Your head is the crown jewel of your body. It protects your brain and houses your senses. Your hair, on the other hand, adds a bit of swagger to your step. You take care of your hair with regular shampooing and conditioning, but what about the rest of it? Your scalp is skin too, and just like the skin on the rest of your body, it can reveal important clues about your health.
So if you’re experiencing hair loss, don’t just chalk it up to old age or genetics – take a closer look at your overall health and see if there might be something else going on. It could make all the difference.
Our scalps can give away a lot of information about what’s happening inside our bodies. In this post, we’re going to take a look at some of the things your scalp may be trying to tell you about your health. Keep reading to learn more.
What does a healthy scalp look like?
There are four things to look out for in a healthy hair scalp.
First, hair should be shiny and resilient. Second, hair shouldn’t easily fall off when you brush, comb, or pull it between your fingers. Third, hair shafts should be smooth to the touch with no jagged edges. Lastly, more than 100 hair strands should not be falling out at a time.
Hair can provide a lot of clues about your health. A healthy hair scalp works hard to protect hair follicles that contain hair roots. The hair root is one long strand of hair locked up inside the hair follicle. That strand of hair starts growing from minute cells present near the bottom of the hair root. Only after it passes through several stages of hair growth will it be clearly visible as hair on your scalp. So, technically, a healthy hair scalp implicates a relatively healthy hair root.
But what about hair scalps that are already experiencing hair loss? Hair loss can cause hair scalps to become unhealthy too.
Common signs of hair roots or your hair scalp is unhealthy:
- Scalp flaking – It’s normal for a person with dandruff to have white flakes around his hairline, back, and shoulders. But if you suddenly see big patches of peeled skin on your scalp, it might indicate serious fungal infection or psoriasis.
- Hair root infections – Hair roots are susceptible to bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Scalp infection can cause hair roots to bleed, itch or become swollen. The scalp may also be red and painful when touched. Some of the common hair root infections are ringworm, folliculitis, dermatophytosis, etc.
- Dryness – It’s normal for hair strands to get dry after every wash due to the absence of natural oil glands at their roots. If you’re not using the right shampoo & conditioner for your hair type, your hair may look dully, dry, and prone to breakage. Consider switching your hair products when this happens.
4. Hair root blistering – Blistering hair loss is a symptom of hair root infection caused by yeast bacteria. This condition leads to hair strands becoming brittle and falling off the hair scalp. - Scalp scaling – It happens when hair scales begin peeling off from the hair roots. Your current shampoo may be too harsh for your hair scalp, making it excessively dry and scaley, leading to flakes on your shoulders.
- Hair loss – Hair thinning and breaking is the most prevalent scalp problem. Every day, people lose between 50 and 100 hairs. Hair strands experience natural hair thinning as they grow old. The hair growth process slows down at the age of 50-60.
Additional causes of hair loss, thinning, or breakage include the following:
- The heat from hot rollers, curling irons, or hair dryers can cause hair damageas well as hair care treatments, including dyes and permanent hair colors.
- Habits of hair pulling or twisting. Trichotillomania is a mental health condition in which a person takes out their hair, mainly from the tops of the head, lashes on the eyes, and brows.
- Medications or medical treatments can have several negative consequences, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Recent surgery, high temperatures, or a significant level of emotional stress are all factors to consider. After a period of extreme physical or emotional stress, you may lose a lot of hair in the first four to three months. Usually, after a few months, this sort of hair loss ceases.
- Lupus and hyperthyroidism are two diseases that might affect your hair.
- Poor nutrition, particularly a deficiency in protein and iron can affect your scalp and hair health.
What should you do to promote a healthy scalp?
You should wash your hair regularly. To maintain good hygiene, shampooing should include the following steps: apply shampoo directly to the scalp and gently lift dirt and buildup from the scalp with the pads of your fingers.
We frequently forget that the scalp is an extension of the skin, and we should treat it with the same care we give to our skin.
Keeping a healthy lifestyle, massaging the scalp to enhance blood circulation, avoiding the use of chemicals on the scalp, utilizing hydrating products to keep the scalp hydrated, and massaging the scalp to increase blood circulation are all examples of healthy scalp habits.
Conclusion
Our hair offers us several subtle indicators from time to time, and we should pay attention to them because they could indicate a bigger problem. In most situations, these signs and symptoms are also a sign that you need to make some modifications to your diet and lifestyle.
Scalp health is often overlooked, but it’s the foundation of our hair. If you think about your scalp as an indicator of your body’s overall health and well-being, then there are many reasons to take care of it. From stress to dryness to too much protein intake or curly hair that needs more moisture than straight hair, there are plenty of factors that can affect scalp and hair health.
If you’re one of the millions of people experiencing scalp problems and hair loss, and you’re looking for a hair loss clinic in Boston, don’t hesitate to contact Scalp Designs for a free consultation. Our team of hair experts can help assist you with your hair and scalp issues.
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