Beauty Ideas» Hair and Aging

What’s Behind Anti-Aging Hair care?

Rino Jasper — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:16:30 +0000

With their new-fangled “anti-aging” hair care products, marketers are aiming to meet the needs of an increasingly older population. But can we really believe brands’ promises that their products will make our hair “younger”, or at least look younger? Well there’s certainly no denying that our hair changes as we age (see our post on hair and aging), and giving its more loving care can only be a good thing, right?
So-called anti-aging hair care products boast higher doses of vitamins, silicone and most importantly, protein. As hair ages the strands becomes weaker, and therefore more lacking in protein. The addition of protein to the hair shaft, either through styling aids or shampoos and conditioners, means it is being strengthened.
Brands are also incorporating sun-protection ingredients into their products (there are a number of styling and cleansing items which now boast a SPF). This too is also logical, as hair that is regularly exposed to the sun (and its UV rays) tends to show signs of damage early on.
Using these products will do your hair good—they provide much-needed moisture and if they do indeed protect from the sun, what have you got to lose? But don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you buy anti-aging products for your hair you won’t experience thinning hair, a change in texture or, sometimes, full-blown hair loss; after all, you can’t turn back the clock. But no matter what your age, you can be kind to your hair, and that is the best you can do for young-looking locks. Give it much-needed moisture through conditioning masks at least twice a week, use shampoo and conditioner adapted to your hair type, go easy on the styling products, brush it every day and eat a healthy diet free of processed foods. Your hair will thank you for it, no matter how old it is!

Hair Changes Through the Years

Claudie Jasper — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:02:17 +0000

When most of us think of our hair getting older, we think of going gray. But color aside, there are other more subtle ways in which our hair changes as we age.
Most of these changes are due to the inevitable hormonal shifts that happen as we get older. Many women begin to see their hair change around the onset of menopause, or roughly when they reach their late forties, early fifties. Menopause brings a new balance of hormones to the body, and more specifically, male hormones now take the precedence over female hormones. (This is why you may see grandma sprouting more than a few hairs on her chin!)
As we get older most of us will also experience thinning hair (again, thank you hormones!) as the hair shaft’s diameter shrinks with age.
Our hair will also get drier as sebum production slows down. This is normal and should not come as a surprise. You can condition your hair more often to make up for loss moisture and remember to keep your product use to a minimum.
A more dramatic result for many women is hair loss. The hair we lose, which is normally replaced by a new strand, will no longer necessarily grow back. This can manifest itself as thinner hair on the top of your head and along the sides (yes, just like men), while your locks at the nape of the neck are usually safe, they rarely thin out. Like the rest of our bodies, our hair spends less time growing as we age, and more time resting!
If you notice your hair falling out dramatically when you reach menopause you can consult your doctor or an endocrinologist for further tests. Many women take the hormone replacement route, but that should also be a topic of discussion with your doctor.

The ABCs of Gray Hair

Rino Jasper — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:29:32 +0000

I’m sorry to say that no matter how technologically advanced our hair care products are today, our hair still ages, which means it thins, goes gray and sometimes falls out.
But what exactly happens to our hair as we age? Like our bones and organs, including our skin, there are just fewer cells reproducing as we get older, and our hair in no exception, and a lack of protein within the hair shaft means thinner and oftentimes coarser strands.
When it comes to gray hair, for years it’s been common knowledge that the melanin inside the hair naturally slows down production as we age. But a recent discovery by Germany and UK-based scientific teams has called into question the traditional thinking on why we go gray. Their recent studies have shown that the appearance of gray hair is actually caused by a build-up of hydrogen peroxide within the roots of our hair.

While hydrogen peroxide is naturally present in our bodies and our hair, a gradual build-up, say the experts, targets the enzymes that control the creation of melanin, which dictates our hair color.
What does this mean in the long term? For one it’s a great starting point. If scientists have hit on why our hair actually goes gray, is it so far-fetched to imagine a “cure” for those unwanted signs of passing time? Hair-coloring brands may not like the sound of this, but for the moment they are safe. We are still going gray, whether we like it or not!