Hold on to your hats… this is going to get hairy!

  • 6 hidden causes of premature baldness
  • Natural ways to reverse hair loss
  • When you should never use this type of shampoo…

At first sight of today’s subject line, you might be forgiven in thinking that I am entering into the debate over politics, Brexit and the Law…

But I promise these are topics that are not on my agenda…

Instead I want to consider something much more personal – today is all about hair loss, maybe another topic that divides the nation.

After all, many people will tell you that hair loss is inevitable… that it’s just down to age… and that anyone who suggests otherwise is trying to con you out of your money.

And yes, that advert where the bloke goes from almost bald to a full head of hair ‘IN JUST 2 WEEKS!’ is a scam. As are many of these ‘miracle instant grow’ formulas.

However, many people are losing their hair unnecessarily. Why? Because they:

a) Haven’t correctly diagnosed the real cause of their hair-loss

b) Aren’t taking some simple natural steps to remedy the problem.

In today’s letter I’ll help you sort this issue out once and for all. And I’ll also warn you of the biggest mistake you can make with your hair.

This is especially true if you believe you have dandruff. As you’ll discover, this may not be the case at all….

What causes hair loss?

Okay, first the bad news. Some people are destined to lose their hair. It’s a genetic thing. Pattern baldness isn’t reversible.

However it is possible to slow the rate of the process… and help make your hair look and feel more abundant, using the tips in today’s letter.

For the rest of the population, hair loss could be down to a host of other factors – primarily illness, poor diet, bad circulation and stress. My advice is to read today’s letter, and if you think your hair loss could be related to one of these problems, go and speak to a doctor. I’ll also provide some pointers you can think about.

1.Illness

If you’ve had an illness affecting your stomach, if could cause hair loss. It could be that your stomach isn’t properly absorbing important stuff like protein, zinc and other vitamins.

Same goes with anaemia. This can be caused by a deficiency in iron. You need iron to carry oxygen in your blood cells, and your scalp needs this oxygen-rich blood to stay healthy. A simple blood test will spot this problem. You’ll need to eat more liver, dark green leafy vegetables, eggs, and raisins.

Finally, you should check if you have an over-active or under-active Thyroid, a symptom of which is hair loss. Once diagnosed make sure you eat foods packed with vitamin A including turnips, cabbage, mustard, soy beans, peanuts, pine nuts, carrots and spinach. You also need iodine (try seafood and kelp).

2.Diet
A knock-on effect of illness is poor diet. If you don’t get the right nutrients, your hair will suffer. To keep a good head of hair you need lots of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C and biotin.

Another danger is crash dieting. If you lose weight too quickly, your hair follicles stop growing. When you hair naturally fall outs (as it does for everyone) your body doesn’t replace them.

This can happen especially quickly for anorexics, or people unable to eat because of depression or illness.

3.Poor circulation or stress

First up, if you think you have poor circulation, you’ll need to get that checked out by a medical professional so you can discover the underlying problem. If there’s not enough oxygen-rich blood going to your scalp your hair will fall out.

For many people, it simply comes down to stress.

Stress affects people in many different ways but it should never be ignored. If you think you or someone close is suffering from emotional stress, I’d advise you make a real effort to get help, for the sake of your health at least. A good way to ease stress and also boost the circulation to your head is to get a professional head massage on a regular basis.

OR… a cheaper solution… do it yourself!

Every time you wash your hair, take time to massage your head, it stimulates the hair follicles and improves blood circulation, which means your hair gets its necessary nutrients. Massage also fills your body with endorphins that relieve stress.

I know a professional hair-dresser who advises this technique:

  • Massage your temples and hair line with the soft fleshy parts of your finger tips (no nails!) then move backwards to the base of your skull with small circular motions.
  • When you reach the base of your skull, start again with bigger circles and more pressure.

Finally today…

Are you making this mistake with your hair?

Many people mistake dandruff with dry flaky scalp. By doing so, they use the wrong techniques to reverse the problem… and end up causing more damage.

Dandruff is caused by a reaction to a naturally-occurring yeast on your head called ‘Pityrosporum ovale’. However, this disease occurs in the oily parts of your head and hair follicles.

When your scalp gets dry and flaky, it’s a different issue.

It means your head is being irritated and therefore shedding too much skin.

In which case:

  • DON’T use harsh chemical shampoos with lots of salt in them. Yes, they lather nicely, but they also irritate your skin. There are very effective, safe and more natural shampoos and conditioners on the market which won’t irritate the skin.
  • DON’T use anti-dandruff shampoos. They remove the scalp flakes and exposes sensitive new skin that gets irritated by the harsh chemicals in the shampoo. It will only make things worse.
  • DON’T continue your current washing habits until you check the water supply to your home – it could be the water type or something in the old pipes that’s sparking the problem.

I hope you enjoyed this especially hairy issue of The Good Life Letter. None of the above is meant to say that people losing their hair should feel bad about it. I certainly don’t dwell it too much…

(At this point my wife will guffaw loudly.)

It’s most important to be happy with yourself when it’s the hand that life has dealt you. But for many people, the problem can be solved, and it tackling it could uncover some underlying ailments you didn’t know you had.

Yours, as always,

Ray Collins