January 18th, 2012

Can medications cause hair loss?

 

Drugs can often have unwanted side effects, and hair loss may just be one of them. While it’s true that some medications can help you to grow hair, it’s also true that there are medications that can cause excess hair loss!

 

The issue is that the drug may be affecting either the growth phase of the hair, or the resting phase of the hair. Your hair follicle grows during the anagen phase, which usually lasts three to four years. Your hair follicle rests during the telogen phase, which usually lasts three to four months. At the end of the telogen phase, the existing hair falls out, and a new hair begins to grow.

 

Medications can cause two kinds of hair loss called telogen effluvium and anagen effluvium. Of the two, telogen effluvium is most common. If hair loss is related to a specific drug, it will generally start within two to four months of starting the new prescription. With telogen effluvium, the drug is influencing hair follicles to go into dormancy early – therefore, falling out early. With this type of hair loss, people will lose 100 to 150 hairs daily. This amounts to about 30 percent more hair loss than normally.

 

A large number of drugs can cause hair loss. Common drugs that will affect hair include acne medications, antibiotics and antifungals, birth control pills, cholesterol drugs, high blood pressure drugs, steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications.

 

If a prescription drug is causing anagen effluvium, then the drug is preventing the matrix cells in the follicle from dividing normally. This stops the hairs from growing properly and they fall out. If your medication is causing this kind of hair loss, it will become obvious within a few days or weeks. Chemotherapy is the most common cause of this kind of hair loss, and can be quite severe.

 

In most cases, if you stop the offending medication, then the hair loss stops. However, it can take as much as three months for the hair loss to end. If you are on multiple medications, you may need to stop one at a time to determine which drug is the problem. Your doctor will know alternative medications that you can take to manage the same health condition – but without the negative side effect of hair loss.

 

When you stop taking a drug, but the hair does not come back, you may need additional help. In this case, it’s time to consider hair products that nourish the scalp, and even other prescriptions that help to grow hair. If you are looking for natural products to promote hair growth, good options include products like SureThik Shampoo and Serum. When the scalp is nourished well, you have the best chance to grow healthy hair.

 

In some cases, you will need to be evaluated for medical treatment of drug-induced hair loss. A doctor who specializes in hair loss will be best able to evaluate you for the best possible treatment, whether that is hair growth medications, hair transplantation, or other options.

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January 10th, 2012

Male Pattern Baldness and Women

Male pattern baldness is the most common form of baldness. For men, it takes the form of thinning hair, leading to complete or partial loss. The pattern of baldness on the head is also well known and often results in a receding hairline, which may lead to complete baldness on the top of the head. Typically, most men will retain some degree of hair, starting from the sideburns and continuing behind the ears and around the back of the head.

 

This pattern of baldness is typical of androgenic alopecia. Androgenic alopecia easily recognized in men. It is not so easily recognized in women.

 

However, women can (and do) develop androgenic alopecia. Unlike their male counterparts, women may develop this condition as early as late teens and as late as full menopause, and may not have the same obvious hereditary association as men do. As women begin to lose more hair, they also may not know if the hair loss will be permanent or just temporary. It’s quite possible with women that a variety of other conditions can affect hair loss, including recent pregnancy or breastfeeding cessation, low iron, hormonal issues or other illness.

 

If you do have androgenic alopecia, there are a number of patterns of hair loss that you may see:

 

  • Generalized thinning over the whole head, with more thinning at the back of the head
  • Generalized thinning over the whole head, with more thinning at the front of the head (but not the hairline)
  • Generalized thinning over the whole head, with more thinning at the front which involves hairline (such as “receding” at temples or hairline)

 

What can you do? First of all, alopecia is associated with high levels of DHT. DHT is dihydrotestosterone, which will cling to hair follicles and starve out the hair. A simple blood test can help you determine if you have too much DHT. If your DHT is too high, saw palmetto – a natural supplement – can help.

 

Topical serums and shampoos are an ideal method of getting saw palmetto to your scalp, because your skin will absorb anything that is applied to it. Be sure to get a product that includes the known best ingredients for scalp health. One such products combination is SureThik Shampoo and Serum. This particular product line posts relevant research on its site to support the kinds of ingredients used.

