beautyHealth & Fitness
10 Daily Habits That Are Causing Your Hair to Thin
Like our furry friends, humans also shed their hair. Actually, we do it on a daily basis, with the regular amount of hair we lose being somewhere from 50 to 100 strands per day. It’s absolutely normal and, honestly, not that noticeable since we have more than 100,000 hair follicles on our scalp. But sometimes things go south and you realize that you’re losing more than evolution wisely tried to prescribe.
We at HEALTH believe all of you deserve to keep your hair soft, shiny, and healthy, so we gathered a list of things to avoid on your journey toward this goal.
1. You skip meals.
When you don’t have enough calories, your body redirects all the energy toward essential functions — like your heart and brain, leaving the hair and scalp behind. Dieting can be a shock to your hormones and it often leads to hair thinning and shedding, while new hair doesn’t grow to replace it. In fact, one of the top symptoms of anorexia, and a bunch of other eating disorders, is severe hair loss.
- What you can do: Eat a healthy diet with plenty of protein and fat. Hair is mostly made of protein (keratin) and it has a tendency to break if you’re not getting enough. Aim for 46 grams per day — or about 10% to 35% of your total calories.
2. You get too much sun.
When you go out, the sun’s UV rays start to eat away at the elasticity and strength of your hair. Prolonged heat and sunlight exposure might dry out the hair and scalp and damage the cuticle and the hair fiber, resulting in brittle hair that can lead to hair loss. Light-colored and fine hair is especially vulnerable to the sun!
- What you can do: Tuck your hair underneath a hat whenever possible. Try using products with built-in sunscreen. Keep your scalp moist by adding a hair mask to your routine.
3. You wear tight hairstyles.
Sporting braids, buns, or ponytail puts huge and constant tension on the hair follicles near the root. It forces the hair out of the follicle prematurely, which leads to thinning and scarring. In extreme cases, it may result in traction alopecia, a condition that forever weakens the follicle and makes it impossible for hair to grow.
- What you can do: Loosen up! Wear your hair down when possible, especially while sleeping, since rolling around on a pillow can cause even more breakage. Make sure you use a hair-friendly hair tie or a soft scrunchy. If you feel hair pulling on your skin, it’s way too tight.
4. You don’t wash your hair often enough.
Don’t get too used to skipping a hair-washing. A buildup of dirt, product leftovers, and oil gathering on the scalp can clog hair follicles, which makes it difficult for hair to grow. If left untreated, it often leads to thinning and hair loss.
- What you can do: Regularly wash your hair — from every couple of days to once per week, depending on your hair type. Switch to a sulfate-free shampoo to prevent dryness.
