In today’s blog, I’m going to cover hair and scalp disorders such as;
Alopecia, which is a very common hair loss problem that occurs in patches around the scalp. There are other types of alopecia which I will cover in future blogs.
Psoriasis, which is skin disorder that forms multiple layers of skin cells that look like thick scales of lumpy white skin. They are commonly found on the scalp. When aggravated or picked at, they can become red, angry and sore.
Hair density loss, (Hair becoming thinner). Hair thinning is a big problem for all, when once thick heads of healthy locks, the hair falls out gradually leaving thinner hair that is limp and lack lustre.
These disorders effect all ages from young children to old people and can be a huge cause of low self esteem, especially in adolescents.
There are lots of things that you can do yourself to help these disorders, as well as or besides the prescribed medications, like a healthy diet that would include essential proteins and vitamins and milder products on the skin and hair that wouldn’t irritate. fresh air and exercise will keep your circulation flowing to all the little nerve endings that feed a hair follicle! But one of the most important things that you need to do for these disorders is to be Stress Free! Because Stress is The major trigger here! There’s no denying that there is a lot of stress in our lives these days but we really need to manage it by finding out what makes us stressed. And dealing with it, there and then. That’s not so easy. But unless we do, it won’t matter what treatment we use for any of these hair and scalp problems because the condition will not change.
So, how do we tackle stress? Well firstly, we need to identify our feelings. Are we Angry, Sad, Worried, Anxious, Resentful, Blameful, Judgemental, Unhappy with ourselves and Tired? More than likely we are feeling at least one or more of these emotions and it is causing us to be stressed. But we’re better off starting with one of them. Start by writing down one of these emotions, lets start with Anger. Write down all the things that are making you annoyed or angry and look at them. When you see them in front of you, you can start figuring out each one.
In my own case, many years ago on my road of self help, I was angry about my job, my relationship, my children, my personality. I didn’t like myself very much! So the first thing I had to do was accept me, well how I looked anyway! This was me, warts and all, so what else could I change about me, being realistic of course! The main thing that caused me sadness and guilt was my temper tantrums. If things weren’t going my way I would blame someone or a situation. I became resentful. This is a major cause of sadness within oneself. So I had to shake off all of this anger, resentment and blame. I had to accept my capabilities and my limitations and I had to accept my families idiosyncrasies also. This is not an easy job because I had to practice it every minute of every day to free my mind of resentments and negativities and fill my mind with acceptance and positivities. But This Does Work! I also had to forgive myself, I was doing the best I could with the knowledge of life I had. I practiced gratitude, which is an amazing gate to mental freedom!
Blaming someone else for things that drive you mad is just not worth it. For one thing, you’re passing on all that negativity to your child, husband, wife, sister, mother, father, teacher, the list is endless, but you get the picture. I had also forgotten one little thing about people, that we are all only human! Yes, each one of us has our limitations. Some might seem less than others, but that’s also another thing, don’t compare yourself or your children with others. If you keep the focus on your own issues, you shouldn’t have the time to look at others. And remember, they are humans too with their own set of life’s instructions!
Have realistic expectations for yourself and your family! Letting each individual be the person they want to be will give you lots of mind space! You may be just more particular about the way a household chore is being done or not done, but really, how important is it?And maybe your child is not fulfilling your academic wishes? Of course, he has to follow the basic rules of life, education and then job, being self supportive. Anything after that has to be what he wants, not what you want. I had to take on my own responsibility here for causing a lot of my own stress by not listening to my family’s needs.
Worry is a big part of life. The reason we worry is that we’re in a situation we can’t cope with. Debt is a big one for us adults. The thing to do here is little by little. For debt, deal with it head on. Pay off small regular payments. If you can’t talk to your creditors, write to them, explain things, there is always a way through. And don’t worry about tomorrow, just keep focused on the things you need to do today. If you’re in a panic mode and everything seems too much for you, try this; Make very small goals for yourself, for starters, don’t look at the whole big mess of life at once, just look at one thing at a time that you can do, eg.’I will load the dish washer in the next five minutes and then I will have a cup of tea,’ ‘I will hoover in the next five minutes after that.’ Take regular little rests in between each task. ‘I can now write a list of my outgoings and a list of my incomings;’ See where you can spend the least money and stick to it. Bring a calculator to your grocery shop! Divide your income to cover all your bills, no matter how small the payment is, it helps! Do the same for all of your other symptoms of stress, figure each one out, the why’s and how’s and what you can do about them.