 

Another way that you can get DHT to your follicles is through taking aaw palmetto as an oral supplement. This will reduce the levels of DHT throughout the body and while also benefitting the hair follicles. Saw palmetto can be found at almost any health food store.

 

The good news is that androgenic alopecia doesn’t have to mean that you lose your hair permanently. You can take steps to protect your hair follicles and your hair.

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January 2nd, 2012

Am I losing too much hair?

Maybe hair loss runs in your family. Or perhaps you’ve noticed what looks like too many hairs on your comb or brush recently. For whatever reason, you are concerned that you are losing too much hair, and have noticed what looks like thinning.

 

Let’s begin with a few facts. It is completely normal to lose as many as 50 to 100 hairs per day. Not all will be on your brush, however. You may lose a few hairs while having your shower; you may lose some while pushing your bangs out of your eyes. So, don’t expect to count the hairs on your brush and know for sure how many hairs you typically lose.

 

The reason that everyone loses a certain amount of hair is that each follicle enters the anagen – or resting – phase many times over the course of a lifetime. A follicle may stay in this phase for three or four months. However, this is a relatively short phase in comparison to the catagen – or growing – phase. Depending on your genetics, your hair may be growing for three to ten years at a time!

 

This means that the true measure of whether you are losing too much hair is whether the follicles emerge from the resting phase and re-enter the growing phase. If you notice your hair is thinning, your hair follicles may not be returning to growing hair, for a number of reasons.

 

One of the most common reasons is too much DHT. DHT is Dihydrotestosterone, a hormonal component that can block receptors in the hair follicle and slowly starve the follicle by blocking nutrients from entering.

 

The good news is that there is a safe herbal supplement that can help to lower your levels of DHT naturally. It’s called saw palmetto. New research shows that this supplement is effective against DHT, helping to break it down into other substances that are not damaging to your hair.

 

So, how do you get Saw Palmetto to the follicle? While you can take saw palmetto as an oral supplement, this approach does not guarantee delivery of sufficient concentration of the herbal remedy to the follicle itself. One of the best ways to get saw palmetto directly to the site of your hair loss is to apply it to the scalp. You can get this combination with a number of topical products. One such combination is SureThik Shampoo and Serum. The advantage of SureThik (unlike some competitors) is that the company posts research on its site that documents the efficacy of its ingredients, so that the consumer understands how the formula works against hair loss.

 

Why apply the key ingredient twice to the scalp? It’s all about results. The advantage of using both a shampoo and serum combination is that it delivers saw palmetto in two steps – with a scalp cleansing shampoo and a leave-on treatment. This is a one-two punch against hair loss from DHT.

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November 14th, 2011

Tips on Reducing Hairloss and Encouraging Hair Growth

Do you wash style or brush your hair regularly? We hope so! But did you know that the WAY you do these things can drastically alter how likely you are to experience hair loss? Here are some helpful tips to make sure you are getting the most from your hair care routine, and reducing the chances you could be encouraging hair loss!

  1. Hair Styling Products can Harm your Hair!

If the products you’re using are “sticky” to the touch, and/or cause your hair to hold a shape it wouldn’t normally hold without product, consider washing them out every night before your head hits the pillow. When you lie down on a pillow with hair product still in your hair, your head will press heavily against the products allowing them to work their way into your scalp, and of course into your pores/hair follicles. In addition, most styling products contain harsh chemicals which may not be the best thing for newly “sprouting” hair.  Ensuring that you wash them out completely at the end of each day will greatly benefit your efforts to achieve a full, healthy head of hair.

  1. Use gentle, natural shampoos
    It’s becoming more well known that mainstream shampoo products contain ingredients one would never want to slather on their skin. Why we ignore this fact and continue to put these same products on our hair is beyond me. Look for shampoos that contain botanical ingredients designed to help with hairloss or use a shampoo formulated to help hair grow-such as Surethik’s Hair Building Shampoo.
  2. Ponytails are for ponies

When you pull your hair very tightly back in a ponytail, you are in essence putting a constant strain on your hair follicles. Once in while this is fine, and won’t promote hair loss. However, if this is the way you normally wear your hair; remember that constantly pulling on your hair will train your hair to grow closer and closer to the surface of your scalp. Eventually, it will become too shallowly embedded, lose its grip on the skin and fall out. This is especially true of the vulnerable fine hairs at the front of the scalp, and can be the reason for high hairlines among women.

