Top 3 Healthy Habits to Save Your Hair

Hair loss has many different causes such as genetics, state of health, long-term stress and lifestyle habits. Any combination of these factors will certainly lead to male and female-pattern baldness but you can do your part to counter the hereditary factor contributing to your thinning hair. Here are some helpful quick tips on habits you can begin to adopt in order to save a few strands up there in the long run. 

Know your limits when washing and styling

Any hairstyle that restricts the movement of hair or binds it tightly can damage either the shaft of the hair, bend the roots and tug at the bulb and follicle below the skin. Twists, braids, buns and ponytails can all be very damaging to your hair if kept too long or styled too frequently. Avoid or put off the use of hot rollers, irons, oil treatments and chemical dying for only special occasions, if you cannot live without them, and only rely on a trained professional.[1] 

Use gentle movements when washing your hair, lather up with lukewarm water and, then, spray cold water over the area at the end to provide a number of benefits to your scalp. The top reasons why to rinse with cold water are:

• It closes up the pore thus strengthening and decreasing its overall vulnerability

• It protects the pore from collecting dirt, grease and oil

• It will limit over shedding [2]

Challenge yourself to learn at least one new nutritious meal

Adding a new whole food or raw meal to your weekly diet will introduce more vitamins and minerals to your body than you had previously. A food diary or sticky notes listing what you ate recently may seem silly, but this simple habit could reveal a lot of information in a short period of time. Ask yourself what could be healthy, what you would like to try and experiment in the kitchen a couple times to adopt your favorite new breakfast, lunch or dinner item into your life. If you suspect that you may be lacking in certain vitamins or minerals (particularly iron or zinc) a quick blood test will also confirm or reveal what you need to add into your diet. 

Managing stress through breathwork

Lucas Rockwood has a great TEDx talk available on YouTube to learn a little more about what he calls “water, whiskey and coffee breathing”.  He is the founder of Absolute Yoga Academy, which is one of the top yoga training academies in the world. Breathwork is useful for professional singers, musicians, actors and yogis alike but, just like eating and sleeping, breathing is a common necessity that we need to function. If you simply learn how to rebalance yourself when feeling stress by breathing out for a count of four, and in over the count of four, this will do wonders for your mental and physical health.[3]

Looking forward to developments in this field? We are too! That is why our clinic has implemented only the latest and most effective technology into our treatment plans for hair loss.

[1] Torgerson, Cory. “5 Healthy Habits to Reduce Hair Loss: The Importance of Changing a Lifestyle.” Toronto Facial Plastic Surgery and Laser Centre, Dr. Cory Torgerson, 3 Oct. 2019, drtorgerson.com/hair-transplant-toronto/5-healthy-habits-to-reduce-hair-loss/.

[2] The Right Temperature for Washing Hair: Hot or Cold?, www.haircaremanual.com/washing-hair/right-temperature-for-washing-hair-h....

[3] “Change Your Breath, Change Your Life.” Performance by Lucas Rockwood, Barcelona, TEDx Talks, 10 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QTJOAI0UoU.