1 ..." To what extent can hair loss be considered “normal”?"
It is physiological to lose up to a maximum of 100 hairs a day for thicker hair.
The hair that is falling out has reached the end of its growth cycle and is being replaced by new hair produced by the hair bulbs inside the follicles.
Hair loss increases in autumn and spring, increases in periods of strong stress, and is certainly favored by the repeated use of chemical and mechanical agents such as: shampoo, dyes, comb, brush, etc.
2 ..." How many hairs are there on your head?"
On average, there are 100 thousand follicles on our head.
Each follicle or, better, follicular unit, hosts an average of 2/3 hairs depending on how thick the hair examined is.
Over the course of a person's life, hair falls out and regrows approximately 20 times within each follicle.
3 ..." Why can't our hair grow beyond a certain length?"
Hair length increases over time up to a genetically determined limit.
This value depends above all on the duration of the anagen phase of your hair regrowth cycle.
In the luckiest people this phase can last up to 5/6 years per hair and in that period of time the hair continues to grow.
Scalp anomalies or various types of problems can greatly shorten the anagen phase and lead to premature hair loss.
4 ..." Does washing your hair frequently increase the risk of baldness?"
Washing, even frequent ones, does not cause hair loss before the natural end of its life cycle.
The hair we find in the shower or sink after shampooing was already on the verge of falling out ( telogen phase ) before we started washing it.
Friction on the head only removes the now "dead" hair.
For this reason, if you wash your head after a long period of time you will see more hair falling out than usual; but there is no need to be alarmed because new hair is already growing in the left free follicles.
Therefore this phenomenon is completely physiological and is not an indication of baldness, as long as it is contained within the limits of a regular numerical loss, otherwise it means that there is a hair health problem that must be identified and addressed in time.
5 ..." Does cutting hair help regrowth? Is it useful for strengthening it?"
The hair life cycle is made up of three phases (Anagen, Catagen, Telogen) according to which hair is born, grows and falls out, to then be reborn again.
This cycle is repeated in each hair follicle approximately 20 times throughout an individual's life and is genetically determined.
Cutting or shaving hair has no influence on its loss or regrowth, which at most can be influenced by health problems of the scalp, nutrition or psycho-physical state, to give a few examples.
Cutting or shortening does not even serve to strengthen the hair, since their volume and persistence over time is also determined by the genes; at most, cutting only allows you to eliminate the damaged and brittle part of the hair, such as split ends.
The only indirect advantage of having short or very short hair is that in this way it is not subjected to too intense brushing and chemical abuse of various kinds.
6 ..." I feel itchy hair and pain in my scalp, what does it mean?"
The sensation of itching in the head and pain in the scalp is often a sign of an anomaly that is altering the normal process of hair production and growth.
Dandruff and excess sebum are the most common culprits of this sensation, often caused by a yeast that proliferates on our scalp: Malassezia.
The factors that generate dandruff and seborrhea, or sometimes both phenomena on the same scalp, are multiple and not easy to analyze.
Stress, poor blood micro-circulation at the root level or, in the case of sensitive skin, pollution and dust, are just some of the possible causes.
If, for example, the itching is due to excessive sebum production, it is useless to scratch or rub your head hard while washing, you only risk damaging your skin and hair.
Using poor quality commercial products sometimes makes the situation worse.
The only wise thing to do is to rely on the use of our products capable of giving a precise result for the condition of the health of the hair and possibly develop a personalized treatment in the salon depending on the characteristics of the customer and the extent of the anomaly. .
7 ..." Is it correct to wash your hair every day?"
It doesn't hurt to wash your hair daily, in fact it's a good idea to do it as soon as your scalp feels itchy.
Our advice is to apply a reduced amount of shampoo and if possible use specific products for frequent washing.
8 ..." Does wearing a helmet or hat make your hair fall out?"
Covering the head is not considered a possible contributory cause to hair loss and in certain cases, for example to protect the scalp from excessive doses of solar radiation or in very polluted urban areas, it is even desirable.
9 ..." Does the gel cause hair loss?"
Gel and all cosmetic hair products, such as hairspray, shampoo, conditioner etc., are not the cause of hair loss or thinning, since it does not penetrate the follicle and block it but if the products are not of excellent quality and sulphate-free (sles) or parabens can weaken it over time and make it more fragile and subject to breakage.
10 ..." Doesn't conditioner protect against hair loss?"
Conditioner is an excellent product that protects hair from environmental damage, making it soft and shiny, but it is absolutely not an anti-hair loss agent, therefore it has no preventative role.
