Hair Loss Myths
Hair
is important to a lot of people. Whenever there is worry,
myths abound about hair loss, many of which are age-old.
Here are the myths, the truth and the fiction.
Myth
1 - Brushing grows hair, combing loses it
The
idea is that brushing stimulates the scalp circulation,
and combing through tangles can oull out the hair. Ultimately
these actions are of no consequence. Hair grows back
because combing does not damage the follicles below
the skin. Brushing or even massaging so little to improve
blood circulation to the scalp.It is better to use a
low level laser
device to achieve the stimuation that makes biological
sense.
Myth
2 - Hair loss caused by mother's genes
Common
baldness is inheritance can be found on the autosomal
- the non sex-related chromosomes. That means baldness
is inherited from either parent - not necessarily just
the mother's. It is a dominant gene, which means that
one only needs one gene on one chromosome to express
the balding trait, although multiple gene appear to
influence the balding process.
Myth
3 - Hair loss caused by wearing hats too frequently
Hair
follicles get their oxygen supply from the bloodstream.
So wearing a hat does nor suffocate the hair follicle.
However,
hats that fit too tightly cause constant traction around
the sides of the head, resulting in thinning in those
areas. This applies also to turbans and yarmulkes.
Myth
4 - Losing hair causes baldness
Losing
hair is only part of the story. We lose about 100 hairs
a day but these are constantly replaced. However, hair
will thin if it is progressively replaced by finer and
thinner hair. This process is called minituarization.
Over time, this leads to baldness. Therefore it is not
so much the hair we lose (unless it suddenly gets worse)
but the kind of replacement that our body is generating.
Myth
5 - Hair chemicals and hot irons destroy hair
I
have discussed about how strong hair chemicals and hot
temperature damage hair. This is different from
completely killing off the hair permanently. As long
as the hair follicle underneath the skin is not destroyed,
it will continue its growth of 0.5 inch per month.
However,
certain caustic chemicals that are carelessly applied
that work their way to the growing hair follicles at
their roots can kill the hair follicles. The longer
these chemicals stay on the scalp, the greater the possiblity
of permanent hair damage. Hair chemicals and hot irons
do not kill the hair, it is the wrong usage that does
it.
Myth
6 - Decreased blood flow causes hair loss
Hair
loss is not caused by decreased blood flow. Hair loss
causes decrease blood flow to the hair follicle. This
is the reason that hair transplant procedures work.
When good hair is placed into a bald scalp with decreased
blood flow, the blood returns when the hair starts growing.
Hair loss occurs before blood flow decreases. Therefore
it is a further myth that standing on your head improves
hair growth because of increased blood flow.
Myth
7 - Hair can grow with the use of magnets
Magnetic
therapy holds that magnetic field can improve blood
flow and hence is a remedy for hair loss. From above,
I have explained that blod flow has no impact on hair
growth or loss. Without needing to prove whether magnetic
therapy improves blood circulation, we can assume that
magnets have no impact on hair growth or loss.
Myth
8 - Cutting your hair will make it grow back thicker
I
have witnessed new parents shaving their babies heads
in the hope that their children would be blessed with
thicker hair later. All this does is to produce bald
headed babies (until their hair grows again). This myth
comes about from newly cut hair (being shorter) feeling
scratchier than before. It is not thicker; it only feels
so.
Myth
9 - Clogged pores causes hair loss
There
is a healthy business being built around the idea that
clogged pores cause hair loss. They provide services
around massaging hair and "treating" the clogged
hair follicle to allow the hair to come through the
skin. These services cost between $200 to $500 per month.
Hair
loss and baldness are caused by your genetic profile
or diseases. There are many communities around the world
that live with scalps that are seldom cleaned but have
no less incidence of balding heads than "cleaner"
communities. All the scalp massages and application
of lotions to unclog the pores do to you is to make
your scalp feel good.
Myth
10 - Frequent hair shampooing can cause more hair loss
Spotting
hair on the shower floor can easily lead one to believe
that frequent shampooing causes more hair to fall. All
the shampooing does is transferring fallen hair from
the head to the floor (we lose about 100 hair a day).
Fallen hair is mainly a hereditory factor.
Myth
11 - Hair loss will stop when we get older
Hair
loss does not stop when we get older. It slows down
because we have less hair left to lose. In fact, hair
loss often accelerates as women lose the protective
hormone estrogen, especially during and after menopause.
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