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I changed my diet to reduce weight. I lost weight and my hair. What can I do?

05.06.2009 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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I’m 28 years old. A few years back I changed my diet to reduce weight. I was successful but now I’m suffering from severe dandruff and hair loss. Now I have brought my diet back to normal and have used many good and expensive shampoos but my hair loss and dandruff persist. I want to know whether these problems are caused by diet change or because of another reason?

While I have never heard of dandruff being the result of dietary change and weight loss, I do know that hair loss can be triggered by those factors. Since the hair on your body follows cycles of growth [ growth phase, resting phase and shedding phase  ] changes that can cause stress on the body, such as strict dieting and weight loss, can cause the hair to trigger a shift from one phase to another.

As these shifts in growth cycles occur, the hair can be seen to begin to be expelled prematurely, and can result in thinning hair. The good news is that a return to a healthy, well-balanced and protein-rich diet will result in the hair returning to its normal state as the new hair grows in. Just keep in mind that the return to [ normal ] may take months, depending on the rate of growth for your hair.

You may want to consider opting for a shorter hairstyle. This will reduce the time needed for the new growth to catch up to the existing hair, and will help the hair to look fuller in the meantime.

As to the dandruff problem, you may wish to speak to one of our Westminster Trichologists to treat it. You may also want to visit our Centre and speak with one of our Westminster Trichologists if the hair loss problem is severe. It may not be dandruff, particularly if there is any irritation or redness on the scalp.

Gary Heron says: “You’ll have access to the most effective treatments available through The Hair Centre and at a fraction of the cost of going to other Private Commercial Clinics and Centres.”

When it’s time to see the Trichologist: If you begin losing hair rapidly, and or are cosmetically concerned about baldness, consult your Trichologist about treatment options. You can receive a free hair loss consultation with a Westminster Trichologist at our Hair Centre.

The point is that you are not getting to the real problem and you should seek specific professional advice from a Westminster Trichologist.

“Why buy hair loss treatments over the counter or on the internet when you can see a Westminster Trichologist for FREE and know that you are guaranteed results”

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

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Baldness Breakthrough: Stem Cells Growing New Hair

02.06.2009 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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“Waiting for Godot” Actor Patrick Stewart is just one of 7.4 million Britons affected by baldness “Waiting for Hair”

It could be the answer to the prayers of millions of men. Scientists have coaxed stem cells into growing hair for the first time.

At present, there are 7.4 million Britons affected by baldness. If they are unhappy about their appearance they are limited to choosing between a comb-over, a toupee or a transplant.

But within a decade, advances in stem cell science could help them to regrow their own hair where it has been lost.

The breakthrough could also lead to new treatments for other conditions, such as alopecia, in which hair is lost in patches.

Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described how they had shown that adult mammals are able to grow new hair follicles.

It had been thought that follicles, the tiny structures responsible for hair growth, were always formed before birth, with their gradual death leading to baldness.

The discovery that it is possible to develop new follicles later in life paves the way for new hair loss treatments.

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The answer to the prayers of millions of men: Stem cells coaxed into growing hair

The University of Pennsylvania researchers made their discovery when studying the process of wound healing in mice.

They found that as the wound heals, new hair follicles form underneath the new skin ? allowing new hair to sprout.

Close examination showed that the follicles were formed from stem cells ? master cells capable of turning into different cells and tissues.

Key to the process was a protein called wnt, which is usually active only in the womb. If levels of the protein are increased, more hair grows. Without wnt, no hair grows.

Adding wnt also helped the wounds to heal better. It is thought that when the skin heals itself, it returns to a state similar to that found in the developing foetus, allowing new, fully functional follicles to form.

Although all work so far has been carried out in mice, the researchers are hopeful a similar technique could lead to treatments for humans.

Because wounding appears essential to the process, it is likely the skin would be grazed in the area to be treated, and a wnt-based drug given.

So far, all hair produced has been white, suggesting new hair would have to be dyed to make it look more natural. The first human trials are, however, at least two years away ? and any cure for baldness is not expected for a decade.

Experts have described the breakthrough as “remarkable”.

Dr Denis Headon, a developmental biologist from Manchester University, said: “Up to now we thought that the number of hair follicles we have is set before we were born and can only go downhill from there.

“This work shows that new hair follicles are made in adult skin, at least when it is healing a wound. The implication is that it might be simpler than we thought to make new hair follicles as a treatment for hair loss.”

Other remedies may appear on the market more quickly, with British scientists

Gary Heron says: “You’ll have access to the most effective treatments available through The Hair Centre and at a fraction of the cost of going to other Private Commercial Clinics and Centres.”

When it’s time to see the Trichologist: If you begin losing hair rapidly, and or are cosmetically concerned about baldness, consult your Trichologist about treatment options. You can receive a free hair loss consultation with a Westminster Trichologist at our Hair Centre.

The point is that you are not getting to the real problem and you should seek specific professional advice from a Westminster Trichologist.

“Why buy hair loss treatments over the counter or on the internet when you can see a Westminster Trichologist for FREE and know that you are guaranteed results”

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

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Scientists 'find hair loss gene'

28.05.2009 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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“A cure for baldness has come a step closer after scientists identified a gene that is connected to hair loss,” The Daily Telegraph has reported. Researchers blocked the activity of the Sox21 gene in mice and unexpectedly found that the mice started losing hair around two weeks after birth and had lost all their hair within a further week. The newspaper reported that this finding “should help scientists develop new treatments as well as help pinpoint early in life which men are likely to lose their hair”.

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This study has found that if you remove the Sox21 gene from mice, their hair falls out. This does not necessarily mean that this gene plays a role in human baldness, and further studies are needed to determine whether this is actually the case.

