Rapunzel`s Locks

Women all want thick, flowing, shiny, and healthy hair that moves with a bounce and is the envy of many. If that were not true, there would not be so many products in hair salons and on the shelves of drug stores designed and promising to add body and fullness to our hair. Julia Roberts, Farah Fawcett (circa the 1970`s), Jennifer Aniston, and Andie McDowell are just a few actresses that have enviable hair that has been spotlighted and written about. Even in fairy tales like Goldilocks and Rapunzel, a big deal was made about the importance of their hair. It would seem that Rapunzel`s hair just kept right on growing to be able to reach the ground from high atop the tower where she was held captive. For her prince to be able to use her hair as a rope to climb up to her would inidicate some pretty strong roots! And how about Lady Godiva? She rode on her horse down the main street of Coventry covered only by her hair. That must have been quite a thick mane. The most prominent male character in history to have noteworthy hair was Samson. His hair was his source of his physical strength. He was supposed to be able to move stone pillars and break them too, that is until Delilah rudely went and cut it all off.

So both men and women attribute beauty, appeal, and even strength to luxurious hair. But for some people, their hair is not as thick or full as they would like it to be. Hair loss is not strictly a male condition. About 40% of American women experience varying degrees of hair loss. This can be emotionally traumatic for women affecting their self image and their emotional well being. Sometimes hair loss can be just temporary but sometimes it becomes chronic. Determining the cause can be useful in planning a course of action.

Temporary causes can be pregnancy and childbirth. A friend of mine said that her hair actually fell out in clumps during her pregnancy, which understandably horrified her. Luckily, it all started to grow back soon after she had her son. Hormone fluctuations also are an underlying cause of thinning hair. The hormone fluctuations could be caused by a thyroid condition or because of menopause and hormone replacement drugs. These drugs have an adverse effect on the development of new hair follicles. As if we already didn`t know that stress affects our bodies, emotional and physical stress - such as an illness, can be another reason for thinning hair. I bet in this case an extended vacation and a winning lottery ticket might bring back many happy follicles.

Another theory for thinning hair, besides heredity, is all the overprocessing we do to it. We blow dry, perm, color, and use hot curling irons on our hair. All of that damages the hair follicles. Don`t believe it? The next time you home color your hair, check the shower drain for your proof. The most significant and profound cause of temporary hair loss is chemotherapy. These powerful medications are meant to attack growing cancer cells in the body, but unfortunately that inlcudes the cells in your hair roots as well. Chemotherapy causes hair loss all over the body and not just on the scalp. Fortunately, hair begins to grow back about a month after treatments stop.

I`ve always been a believer that healthy eating, supplements, and herbs can only help our overall health. Studies have shown that certain dietary upgrades can also help us to have healthy hair. A balanced diet that includes whole protein rich foods is recommended. "Healthy hair vitamins" as they are known, include vitamins B, C, and E. Other helpful nutrients are calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, and iron. Scalp massages stimulate blood flow to the scalp and support follicle production. Plus they feel devine!

Studies have also shown that the nutrients taken orally for certain conditions, also have benefits if they are applied topically too. Some of the enriching topical solutions for hair re-growth, besides Minoxidil, will effectively "seed" the scalp to create optimum conditions for new, healthy hair to grow. We need nutrients in our body and our scalp needs some too. An ideal topical solution would contain absorbable nutrients and trace minerals to stimulate follicle production. Solutions containing a combination of even just a little Minoxidil mixed with B vitamins, biotin, magnesium, PABA (shown to specifically nourish hair), folic acid, and hair healthy herbs are the way to go. They have already helped millions of men and women to see dramatic results, but don`t expect them to be overly chatty about it. It`s just good to know that there are proactive solutions to this widespread problem.