11 ..." Does swimming pool water containing chlorine cause hair loss?"
Chlorine is not one of the causes of hair loss and has nothing to do with thinning hair, at most it can damage the shaft and promote the appearance of split ends.
12 ..." Does dyeing or perming cause hair loss?"
These treatments, if carried out correctly, are not harmful to the scalp (unless there is an individual allergy), nor do they cause hair loss.
If anything, they can damage the hair shaft, making it more fragile and prone to the onset of split ends and other alterations to the hair structure.
13 ..." Does eating certain foods increase the risk of baldness?"
There is no food that can cause hair loss. If anything, a diet lacking in important nutrients can weaken the hair and promote hair loss.
14 ..." Can dandruff accelerate hair loss?"
Dandruff is an abnormality of the scalp and can become a factor that increases hair loss.
It is certainly advisable to treat it adequately by undergoing weekly treatments in the salon for a cycle of 2 applications per week for at least 1 month.
15 ..." In my family my father and my grandfather are bald or almost bald. I am worried: is baldness hereditary?"
The predisposition to baldness, as genetics teaches, certainly has a hereditary component which generally affects the male line.
However, there is no certain heredity: the descendant of a bald family is not necessarily bald and may never even be affected by thinning hair, on the contrary, you can be affected by baldness if you descend from a long-haired family.
What is certain is that in a family where baldness and thinning hair are common, the chances of avoiding early hair loss are significantly reduced, but this does not exclude it from happening.
It's a question of probability and luck, but also hair care and prevention.
If at the first signs of thinning hair, the emergence of a receding hairline or scalp anomalies, you start a treatment of 2 targeted treatments a week for 3 months, there is a good chance of being able to keep your hair sufficiently thick for a long time time.
16 ..." I'm young and I'm already starting to have a receding hairline. Does early receding hairline mean I'll go bald soon?"
Receding hairline at a young age is certainly a symptom of possible premature baldness.
This does not mean that hair loss that is more pronounced at the beginning cannot be contained again over the years.
We are not allowed to know.
Beyond this, a receding hairline signals a health problem with the hair or scalp which should be carefully analyzed immediately to clarify which anomalies are accelerating and compromising the hair formation cycle.
Intervening in time, in these cases, is decisive to stop the progress of the receding hairline and prevent premature baldness, as well as recover the hair that has not yet been permanently lost, but has only been miniaturized and reduced to Vellus hair.
17 ..." I have noticed that there are periods in which I lose a lot of hair and others in which the loss is limited. What could it depend on?"
A loss of up to approximately 100 hairs per day is considered normal.
In any case, various factors influence the hair renewal process, including: seasonality, general physical and psychological health, eating and hygiene habits, and so on.
18 ..." I'm going through a moment of great psychological stress and I notice that my gray hairs are increasing. When the stress has passed, will my gray hairs also stop appearing?"
The mechanisms that lead to the onset of white hair (canitis) are not well known and can, like alopecia and telogen effluvium, be caused by stress and psychological shock.
Sometimes during periods of intense physical or mental fatigue gray or white hair may appear, and it is not certain that once the moment has passed the trend will reverse.
A correct diet or, alternatively, the use of suitable professional products at home can slow down the graying process.
19 ..." My friends say that you can't wash your hair during the days of your menstrual cycle. But I don't pay attention: could it hurt?"
No, there are no reasons to avoid washing your hair during your menstrual period.
20 ..." For my wedding I would like to have my hair lengthened by applying Extensions. Is there a risk that my real hair could be ruined?"
In theory yes, although a job well done limits the risks.
However, it is advisable to remove false hair after a short time, approximately 2-3 weeks, but I still don't recommend it.
21 ..." Is smoking bad for your hair? Can it cause hair loss?"
Recent scientific studies support this hypothesis and demonstrate that smoking increases the risk of hair loss and baldness.
22 ..." Is it true that drinking alcohol can weaken your hair?"
Depends.
An occasional drinker of alcoholic substances need not fear for the health of their hair.
However, those who drink alcohol regularly could compromise not only the health of their liver but also that of their hair.
23 ..." Does testosterone cause hair loss?"
Hair loss is not caused by testosterone but, rather, by an enzyme (5-alpha reductase) that is responsible for synthesizing testosterone into DHT, another hormone.
Hair loss is therefore generated by the altered production of DHT by 5-alpha reductase in the skin condition called androgenetic alopecia.