Can Styling Your Hair Cause Baldness?

As humans, we all experience shedding at some point. The average person loses between fifty and one hundred hairs daily; hence, it is perfectly normal to shed a few strands of hair when shampooing, brushing, or styling your hair. However, you shouldn’t notice significant shedding of your hair; if you do, consult a medical professional as soon as possible because you may be suffering from an iron shortage, hypothyroidism, lupus, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or alopecia.

Stress, changes in hormone levels after giving birth, and hereditary factors have all been linked to thinning hair and a receding hairline. However, there is yet another component that you might have overlooked, and that is your grooming routine. Some of the things you’re doing to your hair to make it seem better may render it much worse.

The Effects of Chemicals on Hair and Ways to Prevent Damage

The following are some of how the chemicals employed to color, relax or perm your hair may also cause hair loss or thinning of the hair.

Hair Dyes

Many hair dye brands include allergens such as ammonia, lead acetates, and other known irritants in their composition lists (allergens). You could stunt hair development if this irritates the scalp and leads to redness, itching, scaling, blistering, and peeling. Hair bleaches and lighteners can also be harmful since they remove the cuticle layer from your hair strands, making them brittle, dry, and more prone to breakage. But if coloring your hair is something you have to do, here are six strategies to reduce the amount of harm it does:

• First, you should perform a patch test on a tiny area of your skin, and if you experience any reaction, you shouldn’t use the product.
• Pick a color near your natural color since if you want to lighten your hair more than three shades, the dye will require more peroxide, increasing the risk of damaging your hair.
• Remember that the instructions on the box will tell you how long you should let the dye sit on your hair.
• After you are completed, give your scalp a thorough rinsing with water.
• It is important to avoid combining various hair color formulations.
• You could try a henna dye made from plants or look into alternative solutions that color your hair without harsh chemicals.

Hair Relaxers

With the help of a hair relaxer, you can naturally straighten your curly or afro hair for good. However, the chemicals in relaxers permanently alter the link of your hair strands, making them brittle, weak, and more prone to breakage, even though they make your hair straight over a short term.

Sodium hydroxide, also known as “lye,” and guanidine carbonate are two potentially dangerous chemicals. However, many common components might cause damage to your scalp and hair if not properly handled. If you decide to relax your hair nevertheless, you can lessen the likelihood of it being damaged in the following ways:

• Get a Professional Job Done.  A trained stylist can select the appropriate product for your scalp and hair and then administer the treatment so that it will not irritate.
• Check the directions, and don’t keep the relaxer on longer than suggested. If you start to experience tingling or burning, you should immediately rinse it off.
• When your hair is dry, utilizing a deep conditioner, which you should use once a week, can help restore moisture to your hair.
• Reducing heat — after getting the hair relaxed, you should refrain from using heat-styling products like straighteners and dryers, as this will help decrease future breaking.

Hair Perms

The process of permanently curling your hair, sometimes known as obtaining a “perm,” typically takes approximately six months. The solutions employed to perm hair comprise a variety of chemicals, including some that are quite alkaline. If used too frequently, these products might irritate the scalp, cause damage to the cuticles of the hair, and result in hair loss or breakage. The following procedures are designed to help protect your scalp and hair if you do not choose to stop having perms.

• Always follow the directions and remove the solution once the allotted time has elapsed.
• If you experience burning or stinging while using the solution, remove it immediately and consult your primary care physician or a dermatologist.
• Try to limit the number of times you get your hair permed.

The Proper Way to Brush the Hair to Prevent Further Hair Loss

When it comes to hair styling, even as simple as how you brush the hair might impact the amount of hair you lose daily. Tension in the hair can be caused by brushing too frequently or too vigorously, resulting in hair breakage and split ends. Here are some ways to lessen the harm you do to your hair when you brush it:

• Use a comb with wide teeth that is less harsh on the individual hair fibers.
• You should brush your hair while it is dry if you wear straight hair.
• If you possess curly hair, you should comb it while it’s still damp.
• Comb the hair softly and gently, avoiding any yanking on the strands.

Using Dry Shampoo

Despite its name, dry shampoo does not include any actual shampoo. It does not contain any agents designed to clean; rather, most of its composition consists of substances that can absorb oil and grease, such as talc, alcohol, cornstarch, and clay.

If you use it too frequently, the components may accumulate in your hair follicles, which can interfere with your hair’s normal shedding process, lead to inflammation and infection, and cause the hair to break and fall out. In a nutshell, using dry shampoo to replace regular shampooing is not recommended.

Conclusion

The loss of hair that results from the use of styling procedures is typically only temporary. In the vast majority of cases, new hair will come in once your existing hair has had the opportunity to recuperate. However, talk to a medical professional if you have already experimented with altering your practice and are still concerned about the amount of hair you are losing. They can investigate further potential triggers of hair loss, like an imbalance in hormone levels or a health problem. If it becomes essential, you can also seek counsel on treatments for hair loss.