Is your lifestyle affecting your hair health?
When we talk about hair health, you might think of the products you use and maybe even your nutrition. But one factor that is commonly overlooked is the impact of your lifestyle.
Yes, just like any part of your wellbeing, your hair is influenced by your lifestyle choices! So if your hair isn’t as healthy, luscious or shiny as you’d like? Let’s look at some tweaks you can make to get back on track.
How your lifestyle is affecting your health (and what to do about it!)
Look to your stress levels
One of the most common lifestyle drivers of hair loss, thinning and brittleness? Elevated stress! Problems with hair can occur with both severe acute stress and chronic stress.
When you’re under stress, your additional cortisol will bump up another hormone called aldosterone. When too high, this can starve the hair follicles of nutrition and lead to slow growth & hair loss.
Find the stress is piling up? Start with these tips here.
Think twice about smoking & alcohol consumption
We already know that smoking and excess alcohol is not the healthiest choice. But did you know it can also be affecting your hair health?
Smoking can accelerate the ageing process and damage DNA throughout the body, including in the hair follicles. Drinking too much can deplete nutrients and dehydrate you, which can lead to hair issues.
Your best bet is to ditch the cigarettes and keep to the recommended alcohol intake. And if you have underlying health concerns that may be worsened by drinking? It may even be best to take a sober break for a few months to see if it helps your hair to flourish again.
Check your medications
Some medications – prescribed or even over-the-counter options – are known to have side effects on hair health. Common culprits include:
Antidepressants
Antibiotics
Oral contraceptive pill (and other hormonal birth control options)
Blood pressure medications
Steroid medications
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs)
Gout medications
Suspect your medication is to blame? Have a chat to the prescribing doctor – they may be able to try you on an alternative or help you to tweak your dose to reduce the side effects.
Consider what your hair is exposed to
Much like our skin, our hair is exposed to everything around us. This can mean that factors you’re not even aware of in your surroundings can be wreaking havoc with your hair health!
Some of the environmental factors to think about include:
Air pollution – if you are often out in the city environment, exposed to fumes from petrol, or even working around or near factories, your hair may be soaking up air pollution
Water pollution & type – the same goes for water. However, hard water is also problematic, as the minerals can make your hair more prone to damage
Excess sun – much like skin, the protein in our hair can be damaged by too much sun exposure. And of course, the skin on the scalp can also burn and affect the health of the underlying hair follicles
Other problematic chemicals and compounds – many people are unaware of what is in their everyday products, including their haircare, skin care, perfume and more! But all of these can affect your hair quality
Be gentle with your hair!
Mechanical stress on the hair is just as important to look at! My top tips for this include:
Switch from elastic bands to gentler options such as cloth scrunchies
Avoid washing too frequently
Don’t wash it in hot water – warm water is much less damaging
Use a wide-tooth comb
Avoid brushing it when wet if possible
Keep heat use on the hair to a minimum
Ditch the high ponytail and wear your hair down/in more gentle styles
Switch to silk pillowcases
NOTICED BRITTLE, THINNING HAIR, BREAKAGE OR HAIR LOSS DUE TO YOUR THYROID STRUGGLES?
This can be an incredibly stressful group of symptoms and significantly impact your self-esteem & mental wellbeing.
But there are steps you can take to improve your hair health. That's why I've created a new FREE resource for you: Thyroid Hair Loss!