Is Hair Loss Age Related?

It is true that we often see thinning hair as we grow older.  Does this mean hair thinning and hair loss are age related?  I can tell you that thinning hair is not a natural occurrence.  It depends on the products you use and the way you treat your hair, as to the results you get after a period of time.

I've travelled extensively through Africa & the Caribbean and I have always noted that the men and women in the rural parts, (the villages) have healthy hair well into their old ages but that not being the case in the capital cities and in the western hemisphere. 

In fact, in my village hair loss and skin irritations are seen as the first signs of warning for a major illness, no matter your age.  It's ever so rare.  

What makes this huge difference in hair loss in Africa being rare?

Firstly, we are misplaced in this cold environment.  Our natural Oils are not efficiently being made in the western hemisphere due to the cold, dry weather, which effects our scalp condition and the rate/quality of our hair growth.

For Afro and curly hair, natural oils are better produced in warmer weather, where the sweat glands secreting water to your scalp (sweat), they open the pores, allowing Oxygen to be absorbed, which then encourages good blood circulation, in turn feeding the follicles to to produce Sebum (Natural Oils).  Without this action, our natural oils production is slow... leaving our hair vulnerable to the dryness and other elements.  

Fresh Organic Foods

The advantage that those living in their natural habitat have is their native foods being fresh, nutritious and easy to digest.  They don't tend to consume preservatives and such, plus they drink a lot of water, they sleep plenty, and the stress levels seems to be far less than what we experience away from home.  All these factors play a huge role in living a healthy lifestyle, allowing people to have beautiful hair and amazing skin far into their old ages.  

Do products and styling play a role?

Yes they do.  In the rural villages they don't have access to much... Not even slat and sugar and so using any manufactured products for self care is unheard of.  They also don't tend to over manipulate hair, nor cover it with extensions, weaves and wigs.  This way hair receives plenty of sunshine, Oxygen and everything just thrives!  I remember being a girl and washing my hair with Aloe Vera and Coconut oil.  I didn't know there was another way until I arrived to the UK and met shampoo.... 

Side note: In my villages, hair washing is almost ritualistic.  It's an entire event at least once monthly.  It takes a few days of  preparations in gathering ingredients from the forest, processing them into oils or refining the plants, then going to the river and doing our hair.... It would usually be on a Sunday.  We'd cook, all the elders would take turns to do each other's hair, and the children's hair will get washed, and braided too.  This was an all women's event.  It didn't mean our hair wouldn't get wet daily in the streams, but the act of washing, combing and other high level manipulation was reduced to once monthly. 

All these factors seem to contribute to maintaining healthy hair and scalp for a life time. 

Why is our hair so fragile in the western Hemisphere?

The truth is, a life time of bad products, over manipulation, stress and poor diet will have you thinking hair loss is age related...

What Studies have shown:

Two recent studies have shown that the lack of rejuvenating stem cells in follicles can be part of the reason hair thinning and hair  loss is so ramped in the afro and curly hair community.  

Over time, mutations in the calls appear to make the follicles shrink, causing them to produce finer strands of growth, until they eventually become dormant.  

The study was carried out with mice, who's fur was bathed over a period of time in shampoos with the same ingredients to those in Afro Hair products, including those containing food preservatives.  They then applied products as we do to our hair for moisture and petroleum based oils, with regular brushing and grooming.  Those mices' fur fell off over time and was difficult to regrow following the trauma the skin had experienced.  Those who's fur were left alone, washed with just stream water in the same intervals, retained their fur.

Researchers reached the conclusion that some of the ingredients in our hair products causes the stem cells in the follicles to slow its regeneration over time, until they stop. This combined with harsh styling, lack of sufficient oxygen to the follicles and lack of sunlight, causes the follicles to collapse, shrinking over time and eventually becoming dormant.

Of course for us it's far more complex but it gives us an idea of what the harmful ingredients in our products do with prolonged use and how we find that over time we have thinning and balding hair.  

Admittedly, we are also not the best at leaving our hair alone, and not traumatising our scalp.  The fragility of our hair is often ignored by us and those who style it, causing traction, which plays a major role in hair loss.   

The hard water and harsh weather over here also doesn't help and so it just seems like we're doomed.

A word of advice: Try leaving your hair alone for as long as possible, just use our Moisture Spray on your scalp daily to keep it moist, while your hair is in a protective style.  Oil your ends and sleep on a silk pillowcase.

So is hair loss age related?  Yes and no.  Although your body will under go hormonal changes as you grow, it seems if you are using 100% Natural Products and treating your hair and scalp with the fragility it deserves, you will have healthy hair for a life time.  

With AfroHairCandy, you will feel good about what you are putting in your hair, because all our ingredients grow from the ground.  You have safety in mind that what is going down the drain will not harm the environment, and your are not compromising safety over Beauty.  With us, you can have both.

Our ingredients work actively in rejuvenating your scalp as you continue to mature, to ensure your follicles produce thick strands of growth, while giving your hair is growing at a fast rate with no breakage, no shedding.  This will give your hair thickness and length.

You can rest assured that we are revolutionising the way we look after our hair, using just what nature intended in Plants, Seeds and Oils.