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No one wants to lose their hair.
But unfortunately, it can be experienced by anyone at any time. As age grows your hair naturally get thinner as it’s an inevitable part of the aging process.
Hair is one of the complicated structure of the human body. Hair follicles are strong and can stand many adverse conditions, but they can be sensitive due to some lifestyle and hormonal changes.
Weight loss is one of those changes that can influence your hair health.
Weight loss is not the only reason for hair loss; there are many including factors such as heredity, hormonal changes, nutritional deficiency, thyroid diseases, physical or emotional stress, etc.
Sometimes dieting is very exhausting and stressful and can cause nutritional deficiencies in your body which can result in hair loss. Also, more than one factors together can cause your hair thinning.
When you start losing your hair with losing weight, it is usually associated with a hair condition known as telogen effluvium.
According to some researchers, under ordinary conditions, hair grows about 1/2 inch per month for around 2 years then goes into a resting phase which is known as telogen.
When this resting phase ends, the old hairs fall to create space for new hairs. All of your hair is in different stages of the hair cycle and nearly 10 percent of the hair stays in the resting phase at any given time. And when you start dieting and go through physical and emotional stress which can cause more than usual (10% of your hair) hair to go into the resting phase, which is known as Telogen effluvium.
In this condition, when more hair goes into resting phase more hair will fall for making room for new hair, new hair won’t grow as fast as old hair falls, which can cause overall hair thinning. If the condition becomes more serious, it might affect eyebrow and body hair too.
Drastic Dieting Might Cause Hair Loss
Telogen effluvium can occur when you drop your calories down too low and you lose weight quickly. It is particularly common in eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa.
One of the main causes of hair loss is a nutritional deficiency. If you aren’t getting the right nutrients you’ll begin to sacrifice ‘less important’ parts of your body in order to nourish the more valuable assets.
When you’re low on energy your body pushes hair into the dormant phase. Your body wants to use the small amount of energy it does have to help you stay alive.
Drastic weight loss such as with rapid dieting or very low-calorie eating plans are most likely to cause hair loss
Will Your Hair Grow Back?
For most people, yes it will.
It generally takes between 6-9 months, because it takes that long for your follicles to shift from a dormant phase to actively growing again.
In some cases though, it may take longer or some of your hair may never grow back.
There are a small number of treatments available but few are backed up with any science.
The best thing is to manage the underlying causes when you reduce your stress and take sufficient diet for your body and hair.
As it is saying – prevention is better than the cure.
Important Steps Required For Hair:
Maintain nutrient intake
Whilst it’s important to create a deficit to lose fat, you shouldn’t sacrifice a nutrient-rich diet whilst doing so.
Keeping fruits, vegetables and plenty of healthy foods in your eating plan will help give your body everything it needs on the fat loss journey.
There is also a fair bit of evidence to suggest that high-protein foods can help with hair development too by nourishing your hair follicles and stimulating new growth.
Regularly Care Your Hair
- Keep your scalp healthy and free of sweat and grime. Rotate and wash your hats regularly if you wear.
- Wash your hair with a mild pH-balanced shampoo once a week and use a protein-rich conditioner.
- Reduce the amount of heat you apply to your hair via blow dryers and curling/flat irons. Generally, heat damage your hair.
- Replace tight, restricting hairstyles with looser options. Be gentle when you brush and style your hair.
- Before you get into a swimming pool make sure that you should wet your hair with non-chlorinated water.
- As your hair soak up the regular water and hopefully won’t be damaged as badly by the chlorine.
- If possible, get out of the pool and rinse your hair after 30 minutes of swimming. Otherwise, wear a swim cap. Also, make sure you wash your hair with shampoo after each pool workout.
There is no perfect reason why you need to maintain your hair but the best way to improve all over health by following the best diet.