Can you identify with this scenario? Either youre taking a shower or brushing your hair and you notice that your hair is falling out rather more than usual. The first question that springs to mind is How can I prevent further hair loss?

There are many hair loss prevention products available, but before you start to experiment with them you should understand what causes hair loss. There are two main causes of hair loss.

The first is genetics, also known as androgenetic and male pattern baldness. The lifespan of a single hair is typically somewhere around five years, and the average human will lose around 100 hairs a day. Hair loss happens when the body no longer replenishes lost hairs, so this is normal to a certain degree. However, genetic baldness will cause the body to completely stop replenishing the dead hair.

Interestingly, the gene for male baldness is present in all men, but is only active in about half. This active gene suffocates the hair follicles so that when the old hair falls out, the new will not grow in its place.

The second largest cause of male baldness is stress. There are also other causes of hair loss, for example, malnutrition, consuming foods that dont have the right amount of vitamins and minerals. Believe it or not, even coffee and other caffeinated drinks have been linked as a cause of hair loss.

Prevention

Firstly, the key to hair loss prevention is catching hair loss before it becomes very noticeable. Which type of hair loss prevention product you use depends on what the underlying cause is to begin with.

When you first notice that your hair is thinning, you could try using a different shampoo, one that is gentle, because your regular shampoo may be damaging your hair. Scalp massages with rosemary oil have been known to stimulate the hair follicles, but you have to give yourself a massage at least once a week to be effective.

If stress is causing your hair loss, then, where possible, try to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

A change of diet to ensure that you are getting the right amount of proteins, vitamins and minerals is always beneficial. Make sure to include dried beans, fish, eggs and grains in your daily diet.

If hair loss prevention methods dont work for you, remember that in some societies a bald head is a sign of wealth and in others its a sign of virility and manliness. Also remember that about 50 percent of the men around the world will suffer from one form of baldness or another, so you are not alone, in fact, you are average.