Friday, January 18, 2008

8 Hair Loss Causes & Treatment

Hair loss, also called baldness, happens mostly to people at the old age. This leads to the rise of needs in hair loss treatment. In United States, at the age of around 30 years, over 30% people is experiencing hair loss. At the age of 50 years old, around half of people starts losing hairs.

The simple explanation about the cause of hair loss is when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth. It can be temporary or permanent. The temporary hair loss are caused by diseases or illnesses, such as cancer or medical treatments, stress, fungus infection of the scalp, low protein diets, thyroid diseases, high fever, flu and chronic illness. On the other hand, the permanent hair loss are caused by hormonal changes. This includes childbirth and birth control pills. All of these hair loss causes will be described next.

1. Alopecia Areata

This non hormonal form of hair loss, also called spot baldness, is the effect of autoimmunisation disorder in which own hair follicles are overwhelmed by the antibodies of the body. This results in the stop of the hair growth. The cause of autoimmunisation disorder is unknown. The symptoms can be found by the finding of a small area of bald spot. In 1%-2% of the cases, the spot can spread which then lead to total baldness. However, this hair loss is not contagious to others. Treatments include topical medications or pills.

2. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

DHT is caused by the male hormone testosterone with the help of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. In a few cases, this has been related to Alopecia Areata. Almost all of the hair loss is caused by the increase in the amount of DHT produced by the body. The hormones will then bind to the hair follicles and thus causing the thinning hair and preventing the hair regrowth. One of the recommended treatment to cure this is the use of Provillus, containing natural ingredients to block the production of DHT.

3. Medications side effects

Some of the prescription drugs have been found to cause temporary hair sheeding. Some examples of medications that have been known to cause hair loss are: birth control pills, blood thinners, high doses of vitamin A, gout medications, arthritic medications, anti-depressants, hypertension medications, chemotherapy/radiation, etc. Since this is temporary, stopping the usage of the medications will return the hair growth to normal.

4. Pregnancy or Childbirth

Some of the pregnant women are also able to experience hair loss caused by the temporary hormonal changes in the body. During the pregnancy, the hair grows normally. However, in this period the women hormones increase greatly postponing the hair growth.

After the birth, a great amount of hair follicles are entering and this leads to the losing of the hairs which grow during the pregnancy. The hair loss lasts for one to six months.

5. Trichotillomania or Hair Pulling

According to dictionary.com, it is a compulsion to pull out one's hair. This can be considered as a bad addiction since this is initiated by an urge to hair pulling to find a feeling of relief afterward even without any intention, thus a noticeable hair loss. This is mostly done when someone is at stress. There are various Trichotillomania treatment supports that are available to help curing this bad habit.

6. Scalp infection

Infections in the scalp can lead to a great amount of hair loss. This is caused by ringworm, an fungus infection in the skin, which can be noticed in the skin as a reddish to brownish circle with lighter color in the circle center. This can be treated with a topical or oral antifungal medication.

7. Disease

Several diseases are also responsible for the cause of hair loss such as lupus, diabetes and thyroid diseases.

8. Birth control pills

This hair loss cause occurs to specific women only, that is those who have a genetic Androgenic Alopecia or a history of female pattern loss in family. It is advisable before taking the pills to contact the nearest doctor. It has been reported that 3 months after quitting the pills the hair loss begins. This duration of the hair loss to hair regrowth varies from months to even permanently.

To prevent hair loss, it is recommended to carry out regular medical check up at the age of over 30s. Another option is to make use of hair loss drug, such as Propecia. Propecia works by blocking the conversions of testosterone into a related hormone, dihydrotestosterone that shrinks hair follicles. However, this drug cannot be taken while pregnant because it can cause birth defects in the urinary and genital organs of male fetuses.

Herbal Remedies - Do They Really Work?

We often hear about the dangers pertinent to the use of herbal remedies as a substitute to prescription medicine. It appears that the limited research conducted on herbs and also the minimal number of expert herbalists engaged in the field of alternative medicine becomes the subject of contention, particularly among individuals in the medical profession. Being categorized as a food supplement only adds to the controversy surrounding herbal remedies and patented medicine.

Despite the odds, it is undeniable that the potency of herbal remedies for disease prevention and treatment lies beyond the claim of a placebo effect. Many herbal users who have given up on narcotics for the cure of their medical condition have surprisingly found relief in a few doses of herbal remedies. There are alternative forms of treatment that work, and in fact, the power of herbs to heal has been substantiated time and time again.

It appears that the more subdued healing offered by herbal remedies becomes the reason for its underrated stature in the mainstream. Too many people prefer a quick cure for whatever that ails them no matter what the cost. Nevertheless, this also draws the line between narcotics and herbals. While a prescription drug is intended to neutralize an infection or a palpable ailment and clear the symptoms of disease, herbal remedies take a more holistic stance, probing deeper into underlying systemic disorders to restore the well-being of the diseased organ and the body's normal functioning as well.

