By age 50, two-thirds of us have thinner, more brittle hair. Thankfully, at-home remedies can stop it in its tracks and help reverse it if it’s already occurred! Here’s what may be causing your hair loss and how to fix it.
Wash your hair daily.
When scalp cells absorb testosterone, the waste product produced can damage follicles and trigger male pattern baldness, even among women, research shows. Most women cut back on them as their hair thins, hoping that handling their hairless will help. To fix, first, give your scalp a thorough shampooing daily.
Up your iron intake.
Your ability to absorb iron can plunge after age 55 due to a gradual slowdown in the production of stomach acid and digestive enzymes-and one of the first signs of dipping iron levels in women is all over hair thinning. Eat four oz. of iron-rich beef, chicken liver, shellfish, turkey, chicken, or pork daily paired with something acidic, like tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, or orange juice. To maximize the benefit, avoid drinking coffee or tea or consuming calcium-packed dairy with meals containing iron-rich foods.
Lower your stress level.
Try doing 15 minutes of relaxing yoga twice daily. Gentle stretching and rhythmic breathing help reduce the production of hair-wrecking stress hormones for up to 12 hours.
Watch your vitamin A.
You need vitamin A, but taking in more than 40,000 IU daily can trigger patchy hair loss. The ideal dose for vitamin A is 10,000 IU daily, but many multis have 10,000 IU per pill to add up fast. Get it from orange produce (such as carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes) as beta carotene, a building block of vitamin A that is 100% safe.
Get your thyroid checked.
Losing the hair from your scalp and your eyebrows can signal an out-of-whack thyroid. People think they’ll be exhausted or gain weight if their thyroid isn’t functioning well, yet one of the earliest signs of thyroid trouble is often thinning head and eyebrow hair. Treating a sluggish thyroid can reverse hair loss in as little as ten weeks.