  1. Wait until your hair is dry to brush it out
    Wet hair is most likely to break during brushing. Give your hair a brush-through before you shower, and then towel and air dry your hair before brushing again. Allowing your hair to air-dry without brushing will also help it dry faster, since the hair strands aren’t pressed down together. This provides more surface area for air to circulate, speeding up the drying process. Also, if you use leave-in hair conditioner-make sure you don’t rub it into your scalp, since this will encourage clogging of the pores.
  2. You can stimulate hair growth by brushing your scalp
    Using a stiff bristles brush with plenty of space between the bristles, brush your scalp with enough force to feel it, but not enough to cause pain. Be sure to do this to your whole scalp when your hair is clean and fully dried, and you will stimulate blood-flow to your scalp. This in turn, will encourage hair growth.

 

If you are finding hair loss or hair thinning is a problem, be sure to contact Surethik and ask about their all natural hair fibers! This is an excellent way to hide hair loss while you work to change the behaviors which led to the loss in the first place.

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October 24th, 2011

Significant hair loss has a natural solution

The normal rate of daily hair loss is about 50 to 100 hairs a day, according to the Mayo Clinic. Given that the average person has about 100,000 hairs on their head, that 50 to 100 hairs will never be noticed.

But what if you are losing more than that number of hairs? What if the hair that grows in is finer and thinner and poorly rooted? You could be on track for hair loss and thinning, unless you take some proactive steps.

One of the best steps that you can take is to clean your scalp well, using a natural shampoo designed to help alleviate and prevent hair loss. SureThik Shampoo is an ideal shampoo for those with the most common forms of hair loss. This shampoo does everything you want from a good quality shampoo, in addition to providing the most well-known and effective natural hair regrowth ingredients as part of its formula.

However, a complete solution requires more than proper cleansing – it also requires a therapeutic treatment that will stay on the scalp (rather than be rinsed away) to help address the key reasons for hair loss and thinning. In this case, you can turn to SureThik Hair Serum. This combination provides a one-two punch to hair loss, with nutrition for the scalp and herbal ingredients that are based on documented research.

The SureThik Serum uses a proprietary blend of nutrients and oils that not only nourish, but also help to protect the hair follicle from two key culprits in hair loss: Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT; and, loss of circulation to the scalp.

Research shows that one of the most common issues with hair loss is DHT. DHT binds to hair follicles, blocking off blood supply, oxygen and nutrients. DHT basically starved the follicle, which then cannot continue to grow hair. The SureThik Serum helps to reduce the amount of DHT present around the hair follicle with propagain, a combination of natural DHT blockers, which protects your ability to grow hair. Our natural serum replaces such pharmaceutical products as Propecia, delivering results at a fraction of the cost and without resorting to a drug.

Another drug known to help with hair loss is Rogaine. Rogaine grows hair by increasing blood flow to the scalp. SureThik Serum also addresses this area, but with a unique blend of Capsicum and Rosemary extracts. These extracts are able to increase circulation, without the nasty side effects of Rogaine. Good circulation will help to support hair follicles, resulting in more hair.

The SureThik Serum can be applied to the scalp 1-2 times a day. Apply directly to the scalp. Use light massage to enhance absorption.

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October 17th, 2011

Tips to Avoid Hairloss

Hair loss may not be a problem now, but you may have family members that have lost fullness or thickness in their hair, so it’s natural to ask: ”How do you avoid going down the same road?”

 

An important part of your plan to keep you hair should be SureThik Hair Stimulating Shampoo. This product is designed to address key factors that promote hair loss:

 

  1. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – this hormone underlies a lot of hair loss issues in both men and women. In fact, it’s a normal part of human metabolism. However, if you end up producing too much DHT, it can attach itself to the roots of your hairs resulting in thinner and finer hair during each growth cycle, until your hair no longer grows. The presence of DHT at the follicle slowly starves the hair of blood, oxygen and nutrients! The answer to this issue is an ingredient that fights against DHT. SureThik Shampoo includes Propogain, as well as the herbals Saw Palmetto and Nettles extract. These natural ingredients are alternatives to Rogaine and Propecia. New research shows that Propagain is effective in promoting healthy hair growth.

