Hair Loss : Causes and Home Remedies

Although hair is not essential to life, it is of sufficient cosmetic concern to provoke anxiety in anyone when it starts thinning, falling, or disappearing. To a woman, the sight of a comb or brush covered with lost hair can cause intense mental strain.

Hair is formed in minute pockets in the skill called follicles. An upgrowth at the base of the follicle, called the papilla, actually produces hair when a special group of cells turn amino acids into keratin, a type of protein of which hair is made.

The rate of production of these protein 'building blocks' determines hair growth. The average growth rate is about 1.2 cm per month, growing fastest on women between fifteen to thirty years of age. Seeing hair on your clothes, after you comb, bald patches appearing gradually, receding hairline. Symptoms are pretty obvious for hair loss!

Causes

.Inadequate nutrition. Persons lacking in vitamin B6 lose their hair and those deficient in folic acid often become completely bald. But the hair grows normally after the liberal intake of these vitamins.

.Stress such as worry, anxiety, and sudden shock, general debility caused by severe or long standing illnesses like typhoid, syphilis, chronic cold, influenza, and anaemia.

.An unclean condition of the scalp which weakens the hair roots by blocking the pores with the collected dirt; and heredity.


Home Remedies

1.Rubbing of scalp
A vigorous rubbing of the scalp with fingers after washing the hair with cold water is one of the most effective among the several home remedies for the prevention and treatment of hair loss. The scalp should be rubbed vigorously till it starts to tingle with the heat.

2.Amla oil
Prepared by boiling dry pieces of amla in coconut oil, is considered a valuable hair tonic for enriching hair growth. A mixture of an equal quantity of fresh amla juice and lime juice, used as a shampoo also stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss.

3.Amaranth
Amaranth is another valuable remedy for hair loss. Its fresh leaf juice should be applied to the hair. It will help the growth of the hair and keep it soft.

4.Mustard oil and henna leaves
About 250 ml of mustard oil should be boiled in a tin basin. About sixty grams of henna leaves should be gradually put in this oil till they are burnt in the oil. The oil should then be filtered using a cloth and stored. Regular massage of the head with the oil will produce abundant hair.

5.Coconut milk
It nourishes the hair and promotes hair growth. Coconut milk is prepared by grinding the coconut shavings and squeezing them well.

6.Onion
Onion has also been found beneficial in patchy baldness. The affected part should be rubbed with onions morning and evening till it is red. It should be rubbed with honey afterwards.

7.Daily diet
The healthy condition of the hair depends, to a very large extent, on the intake of sufficient amounts of essential nutrients in the daily diet. Persons with a tendency to lose hair should take a well-balanced and correct diet, made up of foods which, in combination, should supply all the essential nutrients.