The Stepping Stones
The outside Hair on the skin consists of Dead Non Dividing cells
The Hair is alive only from the root to the Scalp. Which is why we are able to cut the outside hair without any
pain. And we feel the pain only when we pull the hair from the roots. [ no harsh combing ]
Subjecting the dead cells / outside hair to too many unwanted and counter productive forces, either knowingly
or as is common, unknowingly, is not good. It has no resilience like a live part. And the base is rather fragile.
If we accept these and the related implications, Hair Care gets simplified mentally.
Hair is, in a way, Waste Protein !
The protein in the hair is Keratin. The body throws out this unwanted protein as near waste needed only for
the nails and hair. The harder Keratin is in the nails. So one who has proper nails, may not suffer from Keratin
/ Protein deficiency for the hair alone.
And the Scalp is not a Second Stomach to digest Proteins, Vitamins, etc. [ so protein, vitamin et cetera
based shampoos have no productive value ]
The Life and the Numbers:
It takes 3 weeks time for a new hair to reach the scalp from the root. The normal growth of the Scalp hair is
about 1 cm / half an inch per month. In a normal head, there may be about 1 lac hair. The density in a normal
head is supposed to be about 500 per square inch. Roughly about 75% are active, 10-15% are resting and
about 10% are about to fall.
Many Indian Ladies have 30 inches long hair. So I think that the average life span of the hair may be about 5 years
for Indians. Then, mathematically the average hair fall can be about 55 per day in a normal head.. [The Western
view is that the life span of the hair is about 3 years. On that basis, they say that the hair fall per day can be
about 100] I do not agree. I wish to err on the safe side.
Why Hair Fall cannot be avoided ?
Some hair will have to fall every day because the life span of the hair is less than the life span of a human being.
If hair fall increases over 55 per day in a normal head, it is a clear and immediate warning note. The fallen hair on
the Comb serves the warning note [ apart from pillows, upper apparel, etc]
The new hair branches out from the old hair inside the skin before the fall of the old one. If the new hair has
not taken root or branched out from the old one, there is reduction in the hair density / hair count.
Unfortunately for some, the spurt of New hair, say per week, is less than the fall during the week. If that continues
for some time, the hair density starts reducing. This is the 2nd warning signal. The mirror reflects that a little more forcefully. Consult now a good Skin specialist / Dermatologist.
The Hair Strength
A hair can support a weight of about 80 gms. So do not weaken it. It is difficult to digest a hair. Hair can
absorb moisture which is why we do not have to dry clean it. Did not some one pull a truck with the hair to
get into Guinness Book of World Records ?
If the hair fall is normal , baldness or depleting density are automatically avoided.
Simple, isn’t it ?
The correct way to assess the Hair Loss is to count the number of Hair fall per day for a week or so and arrive
at the average figure per day.
After this factual assessment, Persons who are convinced about Hair Loss problem, should consult the Family
Doctor, a qualified Dermatologist or read a book like this.
Let us say that the present density is 70% of what it was at around age 18. Then the sensible approach is to
take efforts to halt the Hair Loss first and retain the balance.
A normal person does not loose 30% Hair Density in one day. It is a gradual process. Likewise one cannot
hope to gain back the lost hair in one day or a year. This book is for the otherwise normal persons and not for abnormal medical cases.
It is possible to drive a Car, say at 80 Kilometres per hour, but it is difficult to Reverse it even at 20 Kilometres
speed. Likewise once Depletion has occurred / Baldness has set in, it is a difficult and time consuming exercise
to get back the full Density.
Activity of the Roots
Not all the hair roots die.
They only become Dormant / inactive in the cases of persons with Thinning /Thinned heads. The Hair regain particulars about Minoxidil, Propecia and Swapna are in another section. Everything is not lost yet, even if
hair loss is slightly above normal and depletion is feared
Inactivity of the Hair Roots: The inactivity of the Hair Roots could be Temporary, Semi permanent or
permanent in common parlance.
Temporary: It is temporary in the cases of women after delivery. They shed a lot of hair after the child’s
birth. Most of them recover automatically after 4 to 6 months or so.
Semi Permanent: Semi permanency occurs in some cases due to illness, medicines etc. Psoriasis patients
regain the hair that they sometimes loose as a side effect of the medicines, as per a clarification received by
me from the Psoriasis Foundation in America in 1995 or so. In many such cases, the recovery commences
after the Medication is stopped. One should refer to the concerned Doctors.
Near Permanency: This occurs in cases of Male Pattern Alopecia or common Baldness. Chemotherapy
Drugs for Cancer Cure and few other medicines affect the Scalp hair considerably. After the effects of the
Drugs wears off, they stand a chance to recover on their own in many cases. Refer to your Doctor.
Baldness Scale: To indicate the gradually progressive level of Baldness, Hamilton’s ascending Baldness
scale is one assessing tool. In layman’s terms, if the Bald circle at the top / vertex has merged with the
retreated open / wedge shaped opening spaces at the sides, the top baldness rank of 8 has been reached.
If the Bald circle at the top is below 6 cms in diameter, the Baldness rank is about 5.