It should be noted that a certain rate of hair fall, that is, loss of a number [80-100] of hair strands per day is normal. However, when it exceeds that limit, it becomes a cause for concern and is considered a problem. Some people lose a lot of hair early in life because it runs in their family [inherited] or because of disease, medications, stress, injury, or damage to the hair.

What causes hair loss?

The most common cause of hair loss is genetics – you inherit the tendency to lose hair from either or both your parents. This is called male-pattern or female-pattern hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia. [Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss.] About 50 per cent of people have this type of hair loss by about 50 years of age.

Other common causes of hair loss include:

• Ringworm of the scalp [tinea capitis], which is common in children.
• Mental stress or physical stress, such as recent surgery, illness or high fever.
• Chemotherapy, the use of medication to destroy cancer cells.
• Pulling your hair back too tightly, wearing tight braids or ponytails, or using curling irons or dyes.
• As you age, you grow less hair. It is also thinner and tends to break more easily.

What are the symptoms?

Hair loss can occur as thinning [you may not notice hairs falling out] or as shedding, with clumps of hair falling out. It can be general – you lose hair all over your scalp – or focal, which means you lose it in one area only. In inherited hair loss, men generally develop bald spots on the forehead area or on the top of the head, while women have an overall thinning of the hair throughout the scalp.

Because hair is an important part of appearance, hair loss can result in loss of self-esteem and feeling unattractive, especially in women and teens.

Diagnosis

Hair loss is diagnosed through medical history and physical examination. Your health professional will question you about your hair loss. Do your parents have hair loss? When did your hair loss begin? How much hair are you losing. He or she will also look at the pattern of hair loss, examine the scalp, and may tug gently on a few hairs or pull some out. If the reason for your hair loss is not clear, the person may take a sample of your hair or scalp to examine under a microscope, or do a blood test to identify a disease source.

How should you treat it?

Some people choose to treat hair loss with medications or surgery, such as hair transplantation. Others choose to wear hairpieces [wigs or toupees] or use different methods of hair styling [dyeing or combing]. The approach you use depends on the cause of your hair loss and how you feel about it. Some people feel they need treatment, while others are not as concerned about thinning hair or baldness.

Hair loss that is caused by a controllable factor, such as stress or medication, is treated by eliminating the cause. Whether your hair grows back depends on the cause of your hair loss. If you have inherited hair loss, you would need treatment to re-grow your hair. It will not grow back naturally. However, treatment to re-grow hair does not work for everyone. If your hair loss is caused by medication, stress, or damage, hair often grows back after the cause is removed, although sometimes treatment may be needed.

Home treatment for hair loss includes hair care and hairstyling techniques that may help you cover thinning or bald spots on the scalp. This may be easier for women, because inherited hair loss [androgenetic alopecia], causes a general thinning that is usually not as severe as it is in men. Hair sprays, dyes, and permanents can help make the hair appear fuller.

In women with inherited hair loss, hair care and use of grooming products, hair sprays, hair colour, teasing, permanents, or frequent washing will not increase hair loss. However, if your hair loss is caused by improper hair care, then perms and dyes may contribute to more hair loss.

For both men and women, hair thinning and baldness increase the risk of sunburn and skin cancer on the scalp. When in the sun, wear a hat or use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to prevent sun damage to the scalp.

Medication

Medication for hair loss can slow thinning of hair and increase coverage of the scalp by growing new hair and enlarging existing hair. However, they need to be taken continuously. If the medications are stopped, any hair that has grown back will gradually be lost, and within 6-12 months your scalp will most likely appear the same as before treatment. If you are taking medication for inherited hair loss, do not expect to re-grow a full head of hair. Hair coverage is improved on the top of the head, but not on the forehead area. However, when you stop taking these medications, hair loss begins again.

Make sure you choose the best option for your hair and keep looking your best.

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A change in colour is the most effective way to spice up your look. Even if you do not want to go for something completely different, adding a tone that is close to your natural colour will add shine and gloss, making your hair look instantly healthy.

Your whole appearance changes when you change your hair colour. A new shade can make your skin and eyes look paler or more intense. Your new looks can highlight hidden undertones in your skin and add new a dimension to your eyes. New hair colour can also make you look younger and more vibrant.

Different methods to colour hair

Semi-permanent/temporary hair

Temporary hair colour or rinses are mildest form of hair colour. Typically, rinses do not have any ammonia or peroxide, so they are gentle. Rinses do not lift hair colour, meaning they will not lighten your hair colour. For e.g., if your hair colour is dark brown, and you want to go to a medium red, a rinse will not alter the colour. Rinses only deposit on to hair and will wash out with 4-6 shampoo “treatments,” so you will need to reapply it all over again. Rinses are also a great way to add richness and depth to your natural hair.

Demi-permanent hair colour

Demi-permanent hair colour is stronger than semi-permanent hair colour. While it still does not lift a darker hair colour, it will deposit a darker hair colour onto your hair and will not shampoo out. For example, if you put brown demi-colour over red hair colour then the brown demi-colour will not shampoo out and this will become your new hair colour.

