Hair fall blues: Pajama party becomes forum for women's follicular woes

Alexi Alunan-Sarmiento, a new mom, described her hair fall problem as “embarrassing.” Alexi said that “I’ve always had it even when I was just a student. I even recall, studying abroad, my attention was called by my foreigner classmate who was sitting behind me. She was so bothered by my falling hair. It was that bad.”

 

100 strands lost a day

 

Like Alexi, model Marilen Montenegro shared a similar predicament. “I noticed experiencing hair fall when I would have my hair drastically styled for a project," she said. "Whenever they’d put a lot of products to my hair and it will require for me to use a bottle of conditioner to get it undone. My hair would always get the brunt of it.” 

 

Dermatologist Jean Marquez, who was present at the event said that “about 90 percent of hair in a person’s scalp is growing, each follicle has its own cycle that can be influenced by age, diet and so many other factors.” She then added that “Hair loss or hair fall is experienced by nearly everybody. The average adult has 100,000 to 150,000 of hair strands and we lose around 100 per day.”  

There are several factors that influence hair fall. Hormones, genes, diet and stress are most common but there is also hair loss triggered by medical conditions, medical procedures, drugs and injuries.

 

“Pregnancy and childbirth also cause hair loss, and mind you, losing hair is not just for adults. I have treated a 10-year-old patient with this problem,” added Dr. Marquez.

 

Yoga instructor Monica Manzano asked if “constantly tying one’s hair in a tight bun also a factor? As a yoga teacher, I am very guilty of that.” 

 

Dr. Jean Marquez explained “tying, dyeing and styling one’s hair may contribute to hair breakage. Hair fall is a natural process while hair breakage is a result of mishandling or abuse.” 

 

Common and treatable 

 

The panic-stricken group was immediately pacified when our dermatologist appeased them by declaring that “hair fall is normal, common, treatable and more so, preventable.”   

Health and nutrition play a very important role in minimizing hair loss, food rich in protein, iron and zinc are proven effective in promoting hair growth. Stress management will also help “and there are revolutionary products being continously developed to address this issue. We just have to keep ourselves updated,” added Marquez.

 

Apples Aberin, former model and now a PR practitioner imparted that, aside from experiencing hair loss herself, she has been on a quest to find products that will aid in this concern. 

 

“Most mass produced hair fall products aim to target hair from breakage,” said Apples. “This shouldn’t be the case, the product should work on the follicle glue which holds the hair to the scalp.” 

 

She then shared that “The Dove Rescue Hairfall Treatment line has a patented ingredient called Trichazole, this is scientifically proven to lock the hair in place, taking care of the ‘root’ cause.”

 

Dr. Jean Marquez agreed that the right hair products, with proper diet, nutrition and rest can decrease hair fall. She further reminds us to be “gentle with our hair and that hair loss issues prevents it from being our crowning glory.” – KDM, GMA News