Our hair is very important to us, especially as women. Because of the way society portrays women in the media, there is a lot of pressure to have a healthy head of glossy hair, therefore a good barnet is an essential part of anyone’s look.
Hair loss or thinning can be a very psychologically emotional and distressing experience. There are many factors behind hair loss; women over 30 naturally start to lose their hair as it becomes thinner with age but it can also affect people of all ages. This is exacerbated if hair loss is hereditary, which is one of the main conditions of female pattern hair loss.
There are many different reasons for our hair thinning and shedding, beside it from being a hereditary condition, hair loss can also be related to the following:
Stress – physical & emotional
Pregnancy
Excess Vitamin A
Anaemia
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Anti-depressants and blood thinners
Hyperthyroidism
Alopecia – which can be affected by chemotherapy/radiotherapy
Dramatic weight loss
Changing or stopping birth control pills
Over-styling
Unfortunately, there are many faux products on the market for hair-loss, which don’t actually target the root of the problem and can leave many people out of pocket and feeling deflated.
Dr Eleni Yiasemides, a top Sydney-based dermatologist, says when many of her patients come to her with hair loss problems, she first determines whether their condition is a short or long term problem and then she can assess which form of medical treatment best suits her patients’ needs. There are two main types of medical treatments available: prescribed tablets or topical treatments, most commonly found in the form of lotions.
The disadvantage, as with many prescribed tablets, you can often expect side effects. Also with the topical treatment, the treatment must be maintained and continued otherwise the hair will continue to fall out again. With most topical treatments it can take up three to six months to see an effect.
Topical treatments such as lotions have been on the market for many years; treatment is aimed at starting early so it holds on to the hair already there.
It’s fair to say that some products can be messy, not easy to use and worse still noticeable in the hair.
Regaine’s new hair loss product Women’s Regaine is a once a day foam. The foam has a light texture and is odourless, easy to use and only has to be applied once a day. I is claimed that Regaine has the only topical foam product for hair-loss available for women.
According to Regaine expert Phillip Yu, the product underwent two clinical trials which both contained around 300 people. The results showed that eight out of ten women’s hair regrew after 24 weeks. Which is a successful result if you take into consideration that hair only grows on average at 1.5 centimetres a month.
Most cosmetic treatments target camouflaging hair-loss, whereas Regaine is applied to the scalp where it stimulates hair growth on diminished hairs. It contains five per cent minoxidil, which professional dermatologists prescribe to their patients. The minoxidil increases blood flow to the hair follicles, which stimulates them and promotes hair growth.
Hair stylist Jaye Edwards demonstrated how easy the Regaine foam is to use in your daily hair routine and gave us a few tips on how to add extra volume and texture to your hair when you feel it is lacking.
First Jaye applied foam to the crown area on his hair model; this is one of the main areas of hair loss. Whereas, men tend to lose their hair from the front, women tend to lose it from the back.
Let the foam dry naturally, but when blow-drying always pull the hair up from the scalp, to avoid any flatness and to create volume at the roots. It is best to blow-dry the hair from side to side or, if at home, you can tip your head upside down to create volume.
If you are using volumisation products in your hair and it starts to feel gritty, brush around the product with a soft bristled brush and when brushing through the hair only concentrate on flattening out the ends so you keep the texture in the main body of your hair. The key is to create width for volume in your hair, not height.
Try keeping the underneath layers more textured to add more volume.
Jaye then curled the models hair using a curling wand. He also recommends
using a flat iron to create a squarer wave. When curling, he says, it is easier to start at the front and put the wand behind the hair, curl it and make your way around the head.
Never hold a curling wand on the hair for too long as it will create a heat-spot which causes hair loss. Always use heat protection spray if using hot styling appliances.
If your hair parts to the side, don’t curl too high up on the hair otherwise it pulls the style out of proportion.
For messy textured curls, alternate the direction of the curl. Pull the curls out with your hands or quickly blast with cold air.
Finish off with a dry shampoo for a soft texture or if using a thicker volumising spray for more texture, spray the product from underneath the hair and not from the top.
Women’s Regaine – Once A Day Foam is a pharmacy-only product. For more information on Regaine visit the website https://www.regaine.co.uk/women
