Could hair loss be an indication of your stress levels and health? For 33-year-old Chris, his hair fall seems to be telling him that winding down every once in a while would be beneficial.
From bouffant beehives to gelled slicked back hair, hair styles are truly a telling sign of the trends we sport during a certain period. Now has never been a better time for you to express your personality through your hair. Whether it is through trendy colours, classic cuts or carefully put-together styles, just a quick stroll out in town will show you that people are really into doing things with their hair. One thing is for certain, though: healthy hair will never go out of style and really, it should be everyone’s goal.
Hair and scalp health is often an overlooked indicator of your overall health. As the fastest growing cells in our body, hair actually reflects the state of our body in real time! So someone with tired-looking hair is more often than not physically and mentally exhausted too, whereas someone with a full head of lively bouncy hair is probably in as good a shape as their hair indicates.
The underlying truth?
While there are certainly many tips and tricks to help make your hair look healthier, as well as creative hacks for quick hair fixes, we think that some problems are better tackled from the root – literally. Scalp problems plague more of us than we care to admit: it may be surprising to know that many people suffer from some form of hair or scalp issues. While some people face these hair and scalp conditions due to genetic predispositions, a significant proportion of people actually suffer from these problems due to lifestyle stresses and choices.
The condition of your hair and scalp is a good indicator of your body’s health, and there are several issues you could face: oily or dry scalp, dandruff; dry and brittle hair; limp and dull hair; greasy hair; prematurely greying hair; or hair loss.
Three people with hair problems share their stories
In this upcoming series of articles, we meet and chat with three real people who are experiencing common hair loss problems that many people can identify with. The experienced trichologists at Svenson have also offered their expert suggestions on how these problems can be dealt with, for healthier scalp and hair.
1) Chris – Programmer with hair loss
2) Melissa – Budding Entrepreneur with dry hair and hair loss
3) Silver – Actress and Property Agent with oily and clogged roots
Chris – The programmer with a stressful lifestyle
Hair loss is a common problem that men face. Chris Sim is a 33 year old IT engineer, and he has been suffering from hair loss for the last four years.
Shares Chris on his hair loss woes: “The affected area is at the crown of my head, so I guess I’m lucky in the sense that my problem is not that obvious now. But it is worrying as I had this problem since I was 29, and I think it will only get worse if I don’t do anything to help prevent it.”
As a curious person, Chris loves exploring new things, picking up new skills and Googling just about anything that comes to his mind. He has Googled his hair loss problems only to turn up with unsatisfactory results: “A lot of what I have found are the supposed causes of hair loss, which I already know are usually due to stress or genetics. My search also turned up a few of products that claim to improve the situation but I worry about its efficacy and effects.”
Employed in several IT roles simultaneously, Chris faces a lot of daily stress from his job and it is precisely this stress that has contributed to his hair loss problems. Since entering the work-force, he has found that he has had less time to exercise and eat healthily.
“I spend my day in meetings or coming up with solutions for IT problems. Other than time spent travelling to and from work, and sleeping, I hardly have time to do anything else,” Chris recounts in resignation. He is often so busy that he does not take his breakfast, holding out till later in the day when he eats a heavy meal at dinner. Exercise is also sorely missing in his daily routine. And to top it all off, Chris does not sleep much either, clocking about four to five hours of shut-eye each night.
What Svenson’s Trichologist, Kim Fong has to say:
The condition of your hair and scalp is a barometer of your health; it reflects the state of our body. Stress is actually a major contributor to hair loss because it can trigger many other problems in the body. When the body is stressed, the sebaceous glands tend to produce excessive sebum which mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria to clog hair follicles.
The condition of your hair and scalp is a barometer of your health; it reflects the state of our body. Stress is a major contributor to hair loss because it can trigger many other problems in the body. When the body is stressed, the sebaceous glands tend to produce excessive sebum which mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria to clog hair follicles.
Seborrheic dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin and scalp from an excess buildup of oil. It causes your scalp to be flaky, itchy, red and irritated. Severe cases that are left untreated block the hair follicle, rendering them inactive and hence resulting in hair loss.
Chris’ current hectic lifestyle is a probable cause of his premature hair loss.
It is therefore crucial that Chris starts to manage his stress levels properly, on top of making sure that he cleanses his scalp and hair thoroughly, every day. With a good scalp and hair regime going on, he will be able to prevent further loss of his hair.
To help Chris with the up-keeping of his scalp hygiene and the health of his hair papillae, the Corrective program and Growth therapies offered at Svenson Hair Centres help to remove build-up and stimulate hair follicles for further growth.
This is the first of a three-part series where we talk to people with hair problems and ask a trichologist from Svenson to weigh in her advice according to the problems presented.
This article is brought to you by Svenson.
