Internal Factors-

·        Nutrition- What we eat and drink can definitely show up in how shiny and vibrant our hair is. In other words, what’s good (or bad) for our bodies tends to be good (or bad) for our hair. So why not make better nutritional choices and add vitamins or supplements as part of your new hair summer maintenance regimen?

·        Sleep- We live in a nation of chronically sleep deprived people, which undercuts how we operate in terms of performance and productivity. Lack of sufficient sleep also affects our body’s electrical-chemical system, which impacts how we look and feel. This even goes to how our hair looks and behaves. Maybe you’ve noticed, when you really need help to ‘look good’ when you are exhausted, even your hair seems to hang flat and lifeless from your head. Power naps may help, but the best cure is a good night’s rest, preferably a few in a row! Studies show adults need around 7 hours sleep (give or take an hour) while children need up to 9 hours per night.

·        Stress Levels- Chronic stress also sets up conditions for possible hair loss, which manifest in several ways: most common is telogeneffluvium, where hair follicles are shocked into a resting phase. Growth stops and a few months later massive amounts of hair may fall out; alopecia areata, where your immune system attacks your hair follicles causing effusive hair loss; and trichtotillomania, where a person pulls out their own hair as a means of coping with stress, anxiety or depression. Except for some auto immune conditions where hair loss may be permanent, hair may grow back some months after the stressors are removed. Beyond this, there may actually be more serious underlying medical conditions triggering stress related hair loss, so do check with your medical professionals to find the true cause.

·         Thyroid Function- If you suffer onset of persistent fatigue, insomnia, headaches, irritability, joint inflammation and more, do see a medical professional. You may have hypothyroidism- an under active thyroid gland, or hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland. Changes in your hormone levels can affect the hair growth cycle, and be a possible cause of hair thinning or loss along with the other symptoms. Treatments include adding zinc and thyroxine along with your daily multi-vitamin intake. You may also want to test for adrenal fatigue, which has similar symptoms to thyroidal ones.

·        Genetic Factors- Hair biology is still a rather small field, so reliable research is minimal. Perhaps, just like ancestry research into your family tree, you could check out research developments.  Current studies do show it’s mostly ‘Mom’s fault’ if a male ends up bald as the offending gene for androgen receptor and male pattern baldness lies on the x chromosome. So ironically, you should check out your maternal grandfather’s hair line rather than your father’s to notice your probable fate. However, new studies have found other genes that lay blame directly on your father’s chromosomes. So, you may as well quit the blame game and just learn how to cope with possible future hair loss and keep up with hair replacement developments… or just shave it all off. That’s radical Hair Summer Maintenance!