7 Measures Men Can Take To Prevent Hair Loss

Hair loss is a huge insecurity for men. And since about two-thirds of men experience male pattern baldness, it’s no wonder why. In fact, about 40% of men may notice a significant amount of hair loss by the age of 35. 

While there’s no one way to prevent hair loss entirely, there are some measures you can take to prevent hair loss as much as possible. Let’s talk about a few.

7 Preventative Measures To Take To Avoid Hair Loss

Beyond just your hair care routine, there are a few other measures you can take to prevent hair loss as well. 

1. Pay attention to your diet and lifestyle

There are lots of factors that contribute to hair loss, many of which you have no control over. Some of those factors that you can control, though, are your diet and lifestyle.

When it comes to your lifestyle, minimizing your exposure to cortisol, inflammation, toxins, and drugs can make a big difference when it comes to your hair. Plus, getting the proper nutrition and managing your stress levels can help reduce hair loss and damage for optimal hair growth. Some lifestyle factors that impact hair loss include:

• Stress - High stress levels raise cortisol and inflammatory cytokines, which disrupt the hair growth cycle. This can cause shedding and thinning hair. Managing stress is key.  
• Sleep - Poor sleep increases cortisol and throws off hormone balance. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to allow the body to properly regenerate.
• Exercise - Regular exercise helps lower cortisol and stress. However, over-training raises cortisol too much which can trigger hair loss. 
• Alcohol - Excessive alcohol consumption causes inflammation, raises cortisol, depletes nutrients, and dehydrates the body and scalp. Moderate your alcohol intake.
• Drugs - Certain medications, like blood thinners, antidepressants, cholesterol drugs, contraceptives, steroids, and others, may cause hair shedding as a side effect.
• Medical Conditions - Thyroid disorders, autoimmune diseases, iron deficiency, and other conditions can cause hair loss. Talk to your doctor and get tested to see if you can treat these medical conditions.
• Toxins - Environmental pollutants and toxins may impact hair growth. Reduce the use of toxic chemicals in hair and body products.

 

Your diet impacts your overall health, and your hair health is included in that as well. The vitamins and minerals you consume in your diet promote a healthy follicle growth cycle and can help with cellular turnover. That’s all to say that your diet helps you grow your hair while making sure your body is getting rid of any dead cells to allow for new hair growth, as well as helping to support a low inflammation state that supports healthy hair follicles.  Some key elements of a low-inflammation diet that may help reduce hair loss include:

• Increase Omega-3s - Eat more fatty fish, walnuts, and chia/flax seeds. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and support hair growth.
• Get More Antioxidants - Eat plenty of colorful fruits, vegetables, green tea, and spices, like turmeric, which contains inflammation-reducing antioxidants.
• Avoid Refined Carbs - Limit sugar, refined grains, and highly processed carbs, which spike blood sugar and can trigger inflammation.
• Up Protein Intake - Eat plant-based and lean protein sources, like legumes, nuts, eggs, fish, and poultry, to provide hair-healthy amino acids.
• Increase Probiotics - Eat probiotic foods, like yogurt, kefir, and kimchi, and take probiotic supplements to improve gut health and lower systemic inflammation.
• Stay Hydrated - Drink plenty of water and herbal teas. Dehydration stresses the body and scalp.
• Limit Alcohol - Excessive alcohol raises inflammation, dehydrates the body, and depletes nutrients.

 

Following an anti-inflammatory diet full of nutrient-dense whole foods can help create the optimal internal environment for healthy hair growth while preventing follicular damage from inflammation.

Before drastically changing your diet, make sure you talk to your doctor first. 

2. Ensure you’re getting the proper amount of vitamins needed for healthier hair

As mentioned before, changing your diet can help you get some of those vitamins and minerals needed for healthier hair. But, if you are still deficient in some of those vitamins, some supplements may help. Just like with your diet, you should always talk to your doctor before taking any new vitamins or supplements. Exceeding what your body really needs can result in some unwanted side effects. 