Demi-permanents are a great way to add depth and richness to your natural hair as well.

Permanent hair colour

Permanent hair dyes will change your hair colour from darker to lighter, or lighter to darker. This type of dye contains hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. These colours allow for your natural hair colour to be lifted and for the new colour to be deposited, all in one step.

Bleaching hair

This is the ultimate and sure-fire way to achieve the exact colour that you see on the box as opposed to permanent hair colouring which may yield slightly darker results. Bleaching involves using bleach to lift your natural colour completely, generally to a light blonde and then depositing the desired colour on to the hair. The darker your natural hair colour is, the more bleach will be required to lift it. This lift actually leaves the cuticles open and exposed and this is what causes the damage and often frying of the hair.

Colours with conditioners

Once, having dyed or lightened hair meant sacrificing shine and condition. The latest colour formulas can actually make hair look shinier and healthier. There are a variety of other innovative colour techniques now hitting the mainstream. These include:

Glossing

Most salons now offer a “gloss,” a new version of what used to be called a tone-on-tone or a semi-permanent. A gloss adds richness and high shine to natural or permanent colour. It is also often applied over highlights to seal the hair and add the “glossing effect.”

Reverse highlights

A big trend at the moment is to apply highlights to the underneath, rather than to the top of the hair. Women tend to wear their hair loosely now. When hair is highlighted from the underneath it complements the fluidity in the hair as hints of colour show as it moves.

Halo colouring

This clever technique, often used on a fringe, enhances the “shine line” in the hair, making it appear like a natural reflection of light. The hair is lightened slightly on the area where it would reflect the light, depending on the haircut. Then a gloss is put over the top, and where the hair was lightened comes out a little shinier and brighter.

Convertible colour

This look, revived from the 1980s, allows maximum versatility for anyone who loves to change hair colour regularly. You have the hair in a side-parting and put, say, blonde highlights through one side, then part it on the other side and put another colour, may be red highlights, through the other side. Then, depending on the way you wear your hair you can change the colour of it.

In general, a good guide is to remain two shades lighter or darker than your natural colour as the right colour is one that enhances your skin tone and eye colour. If the skin veers towards red undertones, then go for a cooler nuance to counter-balance rather than a very warm shade, which will accentuate the redness. You should aim to make the most of yourself, rather than to transform yourself with an overly visible colour, which may draw attention away from your face.

One of the quickest changes to your personal appearance that you can make is a new colour. Why not take advantage of a prominent feature and revitalise your hair with new colouring that provides a new and dashing look to set you apart from the rest of the crowd.

Know what colour you truly have and be aware of your own skin colouring as well. Select a shade that will compliment what you already have to offer. Indeed, there is nothing that will turn a day into a bad hair day quicker than a totally un-researched and poorly chosen hair colour.

Care and precaution for coloured hair

Colouring the hair can make them dry, especially on the ends, even if you have never experienced dry hair in the past. Hair normally has a moisture content of approximately 10 per cent. If your hair’s moisture content drops below this level, the hair becomes dry. The key is to increase the hair’s ability to attract and retain moisture. Look for products that add moisture to hair by trapping water into the shaft.

One major problem for coloured hair is that it fades every time you wash your hair. If you want to preserve your hair colour, use a good colour-lock-in-shampoo and colour-lock-in-conditioner. This shampoo and conditioner has properties that help preserve hair colour longer. The packs come in different colour shades. In fact, these colour-protecting shampoos are an absolute must for at least a month after your hair colour. After that you can go back to your regular shampoo. Make sure that the type of colour-lock-in-shampoo that you choose is of the same shade as your hair. Consult your hairstylist who will be able to recommend you the one which co-ordinates with your hair colour.

Chlorine also plays a important role in colour fading. Hence, you would do well to:

• Filter your shower water. If the water has high levels of chlorine, you could wash your colour down the drain. Chlorine acts as a bleaching agent and lightens hair colour every time you come in contact with it. Avoid this and purchase an inexpensive shower filter to filter out the chlorine during your morning shampoo. By the same token, swimming in chlorinated water will do the same thing. Wear a bathing cap to limit your hair’s exposure, and always use a “swimmer” shampoo immediately after swimming to strip the chlorine build-up from your hair.
• Beware of alcohol. This does not mean you cannot have some wine. We are talking about alcohol found in some hair-styling products. Alcohol dries out the hair and opens up the cuticle, which spells an early dismissal for your hair colour. Read the labels of your styling products for high alcohol content [hair gels can be especially bad]. Avoid alcohol altogether and use a spray-in conditioner to boost your hair’s moisture before styling. Opt for silicone-based styling products that will leave your hair protected and super shiny.
• For most colour-treated hair, a weekly deep conditioning treatment is recommended, in order to help rehydrate the hair and restore any moisture that may have been lost.

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