10 Practical Tips to Stop Hair Shedding
Hair shedding is completely natural, and everyone experiences it to some degree. But, sometimes, hair shedding becomes excessive, and that can be concerning. The good news is, not all hair shedding is inevitable. Sometimes it’s related to our lifestyle or hair care routine, and there are practical steps we can take to slow it down.
Read on for our top tips to stop hair shedding and the education behind why each step matters!
How to Stop Hair from Shedding
Let’s break down ten practical steps you can take to stop hair from shedding.
1. Analyse Your Cleansing Routine
Many hair issues or bad hair days often come back to our cleansing routine. Cleansing too much or too little can lead to hair fall. This is because over-cleansing strips the natural oils from our scalp. This can lead to a dry, itchy, and flaky scalp that also lets the hair follicle go. On the other hand, the buildup can clog your scalp and prevent your hair from getting the nutrients it needs.
It’s worth looking for a cleansing yet nourishing product combo like Gisou’s Infused Honey Hair Wash and Conditioner. The important ingredient to remember in this combo is the moisturising Mirsalehi Honey. After cleansing your scalp, it’s important to replenish moisture, and that’s exactly what honey does. It nourishes from the inside out, so you can count on reducing breakage and hair fall.
Another tip to consider is not necessarily how much or little you are cleansing but what you are cleansing with. Product selection is incredibly important. That’s why, in this blog, we give many examples of products you can use to enhance your routine by breaking down the ingredients.
2. Incorporate Keratin Into Your Routine
If there is one ingredient we can’t recommend enough, it’s keratin. But, we’re not talking about the damaging straightening treatments that contain harsh chemicals. We’re talking about plant-based Keratin, such as the one you’ll find in Gisou’s Hair Repair Serum.
It contains powerhouse ingredients like Keramatch V and Keraguard, which penetrate deep into the hair follicle to strengthen damaged hair. It improves elasticity and reduces the breakage that occurs from harsh chemical treatments and heat styling.
3. Try a Scalp Treatment
Our scalp microbiome plays an important role in hair growth and health. When it’s out of balance, our hair follicles become clogged and unhealthy. A scalp treatment can successfully rebalance the scalp microbiome, nourish the skin and hair follicles, and help regulate sebum production. A healthier scalp means less hair fall!
In addition to Mirsalehi Honey, Gisou’s Honey Infused Scalp Treatment contains ectoin, which helps reduce dryness or flaking. It also has a Botanical Complex, which includes a number of powerful antioxidants to help reduce inflammation and strengthen the skin barrier.
4. Use a Hair Mask Regularly
Along with a scalp treatment to reset the deck, anyone who experiences more hair fall than usual should consider using a hair mask regularly. This is mainly due to the fact that hair masks allow for longer absorption of necessary nutrients for restoration.
To get the maximum benefit from a hair mask such as Gisou’s Honey Infused Hair mask, apply it before bed and leave it on overnight. This will allow the Baobab extract to work its magic and restore dry and brittle hair to a moisturised state. You’ll know it’s working when your hair is soft and bouncy.
5. Prioritise a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle
While using the right products is incredibly important, focusing on a healthy diet and lifestyle can significantly reduce hair fall. Consuming healthy fats such as Omega 3’s through nuts and fish can help increase hair thickness and reduce inflammation. This is a great answer to the question, “how to stop my hair from shedding,” because it also benefits overall health.
6. Manage Your Stress
Managing our cortisol levels directly correlates to sebum production and hair fall. Cortisol is our stress hormone. Unfortunately, hair fall is a common effect when our cortisol levels are too high. By managing our stress effectively through relaxation techniques as well as a healthy diet and lifestyle, we can prevent excess oil and hair fall.
If exercising feels like a chore, there are lots of other ways to manage stress. Consider a spa day, going for a walk with a friend, or making time for your favorite hobbies.
7. Avoid Tight Hairstyles
Hormones and poor products aren’t the only ones to blame when we experience hair shedding. Wearing tight braids, buns, and ponytails can tug on our hair at the base. A good way to tell if you are wearing a style that is too tight is by checking out your hair tie when taking it out. Does it have hair around it?
When taking out the style, you can also tell the style is too tight if your scalp feels stiff or achy. Opt for looser updos that leave room for some flexibility. Low ponies are another great option.
8. Detangle from the Bottom Up
Have you ever tried to brush through your hair straight out of the shower from the top down? If so, you will notice that you create a more knotted tangle as you continue to brush. Starting from the bottom and working your way up is a softer way of detangling your hair.
You should also use a multi-tasking detangler that helps with the knots and provides some relief. Gisou’s Honey Infused Leave-In Conditioner is a great option. It blends some of the powerful ingredients from other products, such as Baobab extract, with Argan Oil and Mirsalehi Honey to leave our hair moisturised and nourished.
It’s also a great option for between washes when our hair gets naturally tangled and dry.
9. Minimise Heat Styling
Heat styling is one of the root causes of dry and damaged hair. The drier our hair is, the more it’s prone to breakage. This can also lead to hair shedding as the strand or hair follicle has accelerated its aging due to heat. Opting for heatless hairstyles can be a great solution for this issue.