But this does not mean that herbal remedies disregard the fundamentals of disease treatment. Every herbal formulation is a concoction of different potent herbs, each marked with a predefined healing purpose while working synergistically to suppress the symptoms, preclude the outgrowth of pathogens causing diseases, reactivate the ailing body, and revitalize the senses.

The growing clamor for herbal remedies can only be attributed to the fact that more people have now become aptly oriented over the true nature of herbs and their healing properties. Most likely, the controversies will continue to perk up the herbal community as well as the medical profession. But in the end, consumers benefit from an alternative and cheaper form of treatment at their disposal.

Top 6 Natural Hair Loss Remedies

If there were an easy way to prevent and stop all the types of hair loss, then there would be a lot less people looking for solutions to this problem. Many millions of people suffer from this condition. There are some natural methods that do work to help people with hair loss. Here are the six natural remedies to hair loss.

1. Massage - By massaging the scalp it will help to increase blood flow. This in turn will help the hair follicles receive adequate blood, helping to created an optimal growing conditions for the hair. You would want to do this a few minutes each day and should be helpful in hair growth with more minor cases of hair trouble.

2. Aromatherapy - A combination of 6 drops of lavender and also bay essential oil mixed with four ounces of one of almond, sesame, or soybean oil and then this is applied and then massaged into the scalp. It is best after massaging leave this for around 20 minutes, this has been a method used by aroma therapists to help with stimulation of the scalp.

3. Saw Palmetto - The Saw Palmetto works by helping to reduce the levels of DHT in the body. This is helpful in regards to hair loss in that DHT is one of the leading causes of androgenetic alopecia, a major form of hair loss.

4. Nettle Root - The extract from this root is high in the vitamins C and A, and important minerals and lipids that are helpful to hair and hair growth. This has also been used in Europe as an inhibitor of the 5 alpha reductase, another cause of hair loss.

5. Sage and Rosemary - These two herbs are useful when applied externally. How you would go about this would be to create a liquid out of a few different herbs, these would be sage, rosemary, peach leaf, nettle root all in water and boiled together. You would then strain the liquid from the loose herbs and wash your hair with the liquid daily.

6. Jojoba Oil - This is a traditional Mexican and southwestern native American remedy that they used for dandruff and hair growth. It is also helpful with other conditions such as eczema, seborrhea, psoriasis, and dandruff. One other benefit is that it is a natural moisturizer and will not irritate hypoallergenic skin.

You will find that a natural cure for hair loss could be something that you already have in your house, or that you can get for a couple dollars at a grocery store. Whatever you decide to try it is wise to start now with a plan to overcome your hair loss.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Natural way to Prevent and Cure Baldness

The major reason of male-pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia) in males is dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an androgenic hormone. Usually, DHT plays a main job in male sexual development but an increased level of DHT leads to baldness. Here is how it occurs: when there is too much DHT in the scalp, it joins itself to the hair follicles, blocking the blood supply to the follicle. Since the hair follicle cannot take the nutrients it needs from the blood, it stops growing and then shrinks. This makes hair thinner before completely disappearing.

The clear answer to the problem of hair loss is to block DHT. Such prescription drugs as Finasteride (Propecia) stop adaptation of testosterone into DHT thus reducing the overall level of DHT in the body and preventing baldness. However, artificial chemical drugs have a number of very mean side-effects (e.g. erectile dysfunction) and their use is not suggested.

There are natural alternatives to recommendation drugs available. They work in the same way, by dropping the level of DHT. But, since they are natural cure, they do not have any side-effects. Three most helpful natural baldness treatments are the following:

Saw Palmetto. This is a herbal DHT inhibitors, which is less costly than treatment drugs and doesn't have side effects.


Pumpkin seeds. They help in the collapse of DHT by the liver.


Zinc. Oral zinc supplements stop conversion of testosterone into DHT.

An efficient natural hair loss cure usually contains a join of these ingredients as well as additional nutrients to support and facilitate hair re-growth.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Acne Skin Care Treatment

Almost anybody has suffered from acne at least once in their lifetime. The answer to preventing acne from happening is correct skin care. You should consistently clean your skin both morning and at night with a cleanser, starting beneath your jaw to your hairline.

Don't use a very strong bactericide soap or a coarse cleanse pad because rather than helping you to prevent an acne outbreak, the rough surface of the coarse cleanse pad might worsen your acne skin condition. One important practise is to thoroughly rinse your skin after you are done.

You have to remember to not squeeze or pick the acne on your skin as this will risk scarring and creating dark blotches on your skin. Your hands are constantly oily and dirty, therefore you should avoid touching or rubbing your face frequently as this will transfer the oil from your hands to your face, which will make removing your acne even more difficult.

Acne Skin Care Treatment

If you are a lady, do note that the makeup you use should be as oil free as possible. You should always seek the help of the cosmetician to recommend you a set of oil free make up. While makeup hides the dark blotches and blemishes which you have, it may also worsen your Acne Skin Problem.

For man, if you have Acne Skin Problems, you are encouraged to shave lightly and only when necessary. Use an electric shaver as it is less likely to nick your blemishes. Do not forget to soften your whiskers with warm water before you apply any shaving cream.