Having too many ‘hairy’ moments? INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL talks to an expert on ways to curb it. LET'S face it. Seeing strands and strands of your crowning glory going down the plughole every time you wash your hair is most disconcerting.
It gets even more alarming when you begin to notice sparse patches on your head - and you're not even middle-aged yet. But it seems, thinning hair and bald patches are no longer predicaments of those in their later years. According to
Svenson Hair Care Centre's chief
trichologist Teo Kim
Teik, there is a marked increase in the number of young people, particularly in urban areas, who are seeking professional help for the onset of hair loss.
A lot of this has to do with our lifestyle and that 'S' word - STRESS. "Everyone lives life with a certain degree of stress these days but you have to counter it by either sweating it out or learning to relax," advises
Teo, a hair specialist and a qualified
trichologist of 18 years. To sweat it out effectively, you must not overdo it. "Do it slowly and gradually. There's a certain limit you can go to when the exercise is to relax. Exceeding it will make it stressful."
Having a balanced diet and enough sleep - two things we tend to neglect in our harried lifestyle today - are so important. Says
Teo: "Hair is very much related to health so it's important to eat well, have enough protein in your intake and, of course, have enough sleep." Women's hair loss is often related to hormonal changes, especially after birth. "Post-natal hair loss is very common," reassures
Teo. "Hair loss also occurs when you have menopause and in some cases when you're taking birth control pills."
Common hair worries for both women and men, says
Teo, include itchy and oily scalp, pimples in the scalp and of course, hair loss. "But worrying makes it worse. That's why clients pay us to worry for them!" The centre places greater priority on hair health over beauty. "But if you ask any woman, she will tell you that beauty comes first," says
Teo with a chuckle. "Hairdressers look at making your hair look good but not necessarily the condition."
Teo should know. He was a hairdresser at the Alan International School of Hairdressing in London back in 1977 before he joined
Svenson in 1980. "As a hairstylist, I looked at things from a professional beauty angle. I did come across people with problems of hair loss but I couldn't do anything. The most I could offer was to style, cut, and perm it to give body to the hair."
At
Svenson, clients are offered intensive programmes that span three to six months. "It's better if they come when the problem is still in its early stages and not when the root is already dead and it's almost impossible to re-grow the hair," he advises. They also provide a follow-up maintenance programme where clients come back once a month to ensure that there are no recurring problems.
"The maintenance part takes into account a client's lifestyle. If they work outdoors, the programme would be geared more towards cleansing. If they lead a generally stressful lifestyle, then it's the anti-stress programme that focuses on relaxing the scalp.
"Women tend to be more conscientious when it comes to following our advice. Only about 10 per cent of men, on the other hand, end up coming back. During the maintenance consultation, we don't only talk about hair and scalp. We also go thorough your diet and touch on stress management where applicable. We basically approach everything in a holistic manner."
Tips for a good head of hairHEALTHY hair is important. And healthy hair means a healthy scalp. To have a healthy scalp, you need to clean it properly. It's a simple thing to do but most people take it for granted.
Choose a shampoo that suits your scalp. The rule of thumb is to choose a shampoo according to your scalp, and the conditioner according to your hair.
Teo doesn't recommend the 2-in-1 variety as "it doesn't clean enough or condition enough. Five to 10 years ago, it was popular because it was a shortcut but that kind of product is slowly dying out."
Diet is very important. Hair needs protein so don't take protein out of your meals. Enough rest and being able to manage your stress are so important.
Supplements aren't necessary if you're already eating a balanced diet. But most of us don't. Supplements such as Vitamin B and C are safe. Says
Teo: "If you take a lot, you'll just have very expensive urine. Too much Vitamin A can be toxic. Moderation is important." Colouring and styling is fine as long as it's done properly. Any chemical process will dry up the hair. Sometimes when you're having your hair coloured, the stylist will actually be applying colour onto the scalp too when they're only supposed to have it on your hair. That's very toxic. The problem lies with the clients sometimes as they insist on not seeing any white spaces at all on their head.
SourceIMO, just get it through, face it. If you are start losing hair there can do much of it. Looks how celebrity nowadays, it could be a trend instead. I'm wondering why are those wealthy man didn't want to treat his hair right. There are more solution as this article mention about Svenson. There are much more like Yun Nam and so on. I'm start losing and thickening hair as far as I'm not to old enough, but I'm taking some pills of creating hairs hormone as the instruction said. It works.
