Hair plays a significant role in our society. It is associated with beauty and youthfulness. In men particularly, it represents virility and masculinity. Hair loss can make people feel self-conscious or disheartened and can impact their quality of life.
What Causes Hair Loss
Several factors play a role in hair loss including genetics, age, diet, stress levels, medical condition, nutrient deficiency, and even how you shower. While we can’t totally control all of these factors, we can do something to prevent the exacerbation of hair loss by avoiding some of our bad habits such as when we take showers.
Before we discuss the adjustments we need to make in the bathroom, let’s understand a few facts about our hair and hair loss. In a 2017 research review by the American Family Physician (AFP), the three stages of hair growth have been described as follows:
- Anagen: The active growing stage. About 90 % of hairs are at this stage.
- Catagen – The degeneration stage and less than 10% of hairs are at this stage.
- Telogen – The resting stage, 5% to 10% of hairs are at this stage. Hair is shed during the telogen phase.
You shed your hair during the telogen phase. If the phases become imbalanced and more hair enters the telogen phase, you may observe increased hair loss.
Many scientists have divided the last stage into two parts: the telogen and exogen stages. The exogen phase is essentially an extension or a part of the telogen stage of hair growth. During the exogen phase, which can last about 2 to 5 months, new hairs are growing in the follicles as old hairs are shed from the scalp, often helped along by washing and brushing.
According to the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD), shredding 50 to 100 strands of hair throughout the day is normal. Thick hair typically has a higher number of hairs overall according to Healthline, in an article on March 2, 2021. Don’t be surprised if you lose more hair because you have more hair.
How Showering Causes Hair Loss
The shower is the place you’re most likely to notice hairs that have fallen. It is usually not a cause for concern. The following practices in the shower room have however been confirmed to cause hair falling out at an increased rate.
1) Washing your hair using hot water
Using hot water to wash your hair may increase the number of shredded hair by weakening your strands. Celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend explains that hot water can damage the keratin proteins in the hair, and strip away the natural oils on the scalp making the hair feel dry and weak, which leads to breaking. He further described that hot water opens the hairs’ cuticle layer causing moisture loss and brittleness. His advice is to wash your hair in lukewarm water and rinse in cool water.
Water warm enough helps melt away the natural oils on the scalp without over stripping and drying out the scalp and hair. Rinsing the hair using cooler water helps seal the hair’s cuticle layer, keeping in moisture to prevent breakage.
2) Using harsh shampoo and conditioner
Using strong or harsh shampoos and conditioners may irritate your scalp. Observe how your hair responds to various hair shampoos and conditioners. Look for products designed for your type of hair, i.e, whether it’s dry, oily, fine, color-treated, etc. Use a gentle shampoo and lightweight treatment conditioner to help repair damage and prevent breakage. Finding the right products may take some trial and error.
3) Using hard water for your hair
A study from The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has proved that hard water is not good for hair. The NCBI studies, particularly, have confirmed the correlation between hair loss and hard water. Hard water is full of mineral salts, calcium, and impurities like sand, metal residues, dirt, and more. Hard water can change the texture of your hair and make your scalp produce more sebum, which can lead to baldness. When treated to make it fit for use, the end result is not completely free of these mineral salts and has additional residues of chlorine and fluoride.
Excess exposure to chemically treated or harsh water is the root cause of hair breakage, hair damage, and premature graying. If hair breakage is not treated on time, it can lead to hair thinning and permanent hair loss.
4) Taking showers frequently
Since hair is shed from the scalp often helped along by washing, could less frequent showers reduce hair shedding? There’s some debate over this question. If you’re using hot water or irritating hair products, two factors known to contribute to increased hair shedding in the shower, taking fewer showers could likely reduce hair shedding. However, waiting longer between showers as a way to reduce hair loss could just mean you notice more hairs in the shower coming from those that do fall out naturally, no matter what. It can look like a lot more shedding since they’ve had a few days to build up.
5) Showering with tap water
Tap water is not healthy for the hair. It adds more impurities to the water degrading water quality further. Heavy metals from the faucets can be discharged into your water and make it hazardous to your hair, where they are capable of acting as biocatalysts and altering your hair on a cellular level. The presence of heavy metals along with the high amount of sodium fluoride and limescale present in tap water can make your scalp dry, inflamed, and more prone to flakiness. These impurities can accelerate the process of hair miniaturization, which is directly proportional to hair fall. Tap water can also harm your skin, teeth, and overall health.
Showering Tips You Need to Know to Protect Your Hair
You can protect your hair’s healthy growth and prevent them from falling out in the shower by taking these necessary actions:
1) Wash your hair in lukewarm water and rinse in cool water
Having said this, make it a habit check the temperature of your water first before getting into the shower or bathtub to ensure that you’re using the right temperature for your hair.
2) Keep shampoo and conditioner in your routine
Use treatment products that are gentle and right for your type of hair. You can use fortifying conditioner to help repair hair damage and prevent breakage.
3) Dry your hair properly
Let your locks air dry or use a microfiber towel to get your hair as dry as possible before you blow dry.
4) Address potential underlying causes
If you feel like the hair is coming out in large amounts in the shower, you should first consider any potential underlying causes. Talk with your doctor if you can’t track your hair loss back to a possible cause.
5) Use the right kind of water to wash your hair
Avoid using hard water and treated tap water if you want to prevent significant thinning of hair over time.
6) Use a shower filter
Use an appropriate shower filter that purifies water from your tap or shower and provides you with water that protects both your hair and skin from unwanted chemicals.
Using blu’s Ionic Shower Filter to Prevent Hair Loss
The most effective solution to prevent hair, skin, and other health issues is the using our Ionic Shower Filter. It purifies water that helps moisturize your skin, prevents hair loss, and boosts your immunity.
The Ionic Shower Filter is an intelligent health solution that addresses health problems at the root cause. It will not only protect your hair against breakage but will contribute to better skin and health. Affordable yet effective, the product is eco-friendly and high-tech.
The Ionic Shower Filter improves the quality of water. Through its patented technology, it efficiently removes 99% of harmful water pollutants including chlorine, chemicals, and minerals like iron, copper, nickel, lead, and chromium, that strip your hair and skin of their natural oils, leave your skin dry, and cause hair loss.
With the Ionic Shower Filter, you can enjoy multi-stage filtered and ionized shower water. Its ionic stainless steel spray plate generates millions of healthy negative ions through its 244 circular perforations. The highest-grade stainless steel it is made of prevents lime scale buildup and minimizes showerhead bacteria.
It features a patented permeable mesh filter chamber that enhances the ionization process and efficiently removes large sediments and insoluble pollutants from your shower water.
The Ionic Shower Filter also helps you save on water and energy with up to 50% savings without compromising your shower pressure and comfort. This is made possible by the Neoperl® Flow Controller that utilizes German technology that regulates water flow, effectively reducing your water and heating consumption.
Proper scalp care is the key to maintaining healthy hair. This involves being proactive to prevent hair loss. Using the right hair care products and advanced technology in the shower will go a long way in enjoying a headful of healthy hair.
The Ionic Shower Filter is an intelligent health solution that addresses hair and skin problems at the root cause. It will protect your hair against damage as well as contribute towards better skin, and overall health.