And Children worry too! Performing in school is a big one for children. Being part of a big social scene can be very worrying for an adult. Can you imagine what it’s like for a child? Even though your child may be able to talk back to you with all the answers, he is still a child with no life experience. You need to deal with their little anxieties from as early as they start. They may not be able to tell you their problem, but if they start to wet their pants, pick at their skin, wash their hands a hundred times, behave badly in school, begin to lose their hair in patches, get psoriasis, hair thins, you know they are not coping with the situation they are in, ( When a child cannot verbally express himself, this is actually when these scalp/hair disorders begin. The hidden worries have to come out some way!) You may not be able to change their situation but someone wise once told me, ‘Make their home a place where they can be themselves with no pressure. Comfort them, cuddle them and reassure them. Listen to them.’
So now we know how to prevent the stress that causes havoc in our mechanics and has a direct effect on our skin, scalp and hair, what actual treatments can we use?
For the treatment of Alopecia? Well, inside the scalp, beneath the hair follicle, blood has stopped flowing to feed the follicle. Scientific evidence is trying to prove that the body thinks the hair follicle is a bacteria and is fighting it off, especially when it’s total alopecia, which is when all the hair falls out. And that might be one reason, but look at it this way, when you are totally stressed out, your blood flow is all array anyway, possibly not reaching the hair follicle beds, if you’re regularly worried and stressed out, the hair follicle is consistently losing too much nourishment to survive and dies off! It makes sense.
My personal favourite for hair loss/thinning is ‘Special Liver Formula’ capsules from Tony Quinn stores. This is 100% freeze-dried liver which is very high in iron which is also a very high protein. Some reasons for people’s hair loss is because of medication they may be on or age and hereditary baldness. There are some topical products that are aimed at stimulating the blood flow around the hair follicle bed and have some good success. If your reason for hair loss is that your diet is poor with little protein, you will see a marked improvement in hair returning to it’s former glory with the liver capsules. They also help your nails too! The cost is about 50 euros for 500 capsules which is not bad. You’s also be surprised how little protein children are eating today and it’s a much needed source of food for brain growth and development! This product can be given to kids too but if they can’t take capsules, my other favourite iron tonic is Floradix, which is available in every chemist and most stores and it is about 20 euros for the full size bottle.
I remember one of the worse cases I saw of scalp Psoriasis in my very early years of hairdressing. The man’s head was covered in unsightly lumps, some which were angry and red looking and some were seeping puss, which describes the multiplication of cells on the skin. But I had started cutting his hair, so I just carried on. The man was really embarrassed and in obvious discomfort. Although I had known what Psoriasis was, I was inexperienced in the condition, so I couldn’t offer much help. A couple of years after that, I had also come across a young child of about seven with Psoriasis all over his legs, face, arms and even his finger nails. It looked liked sores on his skin and unlike the layered lumps on the man’s head. The mom reassured me that it was just psoriasis and I continued cutting his hair. She told me that her son was a nervous boy and seemed to be afraid of everything. She didn’t realise then that the boy’s anxiety’s and inability to express it was the cause of his uncomfortable sores. But I was beginning to see the connection with Psoriasis and various clients stress levels. So again, the first thing you have to do is figure out whats going on inside of you!
Sailcylic acid is a popular ointment for Psoriasis. It works by shedding the scales of the sores. Coal tar and steroid based creams are good too. And warm sunny weather is also very good for ridding the skin of the sores, but figure this, two weeks relaxing on a sun lounger reading a book! Get the picture? You are in a relaxing environment, no stress!
Jean xxx
