How To Have Good Hair Days As You Grow Older

Make every day a good hair day with these handy tips to help with aging hair conditions.

Who doesn’t like to flaunt thick and strong, gorgeous locks? Increasing age is certainly no exception in wanting to have healthy hair and shiny silver locks have got their own charm. However, maintaining your hair properly when you are older can sometimes be a challenge due to underlying health conditions that may contribute to hair loss and thinning. Silver Talkies got in touch with trichologists and dermatologists to understand age-induced hair conditions older adults may face and the various ways of dealing with them.

Common Age-Related Hair Conditions 

Androgenetic Alopecia: This is a very common form of baldness, especially among elderly men where they lose hair over the front, mid-scalp, and crown regions. This is mostly caused due to hereditary issues and effects of hormones with increasing age. 

Chronic Telogen Effluvium: Hair loss among elderly women where they lose hair from all over the scalp due to nutritional deficiency and stress. 

Female Pattern Hair Loss: This kind of hair loss is widely observed among elderly women where they lose hair from the center of the scalp with an increase in the partition width and hair thinning due to hormonal issues. 

Dr. Kala Vimal, Trichologist at Hairline International Hair & Skin Clinic, Bangalore, says, “In elderly males, hair loss is related to the effect of hormones and in elderly females, hair loss can occur due to nutritional deficiencies and the effect of hormones. Chronic systemic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, thyroid issues, systemic illnesses related to vital organs, protein loss due to organ dysfunction, a few medications are taken for chronic illnesses and chemotherapy can also lead to hair loss among older adults.”

If you’re a woman experiencing sudden hair loss after 50, you must be more cautious, highlights Dr. Sachith Abraham, Consultant - Dermatology, Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. “It could be due to androgen producing tumors. Certain fungal infections can also be a cause. Scarring hair loss may be due to several autoimmune conditions. Alopecia Neoplastica, a rare form of cutaneous metastasis in which underlying cancer spreads to the scalp, can be due to breast cancer metastasis.”

Healthy Hair Tips For Over 50s

• In your routine health check-up, do check your Haemoglobin, Ferritin, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D levels, thyroid profile, and protein levels in the blood. Also, check for protein loss in urine and an additional serum-free testosterone level in females for female pattern hair loss. Anything abnormal in the reports has to be corrected. 

• Wash hair regularly or alternate days, use anti-dandruff shampoo and caffeine, peptide-based shampoo without paraben and sulfates. 

• Any lice infestation or dermatitis of the scalp needs to be addressed by a Dermatologist.

• Regarding oil application to the hair, if the scalp is very dry or hairs are frizzy, coconut oil can be used, maybe once every 15 days. You can keep the oil for 2 to 4 hours and wash it with regular shampoo. Never leave the oil overnight as it may cause dandruff and folliculitis. 

• Eat a complete protein-rich diet. Iron is important for hair. Do not use harsh products on your scalp and choose the right products. Use gentle shampoos and conditioners. 

A multidisciplinary approach is required if facing severe hair issues after 50, believe experts. “There are various advanced treatments available apart from topical and oral medications like lower-level laser therapy, derma roller to stimulate hair growth, hair transplant if fit for surgery, and a good donor is available. You can also opt for a neurosurgical modality plan for hair systems like toupes, patches, wigs, or hair fibers,” says Dr. Vimal.

Dr. Abraham suggests consulting your dermatologist who will assess what tablets or products are good to increase hair growth. “The doctor will weigh the pros and cons and discuss with you all the options including hair transplants. Certain tablets like finasteride which is given to men for prostate issues also tend to increase hair growth. Stem cell therapy, hair follicle culture are futuristic techniques which may still be materialized in time,” he says. 

Your hair needs extra care and attention as you age just like any other part of the body and these tips can help you maintain #goodhairdays on all days irrespective of how old you are.

Do you have a special hair care routine? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy: Gabriella Clare Marino/Unsplash; Pixabay