5 Essential Things to Know About Hair Health

1. Types of hair supplements

Biotin

Biotin-containing supplement is commonly used to improve hair health. Biotin is a kind of B vitamin that's involved in keratin production. Biotin deficiency is linked to hair loss and breakage but it’s a rare condition among Americans. The vitamin is contained in meat (especially organ meat), fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, and certain vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, broccoli, and spinach.

Protein support

Though collagen is not a complete protein, it can contain some unique amino acids that can play a major role in protein intake overall. As collagen is digested by your gut, it’s broken down into its own amino acids that travel throughout the body.

Antioxidant support

Many hair problems occur due to free radicals and oxidative stress. To promote hair health, many people lean on antioxidant nutrients and botanicals like vitamin C, E, turmeric, and CoQ10, among others. But if you’re not deficient, you likely won’t benefit from these supplements.

2. Symptoms of vitamin insufficiency in hair

Since healthy hair can be achieved only with a healthy body, insufficient intake of certain nutrients might impact their appearance. If you're not following a diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, and healthy fats, you might experience physical signs such as shedding, dullness, and breakage. If you think you have a deficiency, it’s best to get checked out by a health care professional who can perform the correct tests and guide you on what to do to treat your deficiencies.

The most important nutrients for hair health include:

- Vitamin A

- Zinc

- Biotin

- Niacin

- Vitamin D

- Iron

- Vitamin E

- Selenium

- Fatty acids (especially omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and omega-6 linoleic acid)

- Folic acid

- Amino acids/protein

3. Other medical reasons for poor hair health

There is a wide range of factors leading to hair loss and thinning. And if you're suffering from hair loss, it might seem impossible to identify the root cause. Here are some possible medical reasons to keep in mind.

1. Hormones

Hormones are crucial for hair and skin health. Hormone imbalances can affect collagen production, provoke acne and hair loss. One of the main hormones that affect hair health is cortisol. However, thyroid and sex hormones can also influence the appearance of your hair. For instance, estrogen is involved in keratin production, therefore pregnant women might have lush, thick hair, which sheds shortly after birth.

2. Hair follicle damage

When the hair follicle is damaged, it will stop growing hair. This occurs due to repeated stress (like due to tight hairstyles) or inflammation from buildup. If buildup is extreme, it can even pull the hair down since there's so much inflammation around the hair follicle.

3. Aging

Hair growth slows down as we age, and at some point, hair follicles will stop growing hair altogether. The aging process will also impact hair color and density. Hair loss related to aging is irreversible. If you want to restore your mane, talk to your doctor about possible options. They might recommend hair transplant or laser therapy.

4. Stress

The connection between stress and hair loss has been proven by numerous studies. This again stems from homeostasis. The sympathetic nervous system and adrenal gland which are both hormone regulators, if out of balance due to chronic stress, will lead to hair thinning and loss.

5. Environmental aggressors

A recent study done on human hair cells has shown that exposure to common air pollutants can reduce the protein in our follicles that’s involved in hair growth. The same study revealed that the more air pollution a hair follicle was exposed to, the bigger the effect it had on hair loss.

4. How to thicken hair?

While some are worried about speeding the time to get the length, others want to thicken their hair. And it’s much more difficult since hair density and thickness depend on your genetics. While hair thinning can be caused by nutrient deficiencies, most often it results from your DNA. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it.

1. PRP

PRP or Platelet-rich plasma injections use a concentration of a patient’s own platelets to boost hair growth. PRP contains growth factors that promote hair growth in the base of the follicle. This reduces shedding, increases the growth phase of the hair follicle, increases the density of the scalp hairs, and improves the thickness of the hair follicles themselves.

2. Scalp massage

Strong and healthy hair requires good blood circulation, proper nutrition, and a healthy and supple scalp. Scalp massage helps boost blood flow to the area and enrich it with oxygen and hair-healthy nutrients. This option is particularly beneficial for people with a tense scalp. Muscle tension tends to interfere with blood flow to the area.

According to a 2016 study, men who received a daily four-minute scalp massage experienced an increase in hair thickness. A more recent 2019 study has shown that for people who followed a specific massage regimen, approximately 70% had improved hair thickness at the end.

5. How to encourage hair growth?

Speeding hair growth requires a holistic approach. While there is little you can do to speed this process naturally, there are ways to support your hair growth so it's healthy long term.

1. Androgen blockers

Androgen blockers are topicals and medications that affect your hair growth cycle. They contain active ingredients that trick the body into extending the growing phase of the hair cycle. There are lots of studies revealing that these topicals and internal bioactives work. But they are only studied on men with male-pattern baldness. You likely know androgen-blockers as products or drugs like finasteride and minoxidil.

2. Protection against physical damage

This is mostly about prevention. The most common cause of hair damage is heat. Heat styling works by breaking down the hydrogen bonds in hair—that's how it restructures and restyles your hair pattern. And when you do this too much, it results in damage. According to a recent study, regular styling with hot tools significantly lowers moisture content and increases the breakage of hair.

3. Proper cleaning

A healthy hair follicle is essential for growth. One of the more common causes why hair follicles get damaged is not having proper cleansing practices. When you don't adequately remove the buildup on the scalp, you can end up with inflammation. This occurs because the inflammation starts to close off the hair follicle, reducing growth, and eventually contributing to shedding. This inflammation will negatively impact the quality of your hair growth. It occurs when you have product, dirt, and oil build up around your follicle opening—which is where your hair grows out of - and that buildup starts to slowly suffocate your hair root.

The Bottom Line

Unfortunately, hair loss and thinning are difficult to treat and depend on a person’s DNA, nutrition, hormonal background, and many other things. So, for everyone, treatment should be individualized and include a set of options since the problem is complicated.