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My mum had it rough while growing up. She couldn’t afford proper shampoo, so she would wash her hair with what she used to wash her clothes; laundry detergent. The icky powdery stuff that makes your skin dry out.
Thankfully she was blessed with great hair. Thick, shiny, and very very strong. Since I got half her genes, my hair grew out pretty good. Fast forward a few years, however, and my hair is a fraction of what it used to be ─ literally.
So even though I was blessed with great hair genetics, my daily lifestyle has made my hair thin out. Hair stylists often tell me it’s due to the length of my hair weighing it down, but I really wasn’t convinced; so I spoke to Principal Trichologist Peggy Goh from DRx Medispa, and she gave me the low down on what makes your hair fall.
WEIGHT
Thinking about going on a juice cleanse? You should probably reconsider. Sudden weight loss causes your body to react in more ways than one. If you’re already suffering from chronic hair loss, a sudden shift in your weight will make your hair fall out too.
STRESS
Probably one of the most common reasons, feeling stressed can result in your hair falling out in clumps. Although stress is mostly temporary, a single hair takes 3 months from the root to reach the surface of your scalp, making even fleeting periods of stress detrimental to the process of hair growth.
ILLNESS
Did you recently have a bout of high fever? or Dengue? Falling sick isn’t much of a choice on our part, but unfortunately, our hair reacts to these instances nonetheless, and can be affected enough to fall out.
GENETICS
Unfortunately, hair loss is largely linked to your genes. If your parents started greying or losing hair at a young age (Prince William style) you will probably follow in their footsteps too.
DIET
According to Ms Goh, hair is 80 percent protein. A shortage of protein in your diet will definitely affect the amount and quality of hair regrowth. So load up on your leafy vegetables and meat!
Apart from managing our weight and diet, the cause of hair fall (as you can tell) is largely beyond one’s control. Despite this piece of depressing news, there is more than one way to get your rapunzel back. According to Ms Goh, as long as you still have hair, you can definitely reverse the damage.
Stay tuned, as I’ll be sharing tips to battle hair loss in my next post!
Peggy Goh is the Principal Trichologist of The DRx Medispa located at 302 Orchard Road, #14-02/03 Tong Building Singapore 238862. For more information, visit www.drxmedispa.com and follow the brand on Facebook.