 

  1. Low Circulation – scalp circulation delivers nutrients and vital factors to the hair follicle. Without good circulation, hair follicles die as they are starved by the tiny blood vessels that feed them.  Why worry about circulation? Research indicates that balding men have as much as 3 times less circulation in the scalp as men with healthy hair! SureThik specifically addresses the problem of circulation with a proprietary blend of Capsicum and Rosemary, which improve circulation and ensure that your hair continues to get a healthy blood supply.

 

  1. Clogged Follicles – Everyone’s scalp will produce sebum, which is the natural oil that lubricates the skin and hair of all humans. However, if your scalp produces too much sebum, the hair follicles can become plugged, resulting in reduced hair growth.  SureThik Shampoo is designed to keep follicles clear and open, with ingredients that cleanse the scalp of existing sebum build-up, while exfoliating dead skin cells so that they are removed before they can clog hair follicles. The end result is a healthy scalp, and a healthy environment for your hair to grow thick and strong.

 

When you use SureThik Shampoo, even before hair loss starts, you ensure that your scalp and hair remain healthy and that key conditions that contribute to hair loss are stopped before they begin!

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October 7th, 2011

Hair Transplantation for Women

When you think of hair transplantation, you usually think of a balding man who has completely lost the hair on the top of his head. However, that’s not the only person that qualifies for transplant procedure. In fact, women can and do get hair transplants.

Hair transplantation is rapidly gaining increased acceptance among female hairloss patients worldwide. The Society of Plastic Surgeons says that nearly 5,000 women received hair transplants in 2008, which was an increase of over 20 % since 2000.  Since this statistic only counts the women who consulted plastic surgeons, the total number of female hair transplant patients is likely much higher. Still, only 2-5 % of women with hair loss are good candidates for hair transplantation.

Critical to the evaluation of whether you are a candidate for hair transplantation is whether the hair loss is permanent and whether an underlying medical condition is causing the hair loss. Many conditions, from iron anemia to thyroid issues, must be identified and treated first before considering a transplant. Hair loss from many medical conditions may not be permanent, and therefore would not require a transplant.

Note that permanent hair loss is often caused by conditions such as Lupus, Lichen Planus or localized damage to the scalp that has permanently destroyed hair follicles. A few women may also exhibit a male pattern of baldness that could be addressed by a transplant. For those women who have permanent hair loss caused by traction alopecia (hair loss due to styling with tight ponytails, cornrows or braided weave extensions), hair transplantation is likely an option.

At issue for the ultimate success of any hair transplant is whether you have an available area of healthy, stable donor hair. Hair on other parts of the scalp must be thick enough to donate to thinning or balding areas. However, if you are experiencing overall thinning of your hair, you may not be a good candidate. Meeting with our qualified and experienced surgeon for a free consultation is the best way to determine whether you are a good candidate, and which procedures are best suited for your needs.

In the end, the success of your transplant depends on two key criteria: the amount of hair that you have available to “harvest” for the transplant; and, the quality of the hair for donation.

Of course, a skilled surgeon is critical to a good end result. Working with Dr Nelson Ferreira is one of the best ways to ensure your procedure is done professionally. Using the latest technology and techniques, Dr Ferreira has performed thousands of hair transplants, and is constantly working to keep at the forefront of the best new hair transplant developments. His track record with satisfied patients speaks for itself.

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September 16th, 2011

The Most Common Forms of Hair Loss for Women

 

While men are the ones that we most often think of when we think of hair loss, it happens to women too. In most cases, however, women do not become completely bald, as men do. Instead, women lose hair in a broader pattern over the scalp, rather than losing it completely from the top of the head (as men do). This is called female pattern alopecia, and a woman can inherit this condition from either her mother or her father. However, the most common type of hair loss for both sexes is still Androgenetic Alopecia, which results in central thinning of hair in women.

