Counteracting Hair Loss

EACH HAIR FOLLICLE LIVES FOR TWENTY-FIVE SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS thanks to a generous dose of estrogen, helping to protect women from baldness. Men, on the other hand, are the first to lose their hair because of high levels of testosterone. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that hair loss also happens to women. The first sign is if you begin to notice loose hairs, rather than clumps (no need to panic — significant losses are actually less serious). There are many causes, from lack of iron and amino acids to the stresses of styling. Talk to your doctor or stylist about what action to take.

A BIT OF HELP: Anti-hair–loss cures treat the symptoms very effectively while improving hair quality. From daily shampooing, which lifts your spirits at the same time, to coloring your hair (which causes no harm), to specialized massages for a poorly irrigated scalp, there are ways to get things back on course.

WITH AGE:, hair becomes more and more strained, starts to thin out, is harder to style, and is drier to the touch. If hair loss is present, an imperfect covering of the scalp causes aesthetic problems. New lines of products and nutritional supplements can help stimulate the hair and give it body.

HAIR EXTENSIONS: can also fill in the gap while you are waiting for your own hair to grow in again.

From disappointment in love to powerful emotions, all types of temporary crises can take their toll on hair and cause it to fall out. It is difficult to make a direct association, however, since three months or so usually elapse between the stressful event and the resulting hair loss. Nonetheless, the relationship is undeniable. (Source: Les Cheveux et la Vie,Dr. Danieacute;le Pomey-Rey)

An absolutely faithful reflection of all the stages of womanhood, the state of our hair does not have to give away our age. Thankfully, anti-aging treatments can work wonders on hair.

HORMONES: Estrogen is a key player: Its presence at the root, via hormonal receptors, makes women's hair grow faster than men's. From the onset of puberty to the use of birth control pills, everything that interferes with our hormonal balance has consequences on the state of our hair.

ADOLESCENCE: The influx of testosterone is responsible for seborrhea — and oily hair —which causes headaches for many teenage girls—and sometimes even limited hair loss.

BEFORE (AND AFTER) BABY: The luscious hair of mothers-to-be is due to the abundance of female hormones (estrogen), which slow down the life cycle of hair. New hairs arrive and old ones remain, resulting in a blissful time for hair and skin as well. Once the baby is born, however, the hormones relax their vigilance and, as a result, hair falls out, sometimes in large quantities, after childbirth. Thankfully, the situation stabilizes within a few weeks.

MENOPAUSE: As a result of reduced female hormones, hair risks falling out. As long as they are mixed in the correct proportions, substitute treatments which keep testosterone in check, curb this phenomenon. And new anti-aging treatments are great at adding body and texture to hair.

Try on a new hairstyle now.