While there are quick-fixes for every beauty need, hairfall in women remains a chronic concern
AMONG the worst issues women face as they get older, wiser, more voluptuous and certainly more gorgeous, is hair fall. While there are quick-fixes for every beauty need today – right from losing weight with medical intervention, wiping off wrinkles with some injectables, hairfall is a large and unfixable worry for most.
Women shed 50 to 150 strands of hair every day. A lot of it gets replaced, and so we do not notice any deficit, or have hair thinning issues. But hair thinning is a common concern, and a genuinely big one.
For starters, there are several reasons for hair loss. Sometimes the reasons are short term, such as illness or weather related. Often hair loss occurs due to poor nutrition too. I have some patients who have tried going vegan, and this has led to a significant loss of hair. Issues such as these are short-term and can be easily taken care of.
Often, hair loss is a more pressing and chronic condition. I strongly advise visiting a doctor for this too. Most good doctors will advise using a milder or gentler shampoo, perhaps a sulphate-free product. Fewer scalp treatments and overzealous unsupervised attempts may end up damaging the hair growth further.
I especially like to stress on the individual’s diet. You will be surprised at how simple, healthy and nutritious foods can fix many of our beauty needs.
For healthier hair, I highly recommend making your diet richer in protein. If you are non-vegetarian, meats and eggs are a vital source of protein. If you are vegetarian, then legumes, paneer or tofu must be consumed every day. Do not forget your daily three litres of water either. I also suggest regular trimming to keep the hair looking healthy.
A compassionate consultation focusing on holistic hair restoration, moving beyond prescriptions to understand a patient's diet, stress, and lifestyle.
There are certainly more chronic cases of hair loss which require significant medical attention. Scalp disorders are as common as skin disorders. An illness or a strongly medicated recovery from an illness shows up as hair thinning too. Add to this hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, our daily stress levels as well as our genetic makeup – all of this is a fabulous commercial cocktail for companies selling hair pieces or wigs, or the newly available hair powders that darken the scalp in order to make the scalp look fuller.
I am certainly not one to judge where you find your beauty secrets and strengths – looking good and feeling good are fundamental to our emotional wellbeing, and I am here for it.
I am especially reminded of a patient who came to me with a beautiful head of hair. I mean her hair was thick and healthy. But she had chronic alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes severe hair loss but only in patches. Her bald spots were recurring as well as increasing in size. I cannot imagine what that did to her mental makeup, and she was understandably very anxious.
Spending time with a patient like this is vital in understanding her, her life and her routine and her emotional wellness.
The lady had tried several local cortico-steroid lotions and tablets, and had used medical shampoos as well. Her hair did return, but so long as she continued her use and dependance on them.
Understanding the patient better meant understanding her triggers. I needed to get to her diet and vitamin intake, but I also needed to get into her mind. I knew I could help her gradually regrow her hair, but I needed time. I also wanted to put an end to her dependence on local cortico-steroids. I wanted her to have a full and long-term recovery. I was treating her scalp, but I also needed to help her without her emotional well-being and her thought processes. To me, that is complete healing.
I spent time with her and got into details about her life history and routine. Of course I prescribed homeopathy medicines, but with a fortnightly follow up to monitor her progress. I put her on a protein-rich diet, and added biotin and iron supplements too. Her shampoo was not working for her so I put her on something milder. But I also added a homeopathic lotion to soothe her scalp irritations.
It took over eight weeks, but new hair began sprouting. She kept improving from then on.
I do believe in the benefits of homeopathy even before I became a homeopathic doctor. It is a milder, but more caring and loving way to heal. Long-term heal.
(Dr Vinzanekar is a Pune-based homeopath and wellness specialist)
