As you get older, the body processes some nutrients less efficiently, including iron, which is needed for healthy hair. Iron is needed for healthy red blood cells which carry oxygenated blood to the scalp and hair follicles, so iron defiency can cause thin hair that lacks lustre.
Over time, hair fibers become thinner and drop out; unfortunately, they never regenerate. There are natural pigment changes that occur in hair as you age as well. Pigment cells stop producing as much pigment and eventually your once thick, chestnut hair becomes thin, fine and gray.
“Aging hair is less resilient and needs to be treated with more care,” says Shainhouse. She suggests reducing the use of harsh, drying chemicals and alcohol-based styling products, and adding in heat-protectant sprays when using heated hair tools.
Androgenic alopecia occurs when hair follicles on the scalp are genetically predisposed to be overly sensitive to normal levels of androgens (male hormones). This causes hair follicles to become smaller, and for hair to gradually become finer and shorter with each passing hair growth.
Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased. During and after menopause, hair might become finer (thinner) because hair follicles shrink. Hair grows more slowly and falls out more easily in these cases.
Minoxidil (Rogaine) is approved by the FDA for female pattern hair loss. It can slow or stop it in most women and may help hair grow back. But the benefits go away when you stop using it. Corticosteroids can help regrow hair for women with alopecia areata.
Here's the truth: You can't change the size of your hair follicles. If you were born with fine hair, it's genetics, and no product will completely alter that. Of course, there are ways to maintain your hair health, add volume, and keep it from getting any thinner.
As a person ages, the texture of their hair can change. Hair can also become thinner and people may experience hair loss.
Lifestyle factors could include using certain hair products, wearing your hair up too tightly, experiencing high stress levels, or not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. People who have immune system deficiencies could also have thinning hair.
If the reason for thinning hair is genetics, it will not grow back on its own. To grow back a healthy, full head of hair, you'll need to take action, and that involves reviewing different hair loss options.
Research shows that a lack of vitamin D in your body can lead to hair loss. One role vitamin D plays is stimulating new and old hair follicles. When there isn't enough vitamin D in your system, new hair growth can be stunted.
Check Your Iron - Low iron levels can result in hair thinning. Including more red meat in your diet or taking an iron supplement may help resolve the issue. Take Good Care of Your Scalp - Try using products that will exfoliate the scalp. It will help loosen build-up and stimulate growth.
The sun bleaches out the melanin (the pigment that gives your hair color), causing your hair to look lighter. Because you spend more time outdoors and the sun is out more frequently in the summer, it's the season where you're most susceptible to lightening. But the sun isn't the only culprit.
Vitamin B: There are multiple B vitamins. The most commonly known in relationship to hair growth is Biotin. Vitamin B carries oxygen and nutrients to the scalp. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is required for creating the protein collagen, an important part of hair structure.
Straw-like hair is often the result of common hair care oversights, such as these: using drying and styling tools (dryers, curling irons, electric rollers, flat irons) at too high a heat setting. using heat-based drying and styling tools too frequently. shampooing too often.
The average age of menopause is around 52, and although subtle changes to the hair can and often do occur long before this, menopause speeds up the changes. As your levels of oestrogen drop and your level of testosterone increases, the length and the diameter to which your hair will grow decreases.
“As hair ages, it generally gets drier and the individual hairs get more coarse,” says Ashley Streicher, advisory stylist for StriVectin HAIR.
Strengthens and thickens: Biotin "is well known for its positive effects on hair including growing stronger thicker strands," says Friese. Protects: Because biotin strengthens hair, it is less likely to break off at the ends, promoting and protecting length, explains Friese.
In other cases, thinning hair is triggered by something going on inside the body — for instance, a thyroid problem, a shift in hormones, a recent pregnancy, or an inflammatory condition. Hair loss may also be genetic. The most common genetic condition is known as female-pattern hair loss, or androgenic alopecia.
The bottom line. There's no strong evidence to support using biotin for hair growth or to prevent hair loss in people without a deficiency. Because hair thinning and poor hair growth are sometimes associated with a biotin deficiency, correcting a deficiency can help restore hair growth in some people.