Enter the shower, wash your head and when looking at your hands or the floor find a tangle of hair. A scene that can be everyday for some people and that can lead to conclusions, such as if you wash your hair very often. falls more and can lead to alopecia much earlier. Something that is nothing more than a myth that is quite widespread, but that dermatology tries to disprove.
We don’t tear it off. The idea that you can have in mind with this scene that we have related is that by rubbing your head you are pulling out your hair from the roots. But this is a serious misconception, as you remember the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) when pointing out that hair loss in the shower is not related to the mechanical action of rubbing.
The hair that we see between our hands or on the floor was already loose before entering the shower as it found itself in what is called telogen phasethat is, fall or rest phase. The only thing washing does is make it come off more easily, something that also happens when we comb our hair or when we rub the pillow. Because that hair was already unsalvageable.
This is something that the Spanish dermatologist Óscar Muñoz himself defends, who in a recent interview which stated that “h“There are those who believe that when they wash their hair falls out more, but the only thing they are seeing is the hair that was already destined to come off.”
A bad idea. At the point of not washing your hair in order to save it, it is not the most advisable thing to do. Especially because it can have the completely opposite effect. All this because the fat accumulation or sebum in the hair, beyond being an aesthetic problem, it is also a breeding ground for fungus like the Malassezia which can give us more headaches.
All this because a fungus on the scalp It generates a response from our body as it is a threat that results in seborrheic dermatitis that generates a state of inflammation in the scalp that aggravates androgenic alopecia, which is what we are seeking to control.
The medical recommendation is clear: regular hygiene (even daily if necessary) with mild shampoos to keep sebum and inflammation at bay.
The stress. A clear culprit It has nothing to do with shampoo. The. scientific literature confirm that there is a clear link between stress levels and the follicle since when cortisol, the classic stress hormone, is triggered, it is also generated an inflammation which can cause the follicle to go into a shedding phase.
Although this effect is not seen at the time of upset or peak stress, but 2 or 3 months after the stressful event. The good news is that it is a reversible condition, but a sustained state of stress can create a vicious cycle that perpetuates the problem.
What works. Although we have seen that the myth of not washing your hair does not work to prevent hair loss (it even aggravates it), the question we ask ourselves is what works. Science has a great battery of options such as broccoli and soybeans.
In this case there are interesting studies in mice where broccoli extracts either phytoestrogens Soybeans modulate hair growth. Although logically eating more broccoli does not stop androgenic alopecia, it does open up very interesting avenues for further research in the field of aesthetics.
The drugs. Beyond diet remedies, which can be more homemade, dermatologists have a range of treatments that offer great results. The first-line ones are finasteride and minoxidil, which have demonstrated with robust evidence behind them a good ability to stop miniaturization and improve capillary density. Although the fear of sexual adverse effects exists, trials indicate that the incidence rate is low.
Images | Donald Teel Towfiqu barbhuiya
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings