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Hair loss is an ailment that is common among both men and women, but its effects are more devastating for women as it's not acceptable for women to bald as they age as much as it is considered inevitable for men as they grow older.

Prevention or even cure is easy if one can determine the causes of hair-loss. In the past, hair loss in women was mostly associated with genetic factors, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, scalp diseases (alopecia, dandruff), thyroids or anaemia. Today the list of probable causes is longer which includes stress (due to work-life balancing act), poor diet, low water intake, smoking and alcohol, coloring with harsh chemicals, straitening (with chemicals and hot iron) and pollutants in the environment.

Once the cause for hair loss is identified, prevention and cure is easy in most cases. For medical conditions like alopecia and thyroids, it's important to consult a doctor for proper treatment. But for most of the other factors, it's possible to prevent hair loss by making simple lifestyle changes.

Some rules to live by are:

1. Maintain moderation
Their is no harm in styling or colouring hair, but like most things in life if you overdo it, then your heading for a bald head! After these treatments, it is of utmost importance to take extra care by conditioning and oil massage to stimulate growth.

2. Go back to Nature
Include in your diet, eggs, milk, fresh fruits and veggies rich in calcium, iron and vitamins to prevent anaemia. Avoid coffee and tea during periods and drink fruit juice instead. A balanced diet prevents most ailments including skin and hair problems. Drink warm water every morning to detoxify your body and also to prevent constipation. If suffering from constipation, increase fibre intake in your diet.

3. Relax
Stress is the main cause of hair-loss for both men and women because it causes other problems like acidity, indigestion or migraine all of which cause trauma to the mind and thereby hair-loss. Practicing relaxation techniques like yoga or tai-chi help ease stress, physically and emotionally.Alternatively, simple tasks like walking on the beach or listening to music are also ways to relax oneself. Do what you need to do to de-stress as its one of the most important things towards prevention of hair loss.

4. Hygiene
Keep hair and scalp clean of build-up of oil and dirt. Generally shampooing and conditioning hair 1-2 times a week keeps hair and scalp healthy. Unless one has extremely oily scalp, shampooing everyday is harmful. Furthermore, depending upon ones hair type, warm oil massage helps stimulate hair growth. But one must remember that what is suitable for one may not be suitable for others. If oil massage suits you, here's a herbal remedy for aiding and maintaining hair-growth:
Mix 2 tsp coconut oil,2 tsp almond oil,2tsp olive oil and 1 tbsp Castor oil and warm with 1/2 a tsp of fenugreek seeds (available in Asian grocery stores).Keep this mix for a week in an air-tight dry bottle and massage with this every fortnight or so.

Practise the above simple steps and it's possible to keep hair-loss at bay! But one must consult a doctor if hair loss does not stop even after making lifestyle changes as the cause might be something that can be cured only by medical treatment.

Learn more about this author, Soma Datta.
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