Why your hair is receding

You will agree with me that the barber shop is where men and boys have open conversations about life, fun and many things.

I am a professional barber and during the early days of my career, the question most clients asked was about which trending hair style was suitable for their brand or head shape.

Lately, the questions have been about receding hairlines for young men, middle-aged men, young women and middle-aged women.

Most panic and rush to try minoxidil, finasteride or expensive hair transplants in Seoul and Istanbul. 

This has opened more business opportunities for hair transplant and hair treatment centres in Ghana.

My colleagues and I became more aware of this issue when some students involved us in their research; trying to link receding hair of the average Ghanaian to the staple foods (kenkey, banku, waakye, tuo zafi, light soup, groundnut soup etc).

For starters, most big pharmaceutical companies associate hair loss with dihydrotestosterone.

DHT is a male sex hormone derived from testosterone that plays a crucial role in developing male characteristics.

Inflammation, scalp tension and nutrient deficiencies play a bigger role. 

Most people relate hair loss to bad genetics, but it is not always so.

Hair loss is often a health-related issue warning sign from your body.

Ignore it and the problem might get worse. 
Before solutions are recommended, it is imperative to highlight the side effects of Finasteride and Minoxidil.

For Finasteride, the side effects are impotence, loss of interest in sex, trouble having orgasm, abnormal ejaculation, swelling in the hands or feet, swelling or tenderness in your breasts, dizziness and weakness, whilst the side effects of Minoxidil is severe scalp irritation, chest pain, fast heartbeats, swelling in the feet, rapid weight gain, light headed feeling, headache, dizziness, confusion, unwanted growth of facial hair and flushing (warmth, redness or tingly feeling).

What can be done to stop receding hair?

Stress is a major factor in receding hair.

When cortisol spikes, it increases scalp tension, reduces blood flow to follicles, disrupts hormone conversion and creates inflammation. 

Breathwork and adaptogenic herbs can be helpful in this situation.

It is also worth noting that your hair is only as strong as the nutrients you eat. 

Some men are deficient in key vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D (essential for follicle health), Zinc and Iron (support hair strands), Collagen and Biotin (Strengthen hair Stands) as well as Vitamin D.

It is imperative to focus on incorporating fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), egg yolks, beef liver and fortified foods such as milk, plant milk and breakfast cereals to your meals.

To enable Zinc absorption, focus on incorporating foods such as oysters, red meat, poultry, seafood, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains into your diet.

To increase iron intake, focus on incorporating foods rich in both heme (meat, poultry and seafood) and non-heme (Legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, fortified foods).

Hair follicles have melatonin receptors that regulate growth.

Melatonin has been used for over a decade to treat hair loss.

Hence, fix your sleep and you will fix your hair. 

Exercise is very good for boosting the flow of blood to hair follicles.

For people whose hair has receded for more than an inch, the optimal solution is hair transplant. 

Even though some of our staple foods promote inflammation and contain some amount of alcohol, there is no data that links them to hair loss.

If you start experiencing hair loss marginally, kindly direct your barbers to stop trimming the hair on your forehead; it is astute to fade it in or go for a buzz haircut.

To maintain a prefect hairline till old age, consume diets that are rich in nutrients and promote hair growth, manage stress, quit smoking, stay hydrated, avoid harsh products like sulfate shampoos and conditioners, wash your hair regularly, massage your scalp, avoid tight hairstyles, indulge in low-level light therapy and consult a dermatologist or a doctor if hairline is receding rapidly.

The writer is a professional barber.
E-mail: kawmeasiamahlawrence@gmail.com