Hair loss is a rather common issue that affects men and women in different ways. Professor Antonio Costanzo, Supervisor of Dermatology at Humanitas, spoke about this in an interview for Radio 24’s program “Heart and money”.
The loss of a little hair is normal. Even though we can’t count them, we can lose around 80-100 hairs per day. However, more significant losses should be studied further.
“We should also take the thickness of hair into account. Hair may not fall, but it wears thin and, cycle after cycle, it becomes way thinner”, Professor Costanzo explains.
The causes of hair loss
Androgenetic alopecia (the one we usually call baldness) may affect men and women alike. This form of alopecia depends on a genetic predisposition and on the extreme sensibility of hair follicles to androgen hormones.
The thinning manifests itself with a receding hairline in men, while women experience a thinning in the central area of the head, their ponytail wears thin and hair becomes thin and fragile.
Hair loss also depends on hormonal and food-related factors. In fact, a too-strict or iron-poor diet may play a role, especially in women.
The role of diet
“A healthy, balanced diet is paramount for many aspects of our body, such as stronger hair. In fact, a bad diet, along with pollution, stress, exposure to the sun and to smoke, may play a key role in determining the hair loss (especially in women).
As is the case with organs, hair need vitamins and trace elements in order to become strong and healthy. In particular, biotin (found in whole cereals), B-group vitamins (legumes), vitamin E (parsley, carrots and spinach) and antioxidants (dark green-leaved vegetables, berries, tomatoes and fruit with yellow or orange peel). The intake of these substances may slow down the appearance of androgenetic alopecia”, Professor Costanzo points out.
