are roughly 100,000 strands of hair, each going through its own cycle. Different hair strands will be at different phases at any given time. First, hair grows. This is called the anagen phase. This lasts from 4-6 years. Hair then rests. This is called the catagen phase. The hair follicle (the pocket in the scalp that holds the hair) actually regresses during this time. Then, hair sheds. This is called the telogen phase. Normally, about 90% of hairs are in the anagen phase at any point in time. The average person sheds about 50-60 hairs per day (the last phase of the hair cycle). These phases can be disrupted by stress, medicines, genetics (male pattern baldness) and other reasons. Again, keep in mind that during any particular time, each of the 100,000 hairs on your head is in a particular stage.

Hair Growth

On average, hair grows at a rate of about 1/2 inch per month. But, this varies by person based on genetics.  Each person will have a maximum growth rate that she can attain.  Some will be higher than the average.  Some will be lower than the average. Nothing will increase your hair growth rate beyond whatever your personal maximum is.  But, there are things that can help you reach your maximum.  Nutrition,  stress levels and the health of the scalp affect the hair growth rate. Many people confuse hair growth with hair length. If your hair is growing at its maximum rate yet is breaking off, it will appear that you hair is not growing. Most people do not have hair that is not growing. Getting the proper rest, drinking enough water, treating your scalp well and the getting the proper nutrition, including supplements (hair vitamins) can help you reach your maximum potential hair growth.

Hair Loss

Baldness or hair loss in both men and women is sometimes due to disease.  Hair loss can be triggered by excessive weight gain or loss in a short period of time. Some hair loss is easily treated.  Some is much more difficult to treat. 

Reasons for hair loss include:

Hair Loss Treatments

As we discussed, there are several reasons why you may be losing your hair (which we define as the hair missing from the roots versus hair breaking). The normal aging process produces thinner and thinner hair for many people and slows down or even stops the growth phase in many of the hair follicles. Medicines, stress and improper nutrition or improper treatment of the scalp can lead to hair loss. The general term for hair loss is alopecia. There are many types of alopecia ranging from temporary alopecia to permanent alopecia. Some forms are treatable. Some are not as treatable. If you have “male pattern baldness”, two treatments have been FDA approved to be effective at stopping and possibly reversing of the hair loss. Those treatments are Propecia (a tablet taken once a day). The other treatment is Minoxidil (sold under the brand name Rogaine). Propecia is for men only, leaving Minoxidil for women. Even Minoxidil and Propecia have limited ability to regrow hair. Their primary benefit is in stopping further hair loss. Once the treatments are started, they must be continued or the hair loss will begin to progress again. For this reason, they are called treatments, not cures.  Nutritional supplements have been reported to be effective (but not approved by the FDA for male pattern baldness).  For example Saw Palmetto contained in Ajuvèn Hair Growth Stimulator for Men and Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Supplement is reported to have effects similar to those of Propecia.
Much hair loss is attributed to hormonal imbalances, particularly an overabundance of male hormone. DHT (dihydrotestosterone) has been labeled a culprit. Many over-the-counter hair loss products target reducing the amount of DHT or decreasing its ability to become active. DHT shrinks hair follicles making it impossible for healthy hair to survive. When DHT becomes more active, it reacts with sebum and cholesterol found on and within the scalp. This DHT/sebum/cholesterol mix is shed into hair follicles, where it slowly narrows the tiny opening, causing the follicle itself to become shorter.
If your hair loss is from less than optimal nutrition or an unhealthy scalp, there are over-the-counter products that can help. Treasured Locks offers several. One of the products we offer is hair vitamins (taken orally) to help grow healthier hair. Our complete supplement line includes:

Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Supplement- Time released blend of vitamins, herbs, minerals and dietary supplements designed to boost the growth rate and strength of your hair to its maximum potential.

Treasured Locks H2G Hair Strength Supplement- Because hair is made of protein, it's important to have the right amount of the right type of protein to build the hair shaft.  Treasured Locks H2G Hair Strength Supplement is a dietary supplement that improves the strength of hair, nails and skin. The supplement is made of pure collagen that also helps with other bodily functions including joint function, weight control, body tone and more. 

Treasured Locks H2G Hair Shine Supplement- Especially for African hair, the right balance of oils is important.  Treasured Locks H2G Hair Shine Supplement is a balanced blend of Omega 3, 6 and 9 Fatty Acids essential for radiant hair and skin.

The other product we offer is Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Serum. Treasured Locks H2G Hair Growth Serum is a topically applied blend of all natural ingredients scientifically proven to promote longer, healthier hair. Made from the highest quality Emu oil (AEA food grade certified), naturally extracted carrier oils and a proprietary blend of the finest quality, steam-distilled essential oils, our serum is unlike any other on the market. Emu oil and essential oils have been independently tested and shown to reduce inflammation, increase circulation and improve the growth phase of the hair life cycle.

Hair Breakage and Hair Breakage Prevention

The second variable that will affect how long your hair can be is hair breakage. As we mentioned earlier, even if your hair is growing at a healthy pace and is breaking, you might think your hair is not growing.  Hair will break if not treated properly. You should treat your hair like fine fibers. We have tips in other documents on proper hair care. This is especially important for kinky African hair, which tends to be both dry and fragile. The number one complaint we get from African American is they cannot “grow” hair. In reality, the real difficulty for most is keeping the hair they have grown.  Their hair is breaking.  Perms (relaxers), coloring, excessive styling with heat and other things can weaken otherwise healthy hair. It is important to keep this in mind if you are doing these things to your hair.  In addition to having supplements that can help grow hair, Treasured Locks has supplements that provide additional strength and the right balance of oils (essential fatty acids) needed for healthy, strong, shiny hair. 

Following a good hair care regimen can help slow hair breakage. The right shampoo, conditioner and moisturizers are essential to hair growth.  Moisturizing all natural or salon grade shampoos should be used.  Hair must be moisturized on a regular basis (for most people several times a week). Drinking plenty of water is important. We have written papers on hair care for natural hair, permed hair and children’s hair. These are available in the Reading Room at http://www.treasuredlocks.com

Summary

This short paper is intended as a quick primer on the topics of hair loss, hair breakage and growing longer hair. It is important to know the basics so that you can diagnose why your hair is not growing at the rate you would like or does not have the length you would like. If you have serious hair loss, we encourage you to see a dermatologist. A few minutes and a few dollars spent with a dermatologist might save you a lot of time and money spent trying to treat serious alopecia (hair loss) with over-the-counter remedies.

The keys to long healthy hair are these.  Prevent hair loss through proper nutrition and maintenance of the scalp.  Avoid stress as much as possible.  This will give you stronger hair to begin with and make sure it's not falling out at the roots.  Secondly, properly maintain the hair by using the right shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, avoiding excessive heat, styling gently and properly perming (if you choose to perm).  If you do these things, you will have the fullest, healthiest head of hair possible, given  your genetics.