Hair Foundation Blog

In the recent article, Anti-aging beauty tips can help you prove that age is just a number, it cites thinning hair as one of the most upsetting signs of aging, right behind wrinkles. Noting a recent study by Nioxin, a salon treatment for thinning hair, it found that women are especially concerned about seeing their hair lose density.

Dr. Valerie Callender, a member of the Hair Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), contributed to the article by offering the following hair anti-aging tips.

She notes the following:

For thicker, fuller looking hair

Full, healthy hair is the ultimate sign of youth and 87 percent of women ages 18-55 feel a strong enough connection to their hair to consider it a part of their personality. But as chance might have it, as many as three out of four people in the United States experience hair thinning.

“Thinning hair can be a result of poor scalp health,” says Callender. “It’s important to clean and refresh the scalp.”

Eat right

A healthy diet affects not only weight, but can help maintain healthy, lustrous hair and glowing skin as well. “The right diet nourishes the entire body from the scalp down,” says Callender. A diet rich in protein and iron is essential for a healthy scalp, and foods full of antioxidants promote glowing skin. For this purpose, enjoy salmon and beans for healthy, lustrous hair, and blackberries, strawberries and plums for radiant skin.

Are you interesting in learning additional anti-aging tips for your hair? Please visit the Hair Foundation’s blog, which includes tips by Dr. Zoe Diana Draelos, a member of the Hair Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

In a recent Maria Claire article, Botox For Your Hair?, it explores remedies for aging scalps and hair. The article includes a reference to the Hair Foundation’s partner, HairMax Lasercomb.

It begins by explaining one of our aging hair challenges: the production of less keratin.

According to Christyn Nawrot, a national educator for Phyto, “As hair ages, we produce less keratin — the protein that renders it strong and healthy — because our bodies can’t absorb essential minerals and vitamins as effectively.”

Without either adequate or high-quality keratin, our hair will become porous, prone to breakage and thinning. To help with this natural challenge, here’s six things you can do.

Strengthen your hair: Heat styling your hair is the greatest contributor to your hair’s aging and keratin depletion. The heat takes moisture from hair and makes it more difficult for minerals to develop, keeping free radicals away. Instead of using the usual conditioner after shampooing, use new products from Pureology, Redken, and Phyto to copy the hair’s lack of keratin.

Look for products with keravis, Keralink and botanical keratin.

Minimize stress: Just as stress affects your skin with breakouts, it also wreaks havoc on your hair. Toning down stress will help hair. Try yoga or meditation; however, with a serious condition, speak with your physician about treatments that will help your hair problems.

You Are What You Eat: Eating for fuel and good health is important for your body just as it is for hair. Practice a balanced diet with protein, iron, zinc and antioxidant-rich foods including berries and leafy green vegetables.

Eating on a regular basis will also have a positive effect on hair.

Scalps Need Love Too: The way you treat your face should also extend to your scalp. After conditioning it, the health of your hair will improve. The article recommends Philip Kingsley’s Scalp Tonic and Nioxin’s three-part systems to help rejuvenate hair, rebalance pH and rebuild the scalp.

Dove, Sally Hershberger, Kevin Murphy and Ojo also have serums with ingredients that will nourish your scalp.

Plump Up Your Hair: Just as faces lose their fullness and elasticity as we age, Intra-Cylane can help strands of hair increase its density. Another option is to have your hair stylist give you a hair color that will add depth to your hair shaft. It is also important to have soft colors around your face.

You may also want to alter your hairstyle as face shapes change as we age.

Losing Your Hair: Men and women lose hair as they get older. If you find either a large amount on your pillow or in the shower, you may want to contact your physician. If the problem involves a lot of hair loss, there is minoxidyl (Rogaine) and the HairMax LaserComb.

To learn more about hair loss and anti-aging, please check out the Hair Foundation’s website and our physician videos.
 

At a recent international conference on plastic surgery, Dr. Russell Knudsen, Hair Foundation Trustee and president of the Australian College of Cosmetic Surgeons, was quoted in response to the news that the cosmetic surgery industry in Australia is now a $1 billion industry. He said that the demand is being driven by baby boomers who want to reverse the ageing process.

“They’re affluent, they’re educated and they’re living longer than ever.”

Furthermore,  he also commented, 

“People are time poor. Non-surgical procedures are becoming more popular and more accepted,” he said.

In the ever-growing market for salon quality, at-home products, Suave recently relaunched its Professionals line by reformulating and redesigning it. Now consumers of all ages will find products for their different needs including shampoo, conditioning, styling and dry shampoo.

All products are available at the drugstore.

Shampoo and conditioner

You’ll find 11 different types including sleek, volumizing, humectant, color protection, damage care, 2 in 1 Plus, captivating curls, almond and shea butter, rosemary and mint, aloe vera and ginseng, and black raspberry and white tea. 

Dry Shampoo

Running short on time and can’t wash your hair? This dry shampoo spray will refresh your hair and get rid of the greasy feel  between washings. It also re-styles hair. 

Leave in Conditioner

This spray-on conditioner is nourished with black raspberry and white tea. It replenishes moisture to the hair and keeps color vibrant.

