Home Remedies For Hair Loss

What Is Hair Loss?

It is a fact that some hair loss is normal as all hairs are shed at the end of their growth cycle. Hairs grow from follicles. Each follicle grows a single hair that follows a typical cycle that comprises a lengthy growth period, short rest period and the final act of shedding. Then, a new hair begins to grow, thus repeating the cycle.

At any time, about 90 percent of the hair on the scalp is growing and the rest is in resting phase. After a few months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. Therefore, it is normal to shed some hair each day as part of this cycle. However, some people may experience excessive hair loss. Hair loss of this type can affect men, women and children.

Causes Of Hair Loss

Excessive hair loss may occur due to:

Major Illness or Surgery
About 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, one may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is temporary.

Hormonal Problems
An overactive or underactive thyroid gland may cause hair to fall out. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones, known as androgens and estrogens, are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop hair loss. Hair loss in women may occur in the post natal phase, due to certain hormones.

Side Effect of Certain Medicines
Some medicines can cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when one stops taking the medicine. Blood thinners or anticoagulants, an excess of vitamin A, medicines used for curing gout or chemotherapy, birth control pills and antidepressants may cause hair loss.

Infections or Warning of a serious disease
Certain infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in children. The infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines. Hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. Since hair loss may be an early sign of a disease, it is important to find the cause so that it can be treated

Genetic reasons
Male-pattern baldness is the most common cause of hair loss in men. Here, hair loss typically results in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head. Women may develop female-pattern baldness, in which the hair can become thin over the entire scalp

Wearing pigtails or cornrows or using tight hair rollers, may also result in hair fall.

Symptoms Of Hair Loss

In men in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head and in women thinning of hair over the scalp and the crown of the head is a sign of excessive hair loss. Finding an unusually large number of hair on the clothing, bed clothing and on brushes, consistently, is also a sign of excessive hair loss.
Dietary changes
An organic, pesticide-free diet, coupled with a high dose of vitamins, scalp massages, herbal hair loss remedies, and exercise may cure premature hair loss. Vitamin B and nutrition from whole foods help reverse hair loss.

Natural Home Remedies For Hair Loss

Maidenhair fern spores:
Boiled in wine and massaged into the scalp weekly.

Rosemary:
Made into tea and rinsed through the hair daily.

Aloe Vera:
Rubbing some aloe vera gel into the hair and scalp every night, makes hair thick and strong. Aloe vera has an enzyme called superoxide dismutane. That, plus its ability to trigger the formation of nitric oxide, stimulates hair growth in people who have male pattern baldness.

Mallow roots:
Boiled in wine and massaged into the scalp weekly.

Stinging Nettles:
The root extract of this plant is very helpful in combating hair loss. Stinging nettle contains lipids and minerals that stimulate hair follicles and thus encourage the growth of hair. It should be infused in water and combed through the hair daily.

Artichoke leaves:
Simmered in water for several hours and applied as a nightly massage.

Henna:
Henna is an herb that has been used for centuries to stimulate healthy hair growth, and to help prevent hair loss. It is also used as an ingredient in dying hair various colors. The herb is crushed into a powder, mixed into a paste or liquid, and applied directly to the hair and scalp.

Catnip:
Made into an infusion and rinsed through the hair daily.

Parsley seeds:
Crushed and applied in powder form to the scalp monthly. The powder is allowed to remain overnight, and brushed out of thoroughly in the morning.

Green Tea:
Drinking several cups of green tea a day or ingesting it in capsule form reduces the risk of having male pattern baldness. The antioxidants called catechins that are found in green tea inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, which is responsible for converting testosterone into the more potent DHT.