Looking at tangled hair in the brush every time you comb can severely affect confidence and sense of well being.

Thinning hairline is not only a cosmetic issue, but can sometimes reflect nutritional deficiencies or emotional stress.

Hair shedding and hair loss are different:

Temporary hair shedding can be the result of a variety of physiological causes. This is often recovered within months. But in hair loss, growth of new hair is reduced or prevented by hormonal, nutritional or other medical factors.

How much hair loss is excess?

About 50-100 hairs are shed normally every day. (1) . If the loss is significantly more, we should find out the cause and do something about it.

What causes hair fall?

Health of hair is largely related to nutrition supply to hair follicles. So any transient or permanent issues with nutrition supply will trigger hair loss.

That is why hair fall is commonly associated with periods of emotional or physical stress. 

Medical conditions including surgeries, illnesses like fever or infections, sudden weight loss, pregnancy, childbirth and lactation will cause hail fall. 

Also does stressful periods in life. Usually this type of hair fall stops when you recover. Hair will be back to its original thickness within few months of normalcy. This type of hair thinning is called ‘telogen effluvium’.

But if you constantly have psychological stress, hair fall might persist and eventually get worse. 

Some medications also can cause hair loss while you use those. Mainly birth control pills, antidepressants, NSAIDs, cancer chemo therapy, some antibiotics etc cause excess hair fall, which is recovered after stopping the medicine.

Several underlying diseases also can cause hair loss. Those include thyroid issues, other hormonal problems mostly associated with androgens like testosterone, some fungal infections, infection of the hair root (folliculitis), autoimmune diseases etc.

Alopecia areata is another autoimmune condition in which hair is lost excessively from small regions typically in circular patterns.

Sebaceous dermatitis is an inflammation of the oily gland of skin. This cause itching and flaking of skin as in dandruff. In severe conditions, it will cause excess hair loss.

Dandruff is itchy and flaking skin on the scalp. It is caused by action of some microbes because of the peculiarity of the skin in some people. Too much dandruff also can cause hail fall.

Pattern hair loss: This is mostly due to hereditary factors. In males, it is related to male hormone dihydrotestosterone. 

Nutritional deficiency: 

Macro and micro nutrients, especially vitamins B and D, calcium, magnesium, Zinc, iron and protein are very essential for hair. A deficiency in these because of bad food choices or issues with digestion and absorption can cause hair fall. Nutritional deficiency is more common than we think. That is mostly because of the absence or negligence of healthier food options in the abundance of fast and packaged food. Digestive issues also can cause deficiency because of low absorption of nutrients from food.

Ayurvedic treatment for hair loss:

Ayurvedic treatment for hair loss include a multi pronged approach. It includes identifying the accurate cause and administering medications, oils and applications. The ayurvedic medicines for hair loss addresses different issues according to specific conditions. It will correct issues including digestion, nutrition supply, circulation and inflammations, if any.

 Most kerala ayurvedic hair regrowth oils include herbs which nourishes the hair follicles. They prevent premature degeneration of the hair follicles and stimulate regrowth of new ones. 

Ayurvedic hair care also involves identifying the ‘dosha’ expressed in scalp and hair. Ayurvedic physicians usually asses the hair and scalp type according to the peculiarities of your hair and prescribe Ayurvedic hair oils and other remedies accordingly. Also the the correct reason behind the hair fall should be assessed. 

Some common kerala ayurveda products for hair care include ‘Narasimham oil’ to prevent hair loss and improve regrowth.

Malathyadi keram and Chemparathyadi keram are very good for improving the thickness and lustre of hair.

Narasimham tablets improve nutrition to hair follicles and prevent premature baldness and thinning. It also improves thickness of hair. 

Gandha tailam is another medicine which prevents hair fall and improve regrowth by supplementing essential nutrition.

Scurf oil helps to treat hair fall and other issues related to dandruff and scalp psoriasis.

Panchakarma cleaning is often administered to correct digestion and to detoxify, if the reason for hair loss is deeper.

Conditions like alopecia areata, scalp psoriasis etc require combination of specific medicines and panchakarma cure for sustained result.

References: 1. https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/insider/shedding)