But, understandably, heat is optimal for achieving certain styles. When you do need to use heat, be sure to use a heat protectant. Keep in mind not all heat sprays hold the same weight. For instance, Gisou’s Propolis Infused Heat Protecting Spray protects against heat damage up to 230ᵒC/446ᵒF. It also protects against UV rays, which can dry out our hair just as easily.
10. Treat Wet Hair Carefully
When our hair is wet, it is more susceptible to breakage. There are a few tips and tricks to help eliminate unnecessary roughness and damage.
- Always opt to use a soft microfiber towel rather than a terry cloth. Terry cloth and materials similar to it can be abrasive when drying your hair.
- A wet brush or a wide-tooth comb can help detangle hair softly. Combining these tools with a detangler or leave-in conditioner helps dramatically reduce breakage.
As mentioned above, air drying and avoiding heat can also be incredibly impactful when reducing hair fall. Even using a cooler setting during colder months when drying your hair can help.
The Hair Growth Cycle
As we mentioned, hair shedding is natural. Our hair goes through different stages during its growth cycle. These cycles can be accelerated when you have too much stress or use too much heat. Understanding the phases helps us understand what is causing the hair fall in the first place.
The Anagen or Hair Growth Phase
This Anagen phase is the hair growth phase and is commonly referred to as the season of spring. This is where a lot of new cell generation is occurring.
Because our hair follicles are in overdrive and producing long, beautiful strands of hair, this phase can last anywhere between two and seven years. This is the main reason why hair on our scalp is longer than any other part of our body.
The Catagen or Transition Phase
The phase between new hair growth and what we call resting hair is called the Catagen phase. This is where our hair follicles shrink and detach from the blood supply. This phase doesn’t last long as it’s only two to three weeks, making it the transition phase. Consider it the summer months before fall, and things start to cool off.
The Telogen or Resting Phase
In the telogen phase, our hair is no longer attached to our blood supply and simply rests on our head. This is our fall season. It’s not quite cold enough yet to hibernate, but it’s not producing any new hair growth. This is the Telogen phase and can last about three months.
The Exogen or Shedding Phase
Lastly, the Exogen or shedding phase is our winter months. This is where all of our old hair sheds and makes room for new hair growth. Because all hair is in its own phase and is not synchronised, there is always new hair entering the anagen phase while hair is shedding in its exogen phase.
So, How Much Hair Shedding Is Normal?
Because hair shedding is a natural part of our hair cycle, we can count on losing some hair now and then. Experts say 50 to 100 strands a day is considered normal. Of course, everyone is different, and the amount of hair you shed normally can vary based on things like the thickness of your hair, your hair type, or the season.
Potential Causes of Excessive Hair Shedding
There are a few more factors that are worth noting when it comes to excessive hair shedding. By reducing some of these factors, we can count on a more natural amount of hair shedding.
Chemical Processing
Chemical processing may be one of the quickest ways to accelerate hair cycles. The harsh chemicals reduce or eliminate the nutrients the hair gets by essentially poisoning the well. The more often we chemically process our hair from bleach dyes or straightening treatments, the more we break down our natural hair structure and barrier. This can lead to breakage and extreme hair damage.
Post-Pregnancy
Post-pregnancy hair fall is a common Google search. We see this happen because when pregnant women see hormonal changes as they need to supply enough vitamins to the baby. Biotin and prenatal supplements can increase our hormone levels and hair growth.
After having the baby, it’s common for our hormones to rebalance again. This can result in dramatic hair shedding and a rapid decrease in hormones. Continuing to take vitamins and Biotin can help reduce this effect.
Aging
Hair shedding is a common battle for both men and women as we age. This is because, naturally, our bodies require more vitamins while simultaneously having a harder time getting them. Being diligent about our healthy lifestyle and stress management can help with hair shedding and aging.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Regardless of age, having a nutritional deficiency can lead to hair fall, just like it can lead to broken bones. Fuelling the nutritional gap that we don’t get from our daily food intake is important through proper supplementation.
Underlying Health Conditions
While not the most common cause, underlying health conditions can lead to hair fall. This could be due to medications issued with health conditions or a result of the condition itself.
Understanding Hair Shedding vs Hair Loss
Hair shedding and hair loss are often used interchangeably but are not the same. Natural hair shedding is replaced by new hair growth and does not result in thinner hair. But hair loss occurs when new incoming hair can’t replace hair fall quickly enough to supplement the shedding, resulting in thinner hair and the potential for bald spots over time.
When to See Your Doctor About Excessive Hair Shedding
Is your hair shedding too much? It’s never a bad idea to consult with a doctor if you are worried about losing too much hair. When hair shedding doesn’t appear to be slowing down after applying the above tips, it is a good time to check in with a doctor. They will do a check-up to ensure no underlying conditions are present.
Start With What You Can Control
Starting with what you can control, such as product choice, a healthy lifestyle, and diet, is important. These simple steps can reduce the rate of shedding and improve the health of your hair and scalp overall.
Checking out Gisou’s Honey and Propolis Infused Hair Care is a great place to start because you want to invest in high-quality, multitasking products. Our ingredients are natural and effective, and can be cross-referenced in many products. You’ll find yourself checking multiple things off your list at once when choosing Gisou’s honey and propolis-infused hair care!