Here are some vitamins that you may want to discuss with your doctor and their impacts on hair quality and hair loss if someone is deficient in them:

• Biotin - Biotin is important for keratin production in hair. Biotin deficiency can lead to brittle hair that breaks easily. A lack of biotin may also impair hair follicle growth.
• Vitamin A - Vitamin A helps produce healthy sebum, which keeps the scalp and hair hydrated. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to dry, brittle hair that is prone to damage and breakage.
• Vitamin C - Vitamin C is needed for iron absorption. Vitamin C deficiency can result in anemia and reduced oxygen supply to hair follicles, causing shedding.
• Vitamin D - Research links vitamin D deficiency to alopecia areata. Vitamin D may help regulate hair growth cycles. A lack of vitamin D may contribute to excessive hair shedding.
• Vitamin E - Vitamin E improves blood circulation in the scalp. Vitamin E deficiency may lead to impaired hair follicle growth due to reduced oxygen and nutrients.
• Zinc - Zinc is needed for protein synthesis and DNA production in hair follicles. Zinc deficiency can severely impair hair growth and cause shedding.

 

3. Be mindful of your hair product ingredients

You’d think that hair products would be the last thing to contribute to hair loss, but you’d be surprised to know that a lot of products actually include ingredients that are harmful to your scalp. Those ingredients may include:

• Sulfates - This chemical used as a cleaning agent can cause damage and irritation to your hair follicles, resulting in breakage.
• Formaldehyde - Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, like quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, and bronopol, are used to prolong shelf life. However, they have been linked to hair loss and other scalp damage. Formaldehyde can cause irritation and sensitivity to your skin and scalp. While shampooing your hair with a product that contains formaldehyde likely won’t expose your skin long enough to cause any damage, formaldehyde can be released into the hair, leading to that irritation. Formaldehyde-containing hair products can damage follicles and cause significant hair loss.
• Dimethicone - This silicone product is intended to protect your hair, but it can build up over time when used often. The buildup of dimethicone can clog the pores in your scalp, preventing moisture and nutrients from getting to your scalp. 
• Phthalates - Phthalates are added to hair sprays to help avoid stiffness. They can leach onto the scalp and cause inflammation and follicular damage, resulting in thinning hair.
• Triclosan - The antimicrobial agent triclosan can be disruptive to the scalp microbiome, which negatively impacts hair follicles. This can cause dandruff, itching, and hair shedding.

 

When buying hair products, make sure you check the ingredients to ensure they don’t contain these harmful ingredients. 

Even if you haven’t noticed a significant amount of hair loss, there’s no harm in using some products designed to prevent hair loss. Our Folitin Hair Growth Serum is a blend of active peptides designed to reverse hair loss and generally increase the health of your scalp. By using a product designed to promote hair growth, you can work to even further prevent hair loss. 

4. Avoid hot showers

Showering in hot water won’t necessarily cause hair loss, but it can play a part in the health of your scalp and hair. Hot showers can strip away natural oils, leaving your scalp feeling tight or even a bit itchy. These can also damage the keratin protein in your hair, which is a crucial element in the health of your hair. 

Showering in very hot water can potentially contribute to hair loss for a few reasons:

• Damages Hair Cuticle - The hot water causes the cuticle, or the protective outer layer, of the hair to lift up. This leads to moisture loss and leaves hair more prone to breakage and shedding.
• Dries Out Hair - Hot showers strip the natural oils from hair leaving it dry and brittle. This can worsen split ends and cause hairs to snap off closer to the root.
• Scalp Irritation - High heat in the shower can irritate and inflame the skin on the scalp leading to redness, itchiness, and dandruff. This impairs your follicle health.
• Increased Blood Flow - Hot water makes blood vessels dilate rapidly, which can cause a sudden change in blood flow to the scalp that stresses hair follicles. 
• Alters Sweat Glands - Hot showers change the sweat gland discharge on the scalp, which can block follicles and inhibit hair growth.
• Worsens Hair Loss Conditions - For those predisposed to hair loss, the heat damage makes the problem worse by accelerating shedding.
• Fades Hair Color - The hot water opens the hair cuticle causing rapid fading of color-treated hair. As a result, more frequent dyeing is needed to maintain your hair color.

