Hair Problems? Treat the root cause holistically!!

Hair is a vital aspect of our personality; it makes us look different from others; hence when hair problems arise, our cosmetic appearance also gets devastated and we feel extremely distressed. Another severe problem of hair is its premature greying. No one wants to see his or her hair to go grey at an early age. These hair problems need to be taken care of seriously. Therefore, before we seek a proper treatment, we must find out the root cause of hair problems.

Excessive Hair Loss: The human scalp at any time contains between 100,000 and 120,000 hairs. According to the hair growth cycle, 10 % of it remain in a resting phase. After 3 to 4 months, the resting hair falls out and new hair grows in its place. Thus, it is natural to shed some hair each day. But excessive hair fall ultimately results in baldness as seen in males and thinning as seen in females. Hair loss can be caused due to hormonal imbalance, malfunction of the thyroid gland, nutritional deficiencies, certain medications, infections of the scalp like dandruff, alopecia and autoimmune diseases, etc. Use of chemical hair dyes and the side effect of chemotherapy are the other major causes. Childbirth, extensive surgeries and severe stress may cause a hair loss condition. Demodex folliculorum, a microscopic mite that feeds on the sebum produced by the sebaceous glands, prevents essential nutrients from reaching to hair follicles and can cause thinning.

Premature Hair Graying: With advancing age, hair has a tendency to lose its holistic colour and turn grey. But premature greying makes any person below 35, look older. Essentially, hair follicles deep in the scalp get an oily secretion. This secretion is the source of nutrition, lustre and the pigment of the hair. Nourishment comes to hair follicles from the bloodstream. The stem cells at the base of hair produce melanocytes, the cells that produce and store pigment in hair and skin. Death of the melanocyte stem cells causes the onset of greying. Undernutrition is, therefore, one of the causes of premature greying of hair. Primary reasons for undernutrition are lack of B12 vitamins, Iron, Copper and Iodine in the everyday diet. Mental worries and heredity issues also contribute to it. People suffering from chronic cold, sinusitis and those who use warm water for washing of their hair are more likely to be victims of this condition. Other causes of this problem of hair are an unclean condition of the scalp, hot air drying and use of hair dyes.

Holistic Approach: In view of the rapid changes in the contemporary conditions and lifestyles, the problems of abnormal hair loss and premature greying have been seen rising rapidly than before. For maintenance of healthy hair and overcoming hair problems, we discover these days a variety of solutions convenient in the market as hair oil, shampoos and hair conditioners. Whereas we have already understood that the root cause of the hair problems is malnourishment of hair follicles. Hence only external treatment will not help to eradicate it. In the holistic approach to hair problems, through Ayurveda, Unani and Yoga therapy systems treatment is focused on correcting the basic dysfunction of the body rather than trying to suppress the symptoms. Ayurveda and Unani systems diagnose the diseases as per the constitution of an individual and accordingly the treatment is provided. Hair fall and premature greying are considered to represent a problem of disbalance in doshas and humors in the body. This imbalance develops in a person due to stress, consumption of yeast, meat, fortified foods, alcohol, medicines, smoking and also excess intake of tea and coffee which imbalances the doshas and humors. Through Ayurvedic and Unani medicines this imbalance can be brought back to equilibrium which represents the desired healthy state. On the other hand, pranayamas play a vital role in reducing stress and anxiety levels as well as improving blood circulation in the scalp enhancing and nourishing the hair follicles.