Hair is more than just a cosmetic feature. It serves some important functions for our body. Those luscious locks help protect the delicate skin on our scalp from harmful UV rays and excessive heat or cold. Hair also plays a role in regulating body temperature by providing insulation and allowing heat to escape through the scalp. Given these roles, maintaining healthy hair is about more than just looking good.
Keeping our hair in tip-top shape requires understanding the science behind it. What factors influence hair health and growth? How can we ensure we’re getting the nutrients our hair needs? What are the impacts of hormones, stress, aging, and hair care practices? In 2024, emerging research sheds new light on these areas and reveal innovative solutions for common hair concerns like thinning, shedding, damage, and more.
Hair Structure and Growth Cycle
To understand what keeps hair healthy, it helps to first look at hair’s structure and growth cycle. The hair strands we can see and style are made up of a protein called keratin. This keratin is produced by hair follicles, which are tiny tube-shaped organs under the skin of the scalp.
Each hair goes through a repeating cycle with three distinct phases. The first is the anagen or growth phase when the hair is actively lengthening. This growth period can last anywhere from 2 to 6 years for the hairs on our heads. After that, the hair enters a transitional phase called the catagen stage which lasts just a few weeks.
Finally, the hair moves into the telogen or resting phase, where it stops growing but stays attached to the follicle for 2 to 4 months. At the end of this resting period, the hair is shed and the whole cycle begins again with a new hair from that same follicle.
Diet and Hair Health
Like any other part of the body, hair relies on adequate nutrition for proper growth and maintenance. Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals can lead to hair thinning, dryness, and breakage. Key nutrients for hair include:
- Protein: This is the building block of hair and insufficient protein intake can slow growth and cause shedding.
- Iron: Iron deficiency is a common cause of hair loss, particularly in women.
- Vitamin C: Aids iron absorption and collagen production for hair shaft structure.
- Biotin: A B vitamin that supports keratin infrastructure.
- Zinc: Necessary for protein and cell renewal in hair follicles.
Hormones and Hair
Our hormones have a major influence on what’s happening with our hair. You’ve probably noticed how hormonal changes during certain life stages or health conditions can affect hair growth patterns and quality.
During pregnancy, many women experience a gloriously full head of hair because the high levels of pregnancy hormones like estrogen extend the growth phase of the hair cycle. However, a few months after giving birth, there’s often an excessive shedding period as hormone levels readjust to normal.
The same kind of hair loss can occur after menopause when estrogen and progesterone levels decline. With this hormonal shift, more hairs get prematurely pushed into the resting phase, leading to overall thinning.
So in a nutshell, our hair very much has a love-hate relationship with hormones. We need certain hormones in balanced levels to foster full, healthy growth. However, hormonal imbalances and fluctuations can mess with the hair cycle in undesirable ways. Being aware of these hormonal impacts is key to getting to the root cause of many hair woes.
Stress and Hair
Another way to keep your hair healthy is to minimize stress as it’s another major culprit behind many hair struggles. We’ve all experienced extra shedding during particularly stressful periods of our lives. But what’s actually happening beneath the surface?
Well, when we’re dealing with a lot of psychological stress, it triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response. This survival mode reaction causes a cascade of physiological changes as resources get reallocated to essential functions. Unfortunately, keeping up with hair growth gets moved to the back burner as nutrients and energy get diverted elsewhere.
The good news is, this excessive stress-induced shedding is usually temporary and resolves within 6-9 months after stress levels subside. The bad news? Dealing with unrelenting stressors over a long period can lead to more widespread thinning and potentially trigger pattern hair loss in those genetically predisposed.
So managing your stress levels isn’t just important for your mental well-being—it’s critical for the health of your hair too! Taking steps to reduce daily stress through relaxation practices, exercise, spending time in nature, or talking to a therapist can go a long way.
Emerging Hair Treatments
While addressing the root causes like nutrition, hormones, and stress is crucial, sometimes our hair needs an extra boost. Thankfully, scientists are exploring some really exciting and innovative solutions for various hair concerns. Let’s break down a few of the buzzworthy treatments making waves:
- Stem Cell Therapy: Stem cell therapy for hair regrowth is an area of intensive research. The idea is to use a person’s stem cells to regenerate new hair follicles in thinning or bald areas. By harvesting stem cells from your body and reintroducing them into the scalp, it may be possible to grow brand-new follicles from scratch.
- Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP): Another unique approach showing promise is platelet-rich plasma or PRP therapy. It involves drawing a sample of your blood, separating the platelet portion which is rich in growth factors, and then reinjecting that platelet-rich plasma into the scalp. The goal is for those concentrated growth factors to rev up the existing dormant follicles to jump back into their growth cycle.
- Anti-Androgen Therapies: On the medication front, anti-androgen therapies aim to tackle one of the main culprits behind pattern baldness—androgens like testosterone. By blocking or reducing these hormone levels through specially formulated drugs and treatments, it may be able to protect follicles from premature miniaturization.
- Microbiome Treatments: The most fascinating research is exploring the scalp microbiome—the community of bacteria and fungi living on our heads. Emerging evidence suggests an imbalance of certain microbes may contribute to issues like dandruff, excess oiliness, and even hair thinning or loss. Microbiome-based treatments could help restore a healthier scalp environment for hair to thrive.