Saturday, August 22, 2009

Even Shakespeare Had Hair Loss Problems


Shakespeare's name usually inspires thoughts of kings, fairies and wars. He was a poetic genius of par excellence, Of course who could forget Romeo and Juliet, as if they are bound together for eternity. But did you know that Shakespeare was suffering from 'syphilis'?, it was a common disease five centuries ago. One of the treatments for syphilis was inhalation of mercury vapor which had its own side effects like Hair Loss.

When we talk about hair loss the main thing that pops up on our mind is a bald guy, yes male pattern baldness is much more common than women.
About 95 percent of male Hair Loss is due to hereditary genes, according to the American Hair Loss Association androgenetic alopecia is the leading cause of hair loss. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss in men.
Two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of hair loss by the age of 35, and by the age of 50 about 80 percent will have significantly visible hair thinning.

Luckily you don't have to get worried and frustrated at your problem of hair loss unlike Shakespearian era there is a solution to it now, believe me!
Let me get the first things straight about hair loss


1) DIET & NUTRITION

Believe it or not -Actual overall health of your hair is mainly determined by your diet intake and not by what simply applied by you externally, (Remember your hair is make up of dead Proteins) Yes its true The much hyped so called specialist shampoo's improve your current state of hair problem, but does not cure that problem, because there are very few genuine products nowadays that address this problem which I am going to tell you at the end of this article..So if you are looking for cure and not quick fix you need good healthy diet.

A diet that is rich in proteins and vitamins, but more importantly one which is available readily what I mean is that, I am not going to recommend some exotic food which you don't have access to and way too expensive to include in your daily diet.

>Just start with simple food like Fish, Eggs, Beans and Yogurt which are rich in proteins so include these in your diet.
>Soy protein (tofu) has also been found to be helpful in stimulating hair growth.
>Protein rich milk shakes etc...

Here is the list of supplements you need to intake daily in order to have healthy hair

* Vitamin B-complex - 50 mg. (including folate, biotin and inositol)
* Vitamin B-6 - 50 mg.
* Vitamin C 1-2 Gms with bioflavonoids
* Vitamin E - 400 to 800 IU daily
* Beta-Carotene - 10,000 to 15,000 IU (Beta-carotene is found in green and yellow vegetables and fruits especially ripen mangoes)
* Magnesium, sulfur, zinc
* Silica (horsetail) - 300 mg. daily
* Nettle - 250 mg. three times daily
* Flaxseed oil - one tbsp daily or one tablet
(IU-International Units)

Even though you may have started intake of these supplements you also need to cut down on excessive stress and some medications are conclusively known to retard hair growth.

2) HORMONES

The leading cause of Hair loss is scientifically proven to be DHT or dihydrotestosterone, a hormone that tends to attach itself to your hair follicles and other receptor sites. Finally, your hair follicles get bound and weak thus resulting in loss of hair and baldness.

Hormonal problems may cause hair loss. If your thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, your hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment of thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones, known as androgens and estrogens, are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop your hair loss.
Most people normally shed 50 to 100 hairs a day. But with about 100,000 hairs in the scalp, this amount of hair loss shouldn't cause noticeable change in your scalp.

3) TIPS TO REDUCE HAIR LOSS

Here are tips to improve overall Health of hair:

1. Quit or cut back on smoking, caffeine and carbonated sodas which weaken the body and block maximum hair growing potential.
2. Eat a healthy diet. Avoid foods that are high in sugar or fat.
3. Treat your hair like a piece of fine old lace (for women).Treat it carefully avoiding any unnecessary brushing, combing or handling.
4. Avoid use of hot water, hot blow dryers or other hair care tools that may stress the hair.
5. Have a weekly scalp massage to provide stimulation to the hair follicles.
6. Do a series of ongoing hot oil treatments to protect the hair's shaft.
7. Have regular trims to eliminate split ends and allow the hair to look and feel healthier.
8. Get plenty of rest and sleep to allow your body to grow hair.
9. Massaging your scalp several times a day improves the blood circulation in your scalp area. As a direct result, the improved blood flow in the scalp area helps the transfer of oxygen and other growth promoting nutrients to the hair follicles. This will directly help you achieve healthier and thicker hair volume.

Here are some do's and don’ts you need to follow specially for delicate and dry hair..


Do’s

>Sleep on a satin pillowcase if your hair is especially delicate.
> Use detangling spray and a wide-tooth comb on damp hair - wet hair is more delicate


DON’TS

>Try not to sleep with your hair tied back. Leave your hair down as often as possible at night to prevent breakage.
>Don't rip at tangles in your hair with a brush. Use a wide-tooth comb to detangle hair when wet and a vent brush to remove any snags on dry hair.

Here are some tips on hair loss when nothing seems to work.

1) The fastest and cheapest way for men to cope is to ignore their hair loss. If you don't care, the world won't care, and life will go on. Follow the examples of people before you who have also lost things in their lives, who can be themselves and be respected because of who they are, not because of what they look like.
2) If hair loss truly bothers you, then fix it. Take positive action.
3) Do your research. Go to a doctor, find out as much as you can about treatment options, ask questions, etc. For example, Minoxidil should be applied directly to the scalp twice a day. Finasteride should be taken once a day without food. It is believed that the best result is from using both drugs (Minoxidil and Finasteride). If you can only afford one treatment, go for the Minoxidil, as it is cheaper, more readily available, and well-proven.
4) Take a good hard look at your diet. Too much intake of foods high in saturated fat -- such as cheese, meat, etc. -- has been associated with hair loss from male pattern baldness (Japan is a well-known example of a population where male pattern baldness was virtually non-existent before the introduction of high-fat western diets.) Yes, these foods are delicious, but consider cutting back as a small price to pay to help keep your hair.
5) Be patient. All the hair you've lost so far wasn't lost all at once, and it won't grow back all at once either. Keep a positive attitude. If you are young, you can see excellent results if you get started fast, and stick to your daily medicinal regimen with discipline. For example, Minoxidil can take two to four months to see results.
6) Stick with it. Until science improves its treatments for hair loss, you may have to keep using these drugs to maintain your hair once you have grown it back. Think of it like brushing your teeth -- you would not stop brushing and flossing daily just because your teeth are clean today, would you?
7) Perform Yoga. To stop hair fall, one must practice yoga on regular basis. Aasanas such as shirshasana, sarvangasana are considered to be very good for treating hair fall.
8) Herbal mixture. Mix a variety of herbs together such as: Burdock, Nettle, Sage, and Rosemary to name a few. You should boil them all together then strain off the leaves and wash your hair with the solution every day.
9) JOJOBA OIL: Widely used in Mexico for hundreds of years, it is massaged on the scalp, and many claim it is highly effective in stimulating new hair growth.

But there are some cases where a diet and supplements could not be much of a help like in my case of hereditary and also Hormonal problems there is very little the diet can do, in such cases you should take serious look at the product I mentioned below its only genuine thing out there which does what it says it does, more over It contains the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved Minoxidil(one of the only two Ingredients approved by FDA for hair loss)it is called Provillus, Which does the work of hair restoration and re-grows your hair by treating the responsible hormones.
You can also Watch What Dr.Michael Zufelt has to say about Hair Loss.

Unfortunate for Shakespeare if this product was invented back in his time, he would have looked very differently from what you all people see him in his portrait today.

By
Vinod Garag