Both men and women nowadays take personal styling more seriously than ever, and why not. From famous international salons to grooming apps and local beauty parlours, brands are vying for our attention with their unique services. Customized skincare and haircare products, world-class treatments, expert advice, and a team of dedicated stylists at our beck and call are just a few of the perks on offer. Talking about hair, from teenagers to senior citizens, everyone can be seen experimenting with shocking hair colours and hairstyles. Numerous sophisticated hair treatments are available to smoothen, straighten and make your hair frizz-free. However, these come with their share of long-term side effects and can be causes of hair problems. Also, they may lead to greying of hair at young age.¹ Is it all worth it?

Gone are the days when our mothers and grandmothers greased our crown of hair in enough oil to fry papads. Beautiful long serpentine chotis adorning mogra gajras are a rarity. So is the natural healthy glow that came with them. Short of time and patience, we turn to quick fixes without contemplating the damage caused by them. Identifying symptoms and the causes of hair problems is important to address them closely.

Common hair problems include:

• Greying of hair at young age
• Hair fall
• Hair loss
• Baldness
• Hair damage
• Greasy hair
• Frizzy hair

Lifestyle, nutrition, age, health, etc affect hair health in a big way. Most hair problems have generic reasons while few are gender-dependent.¹ Let us try to understand the causes of hair problems to deal with them better.

• Medication – Lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart problems have breached all age barriers. Regular medication is often the easiest way to keep them in check and is prescribed as per requirements. Added to them, consuming NSAIDs, blood thinners, etc exposes one to drugs that may have side effects like hair loss and greying of hair at young age². 
• Hormonal problems – Androgenetic alopecia or male or female pattern baldness is a common problem that plagues both men and women. Hormonal changes during puberty as well as menopause are known to be connected with it. Additionally, alopecia areata is an auto-immune condition in which the immune system attacks hair follicles causing hair loss.²
• Pollution – Nothing we breathe, eat, drink or walk on is pollution-free. Adulterated food and water not only introduce harmful chemicals into our bodies but also rob us of our daily nutritional needs. Air pollution directly leads to the settling of grime or soot in our hair leading to scalp inflammation resulting in dry and dull hair. It also damages melanin production leading to greying of hair at young age.²
• Nutritional deficiencies – Incomplete nutrition can be one of the major causes of hair problems. A balanced diet with the right amount of nutritional elements ensures a healthy scalp and hair. Fancy diets that lay emphasis on protein but remove iron and other nutrients lead to the reduced absorption capacity of the body.² This may also lead to greying of hair at young age.
• Stress – Stress is a slow poison that consumes you bit by bit every day. It may lead to self-isolation, extreme dependence on pills, substance abuse, disturbed sleep patterns, and eating disorders. Needless to say, all these things severely affect your hair too. Greying of hair at young age, hair fall due to neglect, or severe hair damage is obvious in such cases.²
• Pregnancy and birth control – A rise in estrogen levels post-pregnancy often leads to hair loss in women. However, this is a temporary condition and gets resolved with time. Birth control pills are associated with hair fall too.²
• Genes – If one of your parents experienced greying of hair at young age then it’s possible that you may also have greying of hair at young age.²

Most of us have faced at least one of these causes of hair problems and struggled with keeping our precious mane healthy and shiny. Greying of hair at young age is abnormally common now. Thankfully, there are some easy remedies that we can turn to. All we need is a conscious change in food, lifestyle, and a few minutes from our busy schedules.

Healthy food for healthy hair that helps in reducing greying of hair at young age.

As I mentioned earlier, nutrition plays an important role in keeping our hair follicles nourished. Listing out a few nutrients and their sources for you:²

• Protein – Pollution, stress, or styling can strip your hair of the very protein it is made up of; keratin. Protein-rich foods like cottage cheese, soy, yogurt, lentils, legumes, eggs, poultry, etc help in increasing your protein levels.
• Zinc – Zinc plays a big role in balancing the hormones, thus working directly on hair texture and thickness. Oysters, shrimps, beef, mussels, eggs, oatmeal, and beans contain good amounts of zinc. Selenium prevents oxidation of scalp tissues and is found in Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice, etc.
• Omega 3 fatty acids – Omega 3 fatty acids help in promoting hair growth, lubricate the scalp and reduce inflammation. Vegetarian foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids include flaxseeds, olive oil, avocados, and walnuts. Salmon, sardines, and mackerel are other good sources.
• Iron – Green leafy vegetables are important for the absorption of vitamins by your body. Your body needs at least 18mg of iron every day for strength and healthy growth. You can get it from cucumbers, red bell peppers, and sprouts.
• Apply natural hair masks – The market is flooded with brands that offer a range of hair masks. However, natural care is always the best to handle the causes of hair problems.³
• Amla – Amla or Indian gooseberry has amazing hydrating properties and is a great source of folic acid and Vitamin C. It is a natural scalp cleanser and is popularly used in hair products. It is an oxidant that also helps in avoiding greying of hair at young age. Apply amla pulp on your scalp and hair, leave it on for 15-20, and rinse it off.

• Banana – Bananas are hair superfoods and are rich in potassium and silica. They deeply condition your hair while making them frizz-free and silky. Since they have anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties, they help control an itchy scalp too. Apply banana pulp on your hair roots, leave it on for half an hour and rinse off properly.

Along with these, green tea, eggs, beer, onion juice, rice water, etc are known to have great results for your hair.

Oiling your hair regularly with warm oil, keeping yourself hydrated, and covering your hair while stepping out are other simple haircare methods.

However, sometimes our hair requires nutritional supplements that can make up for any deficit. Vitabiotics, UK’s no 1 vitamin supplement brand, is now in India to take special care of your nutritional needs. The best part is that you can take a 3 Step Customised Supplement Test to get the perfect mix of nutrients that’ll work specifically on your skin, nails, and hair. After all, everybody is different and so are their nutritional needs.

is specially curated for Indian customers and follow the ICMR and FSS guidelines. They’re gluten, lactose, and preservative-free and have no artificial colours. Consultation with your physician before starting for dosage and duration of consumption is recommended.

Hair fall, greying of hair at young age, dryness, frizziness, etc are common hair problems. However, once you know the causes of hair problems you can address them. Make fitness, healthy eating, and happiness a part of your life, and see your body and hair love you back. After all the crown on your head is priceless!

References:

1. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/hair-problems
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327005#summary
3. https://www.femina.in/beauty/hair/homemade-hair-care-tips-109902.html

This blog post is part of the
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Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

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