 

While alopecia of both kinds can be hereditary, there are a host of other reasons for hair loss in women. In fact, hair loss in women can be caused by a number of underlying medical issues, including:

 

  • Postpartum and post-menopausal time periods, when increased hair loss is common
  • Diseases of the ovaries, including tumors
  • Low iron or iron anemia
  • Problems with the thyroid gland, including low thyroid conditions
  • Diseases of the connective tissue, including such chronic disease as Lupus
  • Nutritional problems caused by severely-restricted diets, poor absorption of nutrients, and deficiencies of protein, calories, essential fatty acids or minerals
  • Severe stress caused by surgery or severe emotional problems
  • Prescription medications, which have pushed hair follicles into a “resting” phase
  • Hormonal challenges, including increases in dihydrotestosterone, which shrinks hair follicles
  • Chemotherapy

 

Many of these types of hair loss are fully reversible – but only if the proper medical diagnosis is made and the correct action taken! This is particularly true for women who are experiencing hair loss due to medications. It can be as simple as changing the drug being taken or prescribing the right adjunct approach to minimize or eliminate hair loss.

 

For other causes of hair loss, particularly when it is related to a woman’s hormonal or nutritional status, the best action can be to nourish the scalp and help to compete with such hormonal “bad guys” as dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is where products like SureThik Shampoo and  SureThik Hair Serum come into play. These products provide a combination of ingredients that research shows work to address the issues of DHT, hair follicle health and nutrition. The result is that your hair grows naturally, without the use of drugs or medical interventions.

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September 8th, 2011

Is my favorite hairstyle causing hair loss?

Slicked back ponytails. Tight chignons. Big braids. Cornrows. These are styles where the hair is pulled very tight to the head, putting tremendous and consistent pressure on the scalp. As these hairstyles become more popular, the rate of hair loss related to them also increases! However, you might want to think twice before wearing a ponytail all the time. Certain hairstyles will put more stress on the hair, resulting in more than just breakage.

 

The wrong hairstyle can actually cause hair loss! The problem is pulling your hair too tight. When you lose your hair from styles that pull too tight, it’s called traction alopecia. The worst styles include ponytails, braids and cornrows. Not only can these styles break your hair, they also can damage your hair follicles. When you damage the follicle, you lose the hair. Tight hairdos are not the only problem. You can also have style-induced hair loss caused by hair extensions and hairpieces. These items put stress on your hair because of their weight. The weight results in pulling on your natural hair. The pulling results in follicle damage and hair loss, just like tight hairstyles do. Unfortunately, this means that hair weaves – which are normally used to conceal hair loss – can actually cause more problems than they solve! The weave depends on tightly done braids, plus a hairpiece. The hair is then subject to stress and pulling both from the braids and from the weight of the hairpiece.

The simplest way to avoid traction alopecia is to make sure to change up your hairstyle. Try a looser version of your favorite chignon or ponytail. Take a break from cornrows. Make sure that any cornrows are done without excessive pulling. Skip the hair extensions or hairpieces. Your hair should not have constant pressure on it. All of these changes will help you to preserve the health and vitality of your existing hair. If you already have hair loss, try not to depend on weaves. There are other products that can help to disguise existing hair loss, while not putting stress on or pulling your existing hair.

Consider products that make the hair appear naturally fuller, without adding a lot of weight. Surethik offers all-natural, Organic hair fibers that are easy to use and come in virtually every hair color. Visit our main site at: http://www.surethik.com   for more information and to see photos and videos of customers before and after application.

If you discover that your hairstyle has resulted in hair loss, in most cases the hair will grow back. But not always! If you have been abusing your hair for a long time, your hair may not re-grow without help. One of the most important things you can do to help your hair re-grow is to nourish your follicles. Doing so will help the follicle to repair and can stimulate hair growth.

For information on hair shampoo and serum designed to nourish, stimulate and encourage hair re-growth, visit the site and read the success people have found with our product. 

Products like Surethik Hair Fibers which help to disguise your hair loss can also support you to feel more confident while waiting for your hair to grow back.

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August 23rd, 2011

Surethik: Our Giveaway in The Examiner

 

We are excited to announce a giveaway
 in The Examiner this coming weekend!

Be sure to buy your copy for full details on how to enter-
and good luck!!

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