What’s with My Hair Falling Out !?

What's with My Hair Falling Out !?What's with My Hair Falling Out !?

About Hair

Healthy hair simply looks good. The healthier your scalp and hair follicles, the better your hair will look. If you’re starting to experience some hair loss and a general decline in the overall health of your hair and scalp, it has probably been deteriorating for a while, and you’re only now seeing the effects.

Hair grows in a cycle of three phases. Each individual hair is in a growth phase (anagen phase) for 2-6 years, before it enters a transition phase (catagen phase) for 1-2 weeks, and then a resting phase (telogen phase) for 5-6 weeks. After that, the hair dies and falls out. Then the follicle returns to the growth phase, and a new hair begins to grow.

In normal, healthy adults, the approximate percentages of hairs in these three different phases are:

  • 84% in the growth (anagen) phase
  • 0-1% in the transition (catagen) phase
  • 14-15% in the resting (telogen) phase

Returning your hair follicles to the anagen growth cycle is the objective of any plan to regrow healthier hair.

DHT Effects On the Hair Follicle

The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. This is defined as a state where 20% or more of a person’s hairs are in the telogen (resting) phase.

In cases of alopecia, the hair growth cycle has been altered so that the anagen (growth) phase is shortened. This results in an increased percentage of hairs in the catagen and telogen phases.

The enzyme conversion of testosterone creates a compound called Di-Hydro Testosterone (DHT). The effect of DHT on the hair follicles and oil glands of the scalp can be detrimental to the anagen phase that you want to lengthen.

In areas of hair thinning or loss, the follicles have more sites to which DHT can attach, and more DHT at those sites. This buildup of DHT near the follicles can shorten their growth phase and increase the numbers of hairs in the transition and resting phases. A continuation in this buildup of DHT will actually shrink the hair follicles, which causes their hairs to become thinner, weaker, and look less healthy.

Reality Check: No product known today will grow a hair without a viable hair follicle. Only a healthy hair follicle can grow a hair.

A healthy hair follicle can resist the negative effects of DHT buildup and continue in a normal growth cycle longer than an unhealthy one can. Hair care products that seek to lessen DHT work by binding to the same sites on the hair follicle to which DHT attaches. This blocks the abnormal response of the follicle to DHT, so it blocks the harm that is causing the weakening and loss of the hair.

The nutritional supplements recommended by a naturopathic physician work by helping the body to normalize its hormone levels, while increasing the circulation of nutrients and elimination of waste products from the hair follicle. This increases the strength of the follicle and protects it from further damage.

The amounts of the conversion enzymes that create DHT from testosterone, as well as the amounts of testosterone or cortisol, are thought to be genetically determined. This is why some people tend to have less of a problem with DHT than others. Read the rest of this entry »

Synthetic Fiber Hair Extensions Create Choice Hair Styles for Hair Loss and Fashion Clients

Every generation goes thru more and more transformations and capitalizes on current trends of Hair Styles. The big Hair Style trend these days is in full swing in Europe and is just starting to spread in the United States. It is the trend of Hair Extensions. Hair extensions involve the attachment of human or synthetic hair to your existing hair to create a more full or long look immediately. Hair extensions can add instant body, length to your look and can also help with hair thinning and hair loss situations.

There are many different methods of hair extensions on the market today, some good, some not so good. Mark Sharp, co-founder and creative director of Mark Glenn Hair Enhancement of London, England and Glenn Kinsey, co-founder and managing director have taken revolutionary steps in developing a fiber hair extension method that not only doesn’t damage the existing hair but can even improve the condition of the hair. They have transformed the lives of women who suffer from varying degrees of hair loss caused by conditions such as alopecia, trichotillomania, genetic factors, stress and post-operative trauma.

The Mark Glenn extensions, commonly known as MG extensions, use no glues, bonding solutions, threads, weaves, injections, and nothing is stuck on the head. They are attached using a very fine braid. A small section of existing hair is split into two. The fiber hair is also split into two to make the braid and is finally wrapped around the base of the hair, protecting it. The fiber is then “sealed on itself” using a heat tool (which is no hotter than a typical pair of curling tongs or crimpers). This creates a tiny plastic seal. It’s important to point out that during this process, your own hair is safely “cocooned” inside the fiber so it doesn’t come into direct contact with any heat. Therefore, your own hair stays in perfect condition. For hair loss or thinning problems, the extensions are applied with non-allergic mesh and the fiber hair is woven thru the mesh to create the look.

Synthetic Fiber Hair Extensions Create Choice Hair Styles for Hair Loss and Fashion ClientsSynthetic Fiber Hair Extensions Create Choice Hair Styles for Hair Loss and Fashion Clients

Glenn Kinsey of Mark Glenn Hair Enhancement has joined us today for a brief question and answer session on their fiber hair extensions.

Welcome Glenn and thank you for joining us today! We have a few questions for you about your wonderful hair extensions.

Question: I understand that you and Mark have previously worked with human hair extensions. Why did you switch to synthetic fiber extensions?
Answer: Several reasons:

1. Weight – human hair is twice the weight of fiber and therefore feels “heavy” on the head – at its worst, this increased weight and stress on the hair can cause “traction alopecia”. In addition, human hair is porous – it soaks up water – which can significantly increase the weight when wet.

2. Tangle – human hair tends to “matt” and “tangle” – this is because the surface of human hair has little “spines” on it, that look like roof tiles under a microscope. Because this “alien” hair isn’t being conditioned by the natural oils that condition your own hair, these “spines” tend to “stick out” and tangle up with the other hairs on your head. Consequently, you do need to use quite intensive conditioners to keep the hair in good condition. Fiber, however, has a smooth surface and therefore is less likely to tangle.

3. Glue – human hair extensions are typically applied with glue and removed with acetone – a recipe for damage, the results of which we regularly see in our studio. Our method doesn’t use any chemicals.

4. Colour match – a stylist using human hair would typically take a swatch of the client’s hair and send it to a human hair supplier who would then pick the closest colour from a specific range. We actually colour-blend our hair with the client in front of us – taking into account all the different subtle shade shifts that may exist in their hair – to get an absolutely perfect match

5. Ethics – there’s a great deal of mystery surrounding the origins of human hair used in extensions and it’s very difficult to track the exact source. A common source for top quality hair is from female Russian prisoners, for example

6. Look and feel – fiber looks and feels just like real hair but is much kinder to the hair and is much easier to style and take care of. Read the rest of this entry »