When Prince William and Kate Middleton glowed in their wedding pictures, another element was noticed as much as their happy smiles – the alarmingly growing bald patch on the ecstatic groom’s head. Royalty aside, the prince is just among the millions of men in their 20s who experience excessive hair fall that leads to premature balding.
Despite the development of multitudes of hair products and treatments, why do men grow bald in their 20s? Well, gone are the days when balding indicated the onset of late middle age. Today, it has become indicative of concerns that are more serious. Excessive hair fall is a major symptom indicating alopecia.
Is premature balding a hereditary problem?
Although heredity is one of the major factors that causes balding, the genes really do not kick in so early in life. In the current world, there are several other elements including stress and poor living habits that accelerate permanent loss of hair. What is more, the balding bug is not just restricted to men but also victimising more and more women also.
Stress
High stress has become the most common cause of numerous problems. Trichologists and hair experts agree that stress triggers problems such as alopecia areata, telogen effluvium and trichotillomania that lead to balding. The silver lining is that balding caused due to stress can be reduced by adopting stress management techniques.
Poor nutrition
Bad diet might not be the cause of what is technically defined as “balding”. However, lack of essential nutrients such as proteins, keratin, vitamins and minerals can lead to severe hair fall that could account to baldness. Balanced meals ensure proper supply of nutrients to hair follicles. Moreover, healthy food suppresses hormones such as DHT. Dihydrotestosterone or DHT is a hormone that plays a major role in causing hair loss in men.
Hormonal changes
Unhealthy lifestyle and certain kinds of medications or diseases can lead to hormonal imbalance in men. This imbalance could trigger excessive secretion of DHT hormone. As a result, hair begins to fall off in droves.
Smoking
Your hair feeds on oxygen-rich food, supplied through the blood. Smoking reduces oxygen level in your blood. The carbon monoxide, which you inhale, not only makes hair unhealthy, but also damages hair follicles. Additionally, nicotine hampers blood flow and affects hair growth.
Undisciplined life and lack of sleep are also causes of hair loss. Some of these causes can be controlled and balding can be prevented.
Ways to prevent premature hair loss:
- Take a diet enriched with proteins and vitamins, particularly B3, B5, B9 and E.
- Minerals such as Zinc, Iron and Magnesium are essential to maintain optimal health of not just your body but hair as well.
- Simple changes in the lifestyle like a 7-8 hour sleep and a glass of water every hour to replenish hair strands will surely bring a noticeable change.
- Milk, almonds, spinach, broccoli, oranges, whole grains, spinach, fish, soya beans, egg yolk, leafy greens are all hair-happy foods, which boost hair growth.
- Green tea is also effective to block out Day
