It is normal to lose up to 100 strands of hair every day, but when the rate of hair loss exceeds its normal limits, bald patches start appearing on the scalp. The primary reason behind hair loss is the deficiency of certain essential nutrients like vitamin B6 and folic acid in the diet. Prolonged illnesses such as typhoid, influenza and anemia may also cause hair loss. Exposure to radiation therapy is also responsible for hair loss in cancer patients. Stress and anxiety are also common causes behind hair loss.
Remedies for preventing hair loss
There are quite a few simple home remedies for solving this problem. Ensure that you wash your hair regularly with a mild herbal shampoo and conditioner. A clean, healthy scalp is a necessary precondition for strong hair. After washing your hair, massage your scalp for 5-10 minutes using your fingertips. This is an excellent way of stimulating the hair follicles and the sebaceous glands that lie beneath the scalp and thereby promoting faster, denser growth of hair. You should also massage the roots of your hair with mildly heated castor oil twice or thrice a week at bedtime, and wash your hair the next morning. This enhances the rate of hair growth. You should also consume a mixture of spinach and lettuce juice at breakfast every morning to stop excessive loss of hair. Alternatively, mix equal portions of the juice of alfalfa leaves and carrot juice and drink a cup of this mixture every morning.
Chewing a few fresh curry leaves in the morning and using generous amounts of these leaves to flavor cooked food is also an effective natural means of preventing hair loss. Crushing the leaves of amaranth and applying their juice on the scalp regularly is also known to promote faster hair growth. If you are losing hair in patches, grind together some lime seeds with whole black pepper, add a little water to this powder and massage the affected areas on the scalp with this paste. This produces a mildly irritating sensation as it effects greater blood circulation in the scalp. Follow this remedy every day half an hour before washing your hair to observe a significant reduction in hair loss in a few weeks. Similarly, rubbing the bald patches with a thin slice of freshly cut onion stimulates the hair follicles and promotes hair growth. The area should be massaged with a little honey after the application of onion juice.