Styling

This styling line has something for everyone including Touchable Finish Lightweight Hold Aerosol Hairspray, Touchable Finish Extra Hold Aerosol Hairspray, Touchable Finish Super Hold Non-Aerosol Hairspray, Volumizing Mousse, Volumizing Root Boost Spray, Captivating Curls Cream Mousse, Capitvating Curls Spray Gel, Sleek Anti-Frizz Cream, Heat Protection Spray, and Vibrant Shine Spray.

Dr. Zoe Diana Draelos is a member of the Hair Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the corporate secretary. She is a board-certified dermatologist and serves on the board of directors for the American Academy of Dermatology. Draelos conducts research in cosmetics, toiletries, and biologically active skin medications and offers a lot of great tips for anti-aging and hair care.

In this ongoing series, Draelos notes that there are many causes of hair loss including disease and genetic predisposition; however, the most common reason men and women experience hair loss is due to poor cosmetic grooming practices. 

Here’s a list of tips and myths.

Scalp scratching

Even though mild to moderate seborrheic dermatitis does not cause hair loss, the scratching associated with the scalp pruritus can definitely predispose to hair loss.  It is possible to remove all of the cuticular scale off of a hair shaft with only 90 minutes of continuous scratching by the fingernails.  This loss of cuticular leaves the hair shaft weakened and permanently cosmetically damaged. 

Thus, treatment of scalp itch is important to preventing hair loss.

Long vs. short hair

Long hair is much more likely to be cosmetically damaged than short hair.  Therefore, patients who have extensive hair damage may wish to select a shorter hair style to maximize the appearance of the hair.  In this case, it is extremely important to identify the cause of the hair damage so that the newly-grown hair remains healthy and cosmetically attractive.

Age-related factors

It is a well known fact that hair growth slows down with age.  This means that cosmetically-damaged hair will be present longer on mature individuals.  Also, the diameter of the hair shaft decreases with advancing age.  This predisposes the thinner hair shafts to chemical damage from chemical processing. 

For this reason, all chemicals used on mature hair should be weaker than those used on youthful hair.

Hair combing and brushing

Hair combing is a daily grooming ritual that frequently causes hair damage and loss.  Hair should only be combed when dry, if possible.  Wet hair is more elastic than dry hair meaning that vigorous combing of the moist fibers can stretch the shaft to the point of fracture.  The ideal comb should be made of a flexible plastic and possess smooth, rounded, coarse teeth to easily slip through the hair.

Extensive hair brushing should also be avoided while hair is wet.  A good brush should have smooth, ball-tipped, coarse, bendable bristles.  The brush should not tear the hair, but rather gently glide.  Brushes used while blow drying hair should be vented to prevent increased heat along the brush, which could damage hair. 

Patients should be encouraged to brush and manipulate their hair as little as possible to minimize breakage.  Older teachings that the hair should be brushed 100 strokes a day and the scalp vigorously massaged with the brush should be dispelled.

Many of us are in search of  the next great hair product or hair trick, especially as our hair begins to age.  And we don’t want to spend a lot of money to do so.

Good Housekeeping had a recent article that included six hair tips to look younger. All of these can be done at home for little or no money.

1. To boost body on thinning hair, add body with hot rollers.

2.  A second way to maximize volume is to use products for thinning hair such as whipped mousse, light hair gel or spray foam.

3. Want to go gray? Cut your hair shorter and let it go naturally. Not so brave? Cover your grays with semipermanent color until it’s abundant (maybe six months) and then just cut the cord on hair color.

4. If you have gray hair, use shampoo that is clear or white or try a purple-tint formual to cut down on that brassy color.

5. Gray hair is coarser so use a conditoner for coarse or curly hair and periodically use a deep conditioner on your hair.

6. To brighten up your brown hair, add cool or warm tones with temporary coloring. One recommended product is L’Oreal Paris Excellence-to-Go ($9.49 in drug stores).

To learn more about these tips, see the following link from the article.

In a recent test by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, female volunteers between the ages of 40 and 60 tried out five new anti-aging hair products. Two products emerged as the favorites:  L’Oréal Professionnel Série Expert Age Densiforce Shampoo ($20, us.lorealprofessionnel.com) and Masque ($30). According to the testers, the products left hair soft and included the moisture-plus-body promise.

Looking for a less expensive alternative? Testers also liked Dove Pro-Age Shampoo and Conditioner ($6 each, products may be found at drugstores).

Are there any anti-aging hair products that you can recommend?

On AOL’s stylelist, a recent article introduces a new line of products for anti-aging haircare. Hair care giant Redken is set to launch the line, Time Release. Described as a line to “reverse years of damage and combat signs of aging hair,” these products are for both at home and in-salon use.

What are the signs of aging hair? Redken identifies these as texture change, diminished density, fragility, dryness and dullness.

The product line is set to launch in August. To learn more about the products and aging hair, please read the following story on AOL stylelist.

In a recent article by Kentucky’s Courier Journal, Hair Foundation trustee and dermatologist Dr. Zoe Diana Draelos, was quoted by the paper in an anti-aging cream article. In response to over-the-counter skin care products, she said they can be effective, but prescription products render the best results. Product labels are the best place to start looking for the ingredients your skin needs.

Draelos also said that though you may see some improvement from over-the-counter products, prescription ones generally provide the best results. She suggested consulting your dermatologist or plastic surgeon if you have questions about the effectiveness of products or ingredients, how to use them correctly or their potential side effects.

Here’s a link to the post referencing Dr. Draelos and the article.