If you are experiencing hair thinning or balding, your daily habits might be playing a role in your hair loss. Our bodies require balance and care, but when we are not making consistent healthy lifestyle choices, our hairline can take the hit. From eating too few calories to shampooing too much, here are some bad hair habits you should kick to the curb.
What Habits Can Cause Hair Loss?
Your hair can be a bit high maintenance. The foods you eat, the products you use, and even the amount of exercise you get- all affect your hair health. Typically we blame genetics or aging for hair loss, but that is not always the case.
Here are hair habits you need to break in order to hit those #hairgoals
Your eating habits are to blame
If you are on a restrictive diet or you do not eat many whole foods, your eating habits could be to blame for your hair loss. Calorie restriction is a common way to lose weight, however, it can cause nutritional deficiencies that lead to hair loss. Crash dieting typically requires entire food groups to be cut out of your diet which can cause deficiencies in zinc, iron, protein, and essential fatty acids that your body needs for hair health.
If you are not on a diet but you don’t eat the most nutrient-rich foods, you can also experience hair loss. Eating too many processed foods, sugars, and fast food can eventually lead to hair problems. Aim to replace unhealthy foods with eggs, avocados, berries, yogurt, and fatty fish to help restore your hair.
You are not getting in daily movement
You already know that exercise is great for your body, but did you know it helps support a healthy scalp too? Daily exercise is great for healthy hair since it reduces stress, improves blood circulation, and balances your mood. These three components are essential to growing and keeping your hair. To enjoy these benefits, try to move your body for at least 30 minutes per day. Find a movement that you actually love, so it’s easier to stick too.
You are not managing your stress
Prolonged exposure to stress can cause a hair loss condition known as telogen effluvium. This hair loss condition typically comes on suddenly and while it is not permanent, the effects can last a few months (or longer). Stress unfortunately is a normal part of our daily lives. We have jobs, families, bills, and other daily stressors we need to manage. But while stress has become a normal part of our routine, it is wreaking havoc on our bodies and our hairlines. Some great ways to combat stress include mediation, yoga, a gratitude practice, and getting out into nature.
Your hair care routine is harmful
Do you bleach your hair, use heat styling, or frequently shampoo with sulfates and parabens? If the answer is yes, these hair habits can cause hair loss. Frequent coloring of your hair causes hair thinning and breakage and heat styling does the same. Try to ask your stylist for a different lighting method, or aim to get a shadow root with foils. This will cause much less damage and allow for more time in-between coloring.
Read Also: 8 Home-Made Hair Masks
Along with chemicals in your hair dyes, there might be some harmful ingredients hiding in your shampoo bottle. Ingredients like sulfates, parabens, alcohol can damage your hair and cause hair loss. Try to use natural products that avoid these harmful ingredients.
You Wear Your Hair in Tight Styles
Wearing tight ponytails or the infamous messy bun might look amazing, but the repetitive pulling on your strands can cause hair loss and thinning. It’s best to avoid these style staples as much as possible and let your hair do its thing, naturally.
You Have a Vitamin Deficiency
While we already mentioned nutrition as a major component of healthy hair, it’s worth mentioning again. There are some vitamin deficiencies that can cause hair loss including;
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Iron
If you suspect you might have a vitamin deficiency, go get tested to ensure that your levels are where they should be. If they aren’t, your doctor will work with you to develop a solution to get your vitamin levels back on track.
You are Over Exercising
While some daily movement is recommended for healthy hair, overdoing it can have the reverse effect and cause hair loss. Exercising daily should have both active rest and harder days mixed in. You should add yoga, walking, stretching, and swimming right alongside weight training and cardio.
Your body needs a break to recover and heal, so if you are doing too many repetitive days of hard workouts- your hair can take the hit. When you push your body to the point of exhaustion, your body takes energy from other sources, like the process of growing your hair. IN order to remedy this, build in rest to your routine and give your body a break when it needs it.
How Can You Grow Back Your Hair?
Cutting back on these habits will certainly support hair growth, though might need a little extra support to grow back your hair faster. Before you try out any of these hair growth methods, make sure your diet, activity levels, and hair routine are in check.
LLLT
Low-level laser therapy is a popular hair growth method. Using LLLT for hair growth is a simple and safe way to grow back your hair from home. Essentially this hair therapy uses laser caps to energize your scalp and hair follicles at a cellular level. You can expect to see results in about 6 months and most LLLT cap only requires a few days of use per week. The lasers used in LLLT are safe and work to restore hair loss by stimulating stem cells, boosts oxygen to your scalp, and uses the process of photodissociation to increase blood flow.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil or Rogaine is an over-the-counter, FDA-approved hair growth solution. You use minoxidil topically and will start to see results in a few months. You can buy minoxidil at the store or online. You can also use minoxidil with other hair growth treatments like LLLT and hair growth supplements.
Hair Growth Vitamins
Hair growth vitamins are a great way to target any nutrient deficiencies and give your hair growth an extra boost. There are many products available that can fit your specific dietary needs like vegan, organic, or even gummy form. Just make sure that you look for supplements that avoid fillers and other unnecessary ingredients.
About the Author
Tiffany Fuller is a writer with a passion for holistic wellness, working for illumiflow, a revolutionary brand dedicated to helping you fight hair loss.