Fantasia Salon / Spa and Wig Specialists

How many times have you heard, you are what you eat? Well, guess what, it’s true and it’s true especially when it comes to hair loss.

Hair loss can be devastating to your confidence and your social life whether you are male or female. Women especially can experience much anguish over thinning hair and hair loss issues.

So, what about diet when it comes to hair loss? What you eat can have a tremendous impact on hair loss and hair re-growth.

Nutrient rich blood flow to the scalp is essential for natural hair growth and luster. Dry brittle hair is a classic symptom of pour hair health. So is excessive oil a symptom of poor hair health.

Your hair needs good oils, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Good fats that help keep the LDL cholesterol down and are heart friendly are also healthy for your hair. You can get your good oil from almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios and good olive oil, flax-seed oil or hemp oil. Flax-seed oil is high in omega 3 but hemp oil is even better as it has the correct balance of omega-3 and omega-6. Both of these are very important for hair.

Healthy hair needs B-vitamins. These assist in making red blood cells which carry oxygen to all the cells and this is important for hair health. Foods that contain B-vitamins are: whole grains such as wheat, oats, quinoa, wheat germ and brewers yeast. Also, chicken, turkey, sea foods, dairy products, eggs, leafy green vegetables and a variety of beans.

The importance of minerals is underestimated. Did you know vitamins are not utilized if the mineral balance is out of whack in your body? A lack of minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and silica can contribute to thinning hair. Mineral rich foods include dark leafy greens, sprouts, sea weed, fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin C is important for hair health and the absorption of minerals such as iron. Fruit , especially citrus is high in vitamin C.

Hair is mostly made up of protein. A protein rich diet should include sea foods, poultry eggs, and nuts to help keep hair lustrous. If you like red meats, make sure to choose lean cuts.

You should try to stick to a common sense diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and nuts and eat minimal if any processed foods. Most of these foods contain preservatives, pesticides and MSG which are not good foods for health or when trying to resolve hair issues.

Organic foods not only taste better but also have a higher nutrient content which is what you want when trying to improve the condition of your hair.

Hairs to your health, Bon Appetite!

Our appearance is usually something we take pride in, one of the first things we focus on when getting ready for our day. Our hair is generally a huge part of that focus. Let’s talk about some myths and facts about hair loss.

Hair loss does not affect men only. True, women and children can also experience thinning hair and hair loss. Men tend to lose great amounts of visible hair, women hair tends to become thin and over time, will become noticeably thinner. Some women (and men) will become bald, particularly when going through treatments for medical issues such as cancer. Children can also experience thinning hair and hair loss particularly with alopecia.

Smoking affects hair loss. Smoking interrupts blood circulation to the scalp as well as other parts of the body, so, yes this is true. I have previously written about studies which were done to determine if this were true and the conclusions were that smoking definitely can contribute to hair loss.

Losing your hair is hereditary. True again. It’s all about genetics and family history. If either parent had tinning hair or baldness, or a family member on either side, you may be the one who ends up with the (gene) predisposition for baldness.

Dyeing your hair makes it fall out. There is no evidence to suggest that dyeing, highlighting, or perming hair causes it to fall out prematurely. That said, those processes can damage your hair, so, talk with your doctor and hair stylist about using products which will be gentle on your hair and scalp.

Wearing hats all of the time will cause you to lose your hair. Hats can cover up a bad haircut, a bad hair day or evidence of thinning hair. However, while it may be a risky fashion statement, it will not cause your hair to fall out!

If you have hair loss, you will just have to live with it. Not so, there are many solutions today for thinning hair and hair loss. There is a full range of things from medications to solutions such as MicroPoint Links, Hair Support System, and many other options.

If you find yourself dealing with thinning hair and hair loss, decide first if you want a natural, non-surgical approach, or if you want to use drugs and surgery. Once you make this decision, check with your stylist or doctor to see how you should proceed.

One of the most difficult aspects of chemotherapy is having to deal with hair loss. Hair loss is the most common side effects of chemotherapy treatment and for a woman, this can be a traumatic thing to deal with. You may not think you hair is all that great or important. But, when you are faced with losing it, you realized just how attached to it you truly are. And in our society which is so obsessed with beauty, this can be a huge thing to face.

Whether or not you will lose your hair during chemotherapy treatments will depend on your hair type and the medications you are are given by your physician. Typically the doctor can tell you in advance it they think you will loose all of your hair.
Chemotherapy drugs are very powerful and patients often experience severe side effects. The most common side effect is complete hair loss. Yes I said complete, it’s not just the hair on the head but the eyebrows, lashes, etc. In many cases radiation is being administered in addition to the chemotherapy and this combination will almost certainly end up killing the hair.

Chemotherapy hair loss can be very difficult to deal with as is can shatter your self esteem. During this time family and friends will surround and support you. You will need them to be there for you to guide you and to lift your spirits. Fantasia has specialized in fitting wigs for chemotherapy hair loss for many years. We have trained, caring staff to work with you during this difficult time. We welcome your support team to come in with you and we have private consultation rooms for you. Fantasia has a huge wig inventory and it’s very possible we have just what you need in stock. Of course each wig is customized so people need not know you are wearing a wig unless you decide to tell them.

The main this for you is that you get rid of the cancer and get your health back. While you may think your hair is the most important thing, there are professionals who can help deal you with that. Your focus should be on getting well. You will get through this and be stronger as a result of it. It’s hard to imagine something so devating could be percieved down the road as a blessing but we hear that time and time again.

Do diabetes and hair loss have a relationship? For a long time we have known that diabetes can cause hair loss as it is a hormonal related disorder. Therefore, diabetes can lead to thinning of the hair or hair loss. Hair loss is actually one of the initial physical signs that indicates a person may have diabetes.

With diabetes, a persons body looses its effectiveness to metabolize carbohydrate (sugar) properly. I can rememeber a time when it was called Sugar Diabetes as doctors believed sugar was the culprit in the disease rather than the carbohydrates which turn to sugar in the body. Unfortunately, diabetes can lead to other diseases such as skin conditions. Since the scalp is part of the skin, hair growth or re-growth can be impeded.

In terms of the health of your hair, when dealing with diabetes, you may become susceptible to other communicable diseases and infections. If it infects the scalp, infection can cause hair loss especially if it is a fungus which has caused the infection. A example of this would be fungus tinea capitus which is also known as Ring worm.

The hair growth issue in diabetes is not always a direct effect of the disorder but a result of medications used to treat and control diabetes. Also, stress of the disease can be a factor in diabetic hair loss. The degree to which a diabetic will be affected boils down to their current level of health when diagnosed with the disease.

As diabetes progresses, another cause of hair loss can come from autoimmune, where the body’s own self-defense system attacks itself. This condition can sometimes lead to bald patches on the scalp.

We’ve talked a lot about hormonal imbalance. When discussing diabetes and hair loss, this is another factor. This functions almost the same as the menopause issue where women lose hair to changes in the body which cause stress which causes hair loss. The same concept applies regarding diabetes and hair loss.

If you have diabetes, you can know whether or not you are affected with excessive hairloss. If you are loosing more than 100-125 hairs per day, it should immediately be a point of concern. Early detection and monitoring can be a big help. Fantasia may be able to help with solutions for you. A good place to start would be Hair Support System, to nourish and treat your hair and scalp.