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Hair - Although the cosmetic industry makes a fortune selling shampoos, conditioners and artificial colourings, thick, glossy hair that retains its hue is based on sound nutrition. At the bottom of each follicle, cells keep dividing to add new ones to the base of the hair, making it grow. A whole-food diet that incorporates sufficient protein is indispensable for healthy hair, providing the nutrients needed by the newly forming cells. Around 12 per cent of the hair consists of the amino acid cystine, available, besides animal sources, in seeds, nuts and whole grains, so eat plenty of these with added wheatgerm.
 

Hair Loss - The Facts
Hair loss comes from the mother’s side
False. While baldness is genetic, it is not limited to the maternal side of the family. The hair-loss gene can come from either side. If your uncle Charlie on your father’s side has a receding hairline, then chances are you might not be in the clear.

Brushing the hair 100 times a day will stimulate the circulation and prevent hair loss
False. Vigorous brushing is more likely to injure the hairs and make the problem worse

Hair needs to breathe, so wigs and toupees worsen loss of hair
False. Hair does not need to breathe. Only the root of the hair is alive and this gets its oxygen from the blood in the scalp. Wigs and hairpieces will damage hair only if they are too tight.

Blow-drying and heated brushes can worsen hair loss
True. The reason is that extreme heat damages the proteins in the hairs, making them fragile and liable to break off. Brushing the hair during blow-drying causes more damage. Careless use of heated brushes can even burn the scalp, so that the hair follicles are permanently damaged in that area.

If your father has a full head of hair, you will not go bald
False. A tendency to baldness is inherited and probably involves a combination of genes. So you are not automatically in the clear even if your father has a full head of hair. It is not true, as sometimes claimed, that only genes from the mother’s side are involved.

It is normal to lose hair from our early 30's
True. A person aged 20–30 years typically has 615 hair follicles per square centimetre. The number falls to 485 by 50 years of age and to 435 at 80–90 years of age. Also each hair is thinner. So, with ageing, hair becomes both finer and sparser.

Cutting your hair will make it grow back thicker
False. This common misconception comes from the fact that hair is thicker at the base than it is at the tip, so it appears thicker at first. Cutting your hair does not affect hair growth at all; it will grow about half an inch each month no matter what.
 

Hair loss - Hair loss, also known as alopecia, baldness and balding, can sometimes be connected with stress. The stress may have been caused by family troubles, such as worry over teenage children, career concerns, etc, etc. Whatever the emotional problem, it makes sense to return to the body those nutrients that the stress has been soaking up, in particular B complex and C. Wheatgerm and yeast extract need to be in generous supply, and organic liver if you eat meat; alternatively take brewer's yeast tablets or a B complex that includes inositol, folic acid and biotin.

PABA, which occurs naturally in these foods as well as in whole grains and black molasses, can prevent balding. If you are able to buy it, take a supplement of around 300mg daily; you may need to ask for a prescription. Eat good portions of fresh fruit, salad and vegetables for the ascorbic acid and add a supplement of at least 500mg daily. Zinc has significantly helped alopecia patients: take 30mg every day for four weeks, then reduce the amount by half. Hair loss may also indicate a lack of iron, so increase your consumption of pulses and have black molasses regularly. Make sure, too, that your diet is adequate in vegetable oils.

Certain drugs including the contraceptive pill can affect the growth and thickness of hair; vitamin B6 with magnesium will assist in counteracting the negative effects of the Pill. Do, however, check with your doctor if you suddenly lose hair, as an underactive thyroid could be the cause.

Greying of hair - Here again, if your hair is going grey, there could be some vitamin B deficiencies, particularly of B5, B12 and biotin, all of which could bring about early greying of hair, although predisposing factors may simply be hereditary. Brewer's yeast tablets will restore the balance and supply PABA, which is excellent for the hair. Check also that your consumption of copper is at RDA levels, because this mineral is involved in hair pigmentation. For hair going grey, a wholefood diet that includes lentils, nuts and fish should meet your requirements, but remember that zinc supplements will reduce your uptake of copper.
If you have to resort to dyes, choose henna or those extracted from vegetables. Chemical dyes have been linked to cancer and could do you serious harm.

Dandruff - The latest research implies that a fungus may be at the root of this common problem. Selenium, when included in shampoo, has anti-fungal properties, so seek this out from your health-food store. Also take low-fat live yoghurt daily and follow the suggestions made on the page Looking Your Best - Skin or from one of the links below on skin and look for 'Dry skin', putting emphasis on cold-pressed sunflower and linseed oils.
If you can cope with the mess, rub linseed oil into the scalp and leave on as long as possible before washing out.

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We're not doctors, just people who have completed many, many years of research into health-related items, foods, their nutritional values and how they can affect all of us in different ways.

We genuinely want to help as many people as possible and so the medical information on this website is for informational purposes, but it's not a substitute for a consultation with a doctor. Please consult your doctor with respect to your own symptoms and conditions.

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