Did you know that ourhair is more than just a fashion accessory? Oh sure, it can help us express our personality and style, but it also has a lot to say about our overall health . Curious, right? So why would our hair be able to provide information about our health?
In reality, our hair reflects many of our lifestyle habits, including our diet, as well as our nervous and hormonal state. Do you know what your hair can say about you today? Let's discover together what these unsuspected signals that our hair sends us mean.
Hair structure: a reflection of our health
Have you ever thought about the appearance of your hair as a reflection of your overall health? Well, it is. In the same way that our eyes are the windows to the soul, our hair can be the mirror to our body. It is formed by a protein called keratin and grows from a follicle, a living structure in the skin that is richly supplied with blood vessels. These vessels provide the nutrients needed for healthy hair growth.
But what happens when this process is disrupted? Let's say your body is lacking certain vitamins or minerals, or is stressed. Wouldn't it make sense that your hair would be affected? Indeed, our hair suffers the consequences of these disruptions and this reality is often noticeable to the touch and sight.
Healthy hair is typically thick, shiny, supple , and strong. On the other hand, if your hair becomes dry, brittle, dull, or thin , it may be a sign of an underlying health issue. For example, an iron deficiency can lead to hair loss, while an overproduction of hormones by the thyroid gland can make hair thin and brittle.
It's also important to note that the health of our hair can reflect broader issues in our bodies. For example, sudden hair loss can be a sign of high stress or anxiety . Conversely, hair that's suddenly thicker can signal pregnancy, due to the hormonal changes that come with it.
Let's not forget that the changes we see in our hair are often gradual and depend on health conditions interacting with each other. Genetics, eating habits, stress management and our hair care all have an influence on the health of our hair .
Hair Problems: Symptoms of Internal Imbalances
Stress , for example, can cause a multitude of hair problems. From thinning to telogen effluvium (a condition that causes excessive hair loss), your strands react sharply to a state of anxiety provided by your nervous system. Even hormonal imbalances, such as those seen during pregnancy or menopause, can cause noticeable hair alterations.
Similarly, a nutrient deficiency can also manifest itself in the form of altered texture and health of your hair. Have you ever heard of the importance of iron for your hair? Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a condition that results in hair loss. The importance of a balanced diet for maintaining healthy hair is hard to dispute.
Did you know that more serious conditions, such as diabetes or thyroid disorders, can also be reflected in hair problems? If we pay attention, it is clear that our hair is a true sentinel of our health.
Hair Growth: An Indicator of Our Overall Well-Being
Hair growth variations can be seen as a direct manifestation of our overall health . Is our body in balance? Is our internal system functioning at its full potential? The answers to these questions sometimes find an unexpected echo in the state of our hair.
Lack of growth, or alopecia , can be the result of a variety of health issues. A nutritional deficiency, prolonged stress, an undiagnosed chronic illness: all factors potentially revealed by a slowdown or stoppage of the hair growth cycle. Why is this?
Why? Because each of these states causes our body to reroute its resources, thus neglecting certain less vital functions. Among these, hair growth is often put aside.
But then, how can we interpret these signals? In a healthy individual, anagen (the growth phase in the hair cycle) generally lasts from 2 to 7 years. A significant reduction in this duration, combined with the loss of more than 100 hairs per day, can be a precursor to a health problem.