 

While a hot shower here and there won’t hurt, frequently taking hot showers can cause damage to your skin and your hair over time. The ideal water temperature for hair is lukewarm, between 90-100°F. It’s best to use warm or even cooler water when showering and washing your hair to cuticle and follicle damage.

5. Give yourself a scalp massage

Scalp massages promote blood flow to the scalp, and it’s also believed to help lower stress hormones, which is a contributing factor to hair loss. 

More research is needed to confirm that scalp massages stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss, but the small studies done already show that scalp massages can help achieve fuller, healthier hair. Some of the mechanisms of scalp massage in hair quality are:

• Improves Blood Circulation - Massaging the scalp increases blood flow to the hair follicles. This delivers more oxygen, nutrients, and minerals essential for healthy hair growth.
• Removes Product Buildup - A scalp massage helps remove any dirt, oil, and product residue that could be clogging follicles and impeding new growth.
• Reduces Stress Hormones - Massage promotes relaxation, which decreases cortisol and stress hormones that can negatively impact the hair growth cycle.
• Stimulates Hair Follicles - Gentle pressure and motion help stimulate the follicles out of the resting phase and into the active growth phase (anagen).
• Increases Thickness - Massaging the scalp may increase the thickness of the dermal layer underneath and increase the number and size of follicles.
• Sebum Distribution - Massage evenly distributes sebum (natural oils) across the scalp to moisturize hair follicles.
• Exfoliates Scalp - This removes dead skin cells allowing better follicle function.
• Improves Nutrient Absorption - This ensures proper absorption of nutrients essential for optimal hair growth.

 

Scalp massages boost circulation, remove buildup, reduce stress, directly stimulate follicles, and improve overall scalp health and hair growth. It is an easy, therapeutic way to promote thicker, healthier hair.

Giving yourself a scalp massage is extremely easy to do:

1. Use your fingertips or your palms to apply light pressure to your scalp.
2. Take a small section of your scalp and move your hands in small circular motions.
3. Move your hands around your head in sections until you’ve massaged all parts of your scalp.
4. Massage your scalp for 6-10 minutes 1-2 times per day. 

 

6. Protect hair while sleeping

Now, as you put in all of this effort to protect your hair, you don’t want to throw it all away. If you don’t take preventative measures for your hair before bed, you might be damaging your hair while you sleep. 

First and foremost, you should avoid going to bed with wet hair. Your hair is much more susceptible to damage when it’s wet, so going to bed with wet hair can lead to a higher amount of breakage. 

If you have longer hair, you should avoid wearing ponytails or tight buns to bed. Instead, opt for a loose bun or even a loose braid. 

No matter the length of your hair, you may want to consider changing out your pillowcase. Fabrics like satin are much easier on your hair and can lead to less breakage while you sleep. 

7. Don’t wait—take the proper measures as soon as you start to notice hair loss

One thing to always remember is that the moment you notice any hair loss, it’s best to act as soon as possible to prevent further hair loss. The longer you wait, the harder it may be to regain what you’ve lost. If you are concerned about your scalp and the health of your hair, it’s best to work with your primary care doctor and a dermatologist to come up with a plan to address your hair concerns. 

There are so many factors that contribute to hair loss. While you may not be able to change all of these factors, there are still some steps you can take to prevent hair loss. Whether you’ve already started to notice more hair loss than normal or if you simply want to take early measures, hopefully, these tips will help you grow healthier, thicker hair while avoiding excessive hair loss.