Natural ways to prevent or even stop hair loss

Many people apparently like having no hair. You see guys everywhere who are bald—by choice. On the other hand, retaining or re-growing hair is a billion-dollar industry.

Most products aren’t particularly effective. Some you have to use for the rest of your life, and some are downright nasty.

Propecia, for example, Big Pharma’s big seller for men who want to regrow hair, warns that common side effects are impotence and decreased sex drive. A 2011 study found these occurring in more than 90 percent of users.

Yes, women think a full head of hair on a guy is sexy. But for a guy to lose interest in sex—in order to look sexy?

Ironic, isn’t it?

And it’s not just men

Women are also vulnerable to hair loss. Female pattern baldness affects some 30 million American women.

Compared to male pattern baldness, when the hairline recedes and the top of the head sheds, female pattern baldness appears as thinning hair overall, a center part that grows wider, or a bald spot at the crown, like men.

Women don’t often have the receding hairline common among men.

So, what’s at the root of female pattern hair loss?

It can be any of up to 30 different medical conditions, including thyroid problems and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It can be the birth of a child. It can be family history hiding in your genes.

If you’ve lost or are losing hair, have your doctor check you for an identifiable medical source. Tackling that is your best starting point.

Of course, the usual suspects—diet and stress—top the list.

Healthy hair needs healthy food

Your hair is made up of a protein called keratin that’s created in your hair follicles. Healthy follicles create about six inches of new hair per year. The old hair is pushed out and falls away.

At any given time, about 90 percent of your hair is actively growing. The remaining ten percent is “resting.”

Hair growth requires fuel. When the fuel supply to your skin, or any other organ, is inadequate, the creation and distribution of the nutrients it needs slow to a crawl.

The Standard American Diet (SAD, the perfect acronym) fails miserably as fuel. Not only does it fail to provide even close to all the nutrients you need for health, it piles on disease-producing sugars, fats, preservatives, flavor “enhancers,” sodium overload, and more.

Eat right—fresh, local, organic, heavy on fruits and veggies, healthy oils, whole grains—and you give your hair what it needs to for improved hair growth.

Please…just relax

Stress is another common cause of hair loss. It can be as dramatic as a serious physical or emotional trauma or as common as a generally stressful lifestyle—work, family, health issues. But the results are the same—your body is in overdrive, burning the candle at both ends.

We recommend yoga, tai chi, qi gong, sports, exercise, meditation, dancing—anything that helps you focus more on improving your health, and less on your daily dilemmas, helps greatly in hair loss prevention.

Is it your mom’s fault?

Last, but not necessarily least, your genetic profile may predispose you to hair loss. A team at a German university says it has identified a gene variation that may play a role in male pattern baldness.

If the men in your parents’ families have all their hair, that could be your good luck. Initial research suggested that the baldness gene was a sex-linked trait, distributed on the X chromosome, but new investigation shows that there are several genes that affect baldness and they are inherited from both parents.

That means that if your dad, uncles, or cousins have or had male pattern baldness, your likelihood of the same increases.

We expect similar discoveries will show a genetic predisposition for female pattern baldness, as well.

But men and women both can fight back against hereditary hair loss—without the major drug companies’ “solutions.”

Prevent, stop, or re-grow naturally

So your diet’s good, you’re un-stressed, and you’re losing hair. What now?

These natural formulations have been used for centuries and are safe, natural alternatives to mainstream hair loss treatments:

Castor oil

Castor oil has been used forever to improve scores of conditions—including hair health.

• Mix it half and half with coconut oil, olive oil, or jojoba oil
• Massage into scalp and hair
• Cover hair with a warm towel or shower cap. Keep covered for 2–8 hours or overnight. Wash out thoroughly.

Silica

This wonder micronutrient helps our bodies create collagen, a key player in maintaining healthy hair follicles. Get it in liquid form—drink 15 drops in 15 oz of water twice daily.

Hair ReVive

Hair ReVive (for women) contains the B vitamin biotin, which is essential for hair and nail health. Most women get only 150–200 mcg from diet. Biotin dosage recommendations vary widely, but we stand by Hair ReVive’s 6,000 mcg of biotin plus other hair health enhancers.

Hair loss prevention without the side effects

You can find countless other natural preventive and regrowth formulations for women and men online, using these sweet ingredients and more:

• Jojoba oil
• Saw palmetto
• Garlic juice, onion juice, or ginger juice
• Rosemary
• Licorice
• Lavender
• Almond or sesame oil
• Green tea

If you’re tired of losing your hair, these natural solutions for hair loss in men and women are worth trying before turning to hair loss drugs and their potential harmful side effects.

Stopping hair loss without dangerous side effects?

All we can say is “Hair, hair!”

…and take good care.

References

• “Treatment.”
• “What is biotin?“
• “Liquid Silica.”
• “20 Ways to reduce hair loss in men.“
• “Home Remedies for Hair Loss in Wome“
• “Understanding Hair Loss—the Basics.”
• “Hair loss.”S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.. Accessed Feb. 9, 2015.
• “ Alopecia (adult and pediatric).” Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2014.
• “Hair loss.” Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. Accessed Feb. 9, 2015.
• Van Zuuren EJ, et al. “Interventions for female pattern hair loss.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Accessed Feb. 13, 2015

Disclaimer: Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Last Updated: August 4, 2020
Originally Published: October 10, 2016