6 Types of Hair Problems and What to do About it
No matter how perfect the hair seems or what type it may be – curly, wavy, frizzy or straight, every second person seems to complain about some common hair problem that they face in their day-to-day life. Sometimes, our hair really has a mind of its own!
Here’s a list of some of the most common hair problems that we face and how to manage them:
1) Dry and Frizzy Hair
Your hair usually can lock in a lot of moisture to maintain your hair’s shine and sleekness. This happens at the outermost layer of the hair, the cuticle. It lets the moisture seep into the strand and locks it from escaping.
The hair becomes frizzy when the cuticles do not seal properly and lets the moisture escape and as a result, the levels fall below normal.
Dry hair can be caused by various things with genetics being the most common factor.
Others include:
Excessive blow drying
Dryness
Exposure to harsh chemicals
Damaged by sunlight
Dryness or dry scalp
What to do: Wash your hair with cold water, as cold as possible. This helps the cuticle shine faster and completely which prevents the excessive moisture from escaping. Conditioners and leave-in conditioners will help tame frizzy hair by drastically reducing the frizz and adding in more moisture.
If you want professional help, mild relaxers can also significantly control the frizz and increase shine.
Credit: pixabay
2) Oily Scalp
There are sebaceous glands on the scalp that moderately produce and secrete oil for the nourishment and shine for the hair strands. An oily scalp is produced due to the overproduction of sebum and as a result could lead to clogged roots and greasy hair.
Some causes of oil scalp include:
Genetics
Humidity
Hormonal imbalance
Deficiencies
Over washing or under washing your hair
Poor diet
What to do: Wash your hair not more than 2-3 times a week as if you continuously dry out your scalp, the body will trigger sebaceous glands to produce sebum more often. Try hair products and shampoos that are meant to control oil and grease. Opt for a product with lactic acid for better oil control.
Credit: Flickr
3) Dandruff: Flaky Scalp
In addition to oily scalp causing the problems listed above, it also causes excessive dandruff. This is because the oil on the scalp causes the loose uppermost skin cells that are shedding to clump together and appear like tiny white flakes.
But oily scalps aren’t the only cause for dandruff. To the contrary, dry scalps are also capable of irritating the skin and cause severe itching. As a result, the skin clumps together and falls off as flakes.
Lastly, not washing your hair regularly or maintaining hygiene can cause an overgrowth of a fungus which can also cause dandruff.
What to do: Wash, massage and oil your hair regularly. Use anti-dandruff shampoos that contain zinc and sulfur. If it is a fungus infection, apple cider vinegar is a good antimicrobial element, and can be used as a home remedy.
Credit: Pixabay
4) Split Ends
Sometimes, excessively combing or interfering with your hair can cause a single strand of hair to split into two at the ends. Moreover, breakage of hair or cutting it with unprofessional blunt scissors could be the cause of split ends.
Other causes of split ends include:
Using a fine tooth combs
Continuous use of heat to style your hair
Continuous use of blow dryer
Lack of good hair conditioning
What to do: A lot of people wrongly assume that split ends can be fixed or “sealed back” but that is not the case at all. The only way you can get rid of split ends to trim your hair and cut off all the split ends.
The most you can do to control split ends is to use serums or other nourishing oils to try temporarily seal the split ends and prevent them from further splitting and damaging the hair.
Credit: Wikimedia common
5) Gray Hair
There are stem cells in your hair strands that are responsible for regenerating a pigment that colours the hair, this pigment is known as melanin. The loss of melanin is what leads to the loss of colour or pigment in your hair and as a result, the person will start graying.
Graying of hair can be triggered by various factors with old age being the most common. Others include:
Stress
Genetics
Hydrogen peroxide/excessive use of chemicals and color
Nutritional deficiencies like vitamin B12 deficiency
Other medical conditions
What to do: Unfortunately, there is not much one can do to prevent themselves from graying, it is a natural part of life. Fortunately, the gray hair can be easily covered up by hair colouring products.
The use of semi- or demi- hair dyes are recommended over permanent dyes as it has less damaging effects to your hair strands.
Credit: Flickr
6) Excessive Hair Fall
This is one of the most dreaded but common hair problems that people face. Keep in mind it is completely natural for a little bit of hair to fall as one loses about 50 to 100 hair strands a day.
However, excessive hair fall could be a cause of alarm for younger people but it is completely natural when one is aging. Dry and oily scalps could also be the cause of hair fall.
Some alarming causes of hair fall could include:
Undernourishment/protein deprivation
Poor diet
Deficiency
Trauma
Stress
Pregnancy
Thyroid issues
Sometimes, balding is purely genetic and hereditary, there is no cause of alarm in such cases.
What to do: It is impossible to know the causes for excessive hair fall. Thus, one must consult a specialist to decide if there is any cause for alarm or how to fix the problem.
Conclusion
With proper maintenance, hygiene, care and professional consultation hair problems can be easily treated or even avoided.