However, this research does further our understanding of the biology of hair development and retention, and in this respect it may eventually play a part in the development of treatments to prevent or reverse hair loss.  However, much more research would be needed before a “cure” for baldness becomes a reality.

Where did the story come from?
Dr Makoto Kiso and colleagues from the National Institute of Genetics and other research centres in Japan conducted this study. The research was funded by Solution-Oriented Research for Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science USA (PNAS).

What kind of scientific study was this?
This was an animal study looking at the role of the Sox21 gene in mice.

One method that scientists use to identify the functions of a particular gene is to stop that gene from working in mice and see what effect this has. The Sox21 protein (produced by the Sox21 gene) is capable of binding to DNA and is thought to help control whether the expression of specific genes is switched on or off in the cells.

Previous studies had suggested that the Sox21 gene plays a role in the development of nerve cells. Researchers in this study decided to identify the effects of Sox21 by genetically engineering mice to lack the gene. Once they had generated these mice, the researchers verified that the gene was completely inactive and then looked at the effects this had on their development.

The researchers found that hair development was affected, so they decided to look at normal mouse skin and human scalp tissue to see which cells in the skin and hair follicles the Sox21 gene was normally active in. They also examined samples of skin taken from Sox21-lacking mice and normal mice, looking at them under powerful microscopes (both scanning electron microscopes and transmission electron microscopes) to see whether there were any differences in the structure of their hair follicles. They also compared the activity of a number of genes in skin of both the normal and Sox21-lacking mice, including genes that are important for the development of hair.

What were the results of the study?
The researchers found that mice genetically engineered to lack the Sox21 gene started to lose their fur from 11 days after birth, and by about 20 to 25 days after birth they had lost all of their hair. The mice began to re-grow hair after a few days, but then lost it again. This cycle of hair loss and re-growth continued for at least two years in both male and female mice. These findings relating to hair loss were unexpected, as the Sox21 gene was not previously known to play a role in hair development.

The Sox21 gene was found to be active in normal mouse skin and in human scalp tissue, including in the outer layer of the hair shaft (called the cuticle layer) and also in the cells making new hair shaft cells, including cuticle cells. The researchers also found that mice lacking the Sox21 gene did not show the normal “interlocking” between the inner and outer layers of cuticle that anchors the hair shaft into the hair follicle.

When comparing gene activity between the Sox21-lacking mice and normal mice the researchers  identified five genes that were more active and 114 genes that were less active in the skin of the genetically engineered mice. Many of the genes that were less active in Sox21-lacking mice were those that produced proteins involved with making the “scaffolding” of cells and that allowed cells to stick together. This included a number of keratin proteins produced in cuticle cells and found in the hair.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?
The researchers conclude that the Sox21 gene plays a key role in controlling the development of the hair shaft cuticle and that this finding “shed[s] light on the possible causes of human hair disorders”.

What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?
This research has shown that Sox21 is important for normal hair retention in mice and that the gene is also expressed in human hair follicles. However, while removing this gene in mice does cause their hair to fall out, this does not necessarily mean that this gene is a cause of human baldness. Further studies will be required to determine whether or not this is the case.

This study has furthered our understanding of the biology of hair retention, and it is possible that this research may one day lead to development of treatments to prevent or reverse hair loss.

However, Westminster Trichologist Gary Heron says, “treatments based on the results of this study remain some way off, and much more research is needed before a [ cure ]for baldness becomes a reality.”

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/05May/Pages/HairLossGeneBaldnessCure.aspx

When it’s time to see the Trichologist: If you begin losing hair rapidly, and or are cosmetically concerned about baldness, consult your Trichologist about treatment options. You can receive a free hair loss consultation with a Westminster Trichologist at our Hair Centre.

The point is that you are not getting to the real problem and you should seek specific professional advice from a Westminster Trichologist.

“Why buy hair loss treatments over the counter or on the internet when you can see a Westminster Trichologist for FREE and know that you are guaranteed results”

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

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Hair Loss In Women Can Be A Genetic Predisposition

27.05.2009 in FEMALE HAIR LOSS, HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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Androgenetic alopecia, or malepattern hair loss, is genetic and not limited to men. In women, it manifests itself in a thinning of the hair over most of the scalp.

The anti-androgen cyproterone acetate, which is found in Dianette, can help. Alopecia areata, sudden hair loss in patches, is thought to be triggered by stress, particularly in people who have a genetic susceptibility, but the hair will usually grow back.

When it’s time to see the Trichologist: If you begin losing hair rapidly, and or are cosmetically concerned about baldness, consult your Trichologist about treatment options. You can receive a free hair loss consultation with a Westminster Trichologist at our Hair Centre.

The point is that you are not getting to the real problem and you should seek specific professional advice from a Westminster Trichologist.

“Why buy hair loss treatments over the counter or on the internet when you can see a Westminster Trichologist for FREE and know that you are guaranteed results”

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

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Hair Loss: Poor Diet

27.05.2009 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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Insufficient levels of protein consumption can lead to thinning as protein is vital for the formation of keratin, which is the main component of hair.

You should be able to get enough protein from your diet by eating meat, eggs, cheese, nuts and fish. The B vitamins, especially B5, are believed to play an important role in hair growth, elasticity and strength. Rich sources include eggs, nuts, beans and wholemeal bread.

When it’s time to see the Trichologist: If you begin losing hair rapidly, and or are cosmetically concerned about baldness, consult your Trichologist about treatment options. You can receive a free hair loss consultation with a Westminster Trichologist at our Hair Centre.

The point is that you are not getting to the real problem and you should seek specific professional advice from a Westminster Trichologist.

“Why buy hair loss treatments over the counter or on the internet when you can see a Westminster Trichologist for FREE and know that you are guaranteed results”

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

Please like & share:
no comment