Natural Remedies For Hair Loss

Quest for that perfect crowning glory

A concoction of opium, horseradish, pigeon droppings and beetroot was a remedy offered for baldness by the father of modern medicine Hippocrates, who battled hair loss himself.

The ancient Egyptian recipe included “toes of a dog and a hoof of an ass”, according to the HairLossLearningCenter.

Others rubbed hippopotamus fat on their scalps. In the absence of hippos, the fat of lions, crocodiles, snakes and geese were other alternatives, but to no avail.

Julius Caesar wore a wreath to disguise his hair loss and a prematurely balding King Louis XIII of France made wearing a wig popular.

There have been many advances since then, with a host of celebrities digging into deep pockets to get a hair transplant to keep their crowning glory.

English soccer star Wayne Rooney is the latest follically challenged celeb to try to roll back the years, and roll forward his hairline. He was out and proud on Twitter recently, raving about his pricey hair transplant, and triggering responses like “Mane (man) United” and “Hair we go”.

Other celebrities who have had transplants include cricketers Jacques Kallis and Shane Warne and Monty Python star John Cleese.

In his first game after getting his new locks, Kallis produced a man-of-the-match performance against India at Newlands, leading the Wall Street Journal to speculate about his “inverted-Samson performances”. But Kallis remained coy about his new mane, saying the secret was to “take a bit of beer and manure and rub it on your forehead”.

Dr Larry Gershowitz, who heads Cape Town-based Medical Hair Restoration with his business partner, Dr Craig Ress, said many men tried to hide the fact that they had transplants done. “It’s refreshing when someone like Rooney is open about it,” he said.

The partners have run their hair transplant practice for more than a decade, with Gershowitz doing it for 14 years and Ress for 16.

Since ancient times there have been many remedies offered to counter hair loss. There are many myths, like balding or permanent hair loss is caused by wearing caps, the constant use of blow dryers or stress.

“There are many bogus treatments on offer. In the US it is estimated to be a R10 billion industry. More than 75 percent of males and about 8 percent of females suffer from baldness and there is a huge market of people eager to accept bogus treatments to restore their crowning glory.

Hair Loss Natural Remedies | Natural Medicine

Hair loss may occur in patches (alopecia areata), complete hair loss on the head (alopecia totalis) or even hair loss throughout the entire body (alopecia universalis). The latter is rare but hair loss on the head is a common complaint that affects large portions of the population, especially men, after the 30s. While hair loss can occur at a younger age, it is not common and should be investigated for other systemic causes.

Identifying the cause of the hair loss should be the priority since treating this condition can be difficult. In most cases hair loss is due to high levels of the male sex hormone, testosterone. This hormone is present in men and women, although testosterone levels are significantly higher in men, and is responsible for typical male characteristics like facial hair growth, a gruff voice and body hair.

Hair loss may also occur as a result of prolonged diseases and high doses of certain drugs and this is known as toxic alopecia. Skin diseases affecting the scalp can also result in hair loss and in these instances, prolonged skin inflammation (dermatitis) with an infection, may cause permanent damage to the hair follicle making hair growth impossible. Dandruff due to a fungal infection may also lead to hair loss and it is therefore essential to treat dandruff, whether it is severe or not.

A lesser known hair condition is trichotillomania , is easily identifiable in but in adults it may not be obvious and sufferers are unlikely to admit to it. Female pattern baldness, which involves thinning of the hair first, is often due to poor nutrition and high levels of male sex hormones. In these cases, other gynecological conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome and infertility may be present and may be accompanied with other symptoms like painful periods , irregular menses and excessive body hair growth .