My friend Jordan has the best hair. When we were in high school her hair was down to her waist and every guy in our class wanted to go out with her. (she is also tall and beautiful) I wanted to grow my hair out to be like hers, but my hair is nothing like hers – it is fine, flyaway hair that should never be allowed past my shoulders. Her hair however, could do no wrong. No matter what the cut, what the color, it was so full, heavy and straight that it always looked like a Pantene commercial.

And then one day we were out on a hike, and she told me that her hair was starting to fall out – that she was scared every time she shampooed her hair because of how much hair was left in her hands as she rinsed. It was getting to the point that she didn’t want to comb her hair for fear of pulling more out. She was completely freaked out and had no idea what was causing it – she was way too young for menopause and she wasn’t sick. Evidently sudden thinning hair most commonly affects women between the ages of 25 and 35, (who knew?) an can be triggered by various factors such as pregnancy, hormone imbalance, stress, an unbalanced diet or medication. With so many causes to choose from a girl just doesn’t know where to begin!

Well…..most women don’t, but Jordan has always been proactive, and as soon as she realized what was happening with her hair she was all over it. She was determined to find an effective treatment for thinning hair. And that was important, she wanted to protect the hair that was left on her head above all else. She did not delay, she did not try to distinguish between treating internally or externally – she just did it all.

EXTERNAL TREATMENTS FOR THINNING HAIR
The first thing to do is change shampoos to one that is specifically formulated for weak, thinning hair. Shampoos like Rene Furterer “Forticea” stimulating shampoo which is gentle on the hair but stimulating to the scalp are extremely important. As hair weakens, it needs to be kept clean to prevent further breakage, but you have to be sure the act of cleaning does not worsen the results. I think you should always choose specially formulated, salon products with the highest quality ingredients. If you have great hair you want to keep it that way. If you don’t then you need to help it.

Equally important are leave-on scalp treatments. Two major factors of sudden thinning hair are lack of circulation in the scalp, and missing vitamins in the diet. Finding a treatment formulated to combat these issues and then using them faithfully, will have a big impact on the success or failure of your strategy. An excellent product that targets the causes specific to female sudden hair loss is Rene Furterer’s RF 80 Concentrated serum.

INVESTIGATE YOUR THINNING HAIR
Jordan started with a visit to her GP but he dismissed her fears and told her she had plenty of hair left. Really? Exactly how much hair is plenty of hair when it is falling out? She went to an endocrinologist and had her hormonal levels tested. Normal. Finally she went to a nutritionist and they dissected her diet. Jordan has always been bone thin, and I used to wonder if her slenderness was coming at a nutritional cost. Evidently it was. She came out of that with a list of supplements which she began taking faithfully.

TREATING HAIR LOSS AND THINNING HAIR FROM WITHIN
And here is an interesting newsflash. When you experience sudden hair loss, you can be sure diet is part of the problem. The miracle vitamin for Jordan turned out to be BIOTIN.
She began taking a Biotin supplement AND sprinkling brewers yeast on her salads. She also began taking vitamins A, B, C, and E. Her hair started growing in – first with fuzz, then with actually hair.

So here’s the lowdown on supplements to boost your hair’s health – this is what Jordan takes every day:
Vitamin A – ? proven to boost immune system function, improving an individuals nails and hair health.
B Vitamins – play a vital role in maintaining healthy hair and nails
Vitamin C-improves blood circulation to the scalp and hair follicles
Vitamin E- assists the body’s cells with oxygen uptake which increases circulation to the scalp.
BREWERS YEAST – also known as Biotin – can be sprinkled on almost anything!

Jordan and I went to brunch about 3 weeks ago and her hair looked wonderful (of course) and I complemented her on her new layered cut. That’s when she told me that was just the re-growth. On her it looked like a $250.00 cut. Figures.