[By Aurora Harper]

We fret about our open pores, zits breakout, crinkles around the eyes and a whole slew of other beauty woes, but nothing come close to the horror of a thinning scalp and premature hair loss. Not only can thinning hair be extremely scary and worrying especially if it’s happens all of a sudden, it can also be socially embarrassing. In a recent health survey, 64 per cent of GPs said they had come across more pre-menopausal women patients with hair loss in the past five years.Common causes of hair loss in women include escalating stress levels, hormonal imbalance, extreme dieting and eating disorders, anemia, immunological conditions such as alopecia areata or damage to scalp with hair dye, hair extensions and chemical straighteners. Whatever the underlying issue may be, be sure you tend to your thinning hair and don’t simply choose to ignore it. Besides the obvious aesthetics repercussions associated with a balding scalp, you could be missing out on an important health alarm in the process. From simple dietary changes to state of the art medical proven treatment, here are 5 effective ways to deal with thinning hair, restoring your lackluster tresses back to its former glory.

Eat to grow and glow

One of the easiest and most important way to rescue thinning hair is to make sure that your diet isn’t the culprit sabotaging you. In our constant pursuit to shed pounds and drop dress size, our diet may be lacking in important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and proteins that are essential for healthy hair growth, maintenance and strength.Hair is made of collagen fibers which are derived and made from our dietary intake of absorbable protein. Fish, eggs, grains, beans and Greek yogurt are all excellent choices for those watching their weight without compromising their nutritional intake.

B Vitamins, especially Biotin is another key nutrient greatly appreciated by growing hair follicles so eating a hearty portion of Vitamin B rich foods is essential to prevent thinning and premature hair loss. These include avocados, nuts, hemp seeds and oats, along with fish, eggs and chicken too.In order to keep your hair growing and help it stay strong and shiny, one should not shun fats like a plague. A small to moderate amount of healthy fats in your diet is necessary to ensure your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals required for a healthy head of Rapunzel’s locks. The best sources of healthy fats come from raw nuts, raw seeds, coconut oil and fatty fish such as salmon and barramundi.Don’t forget an extra helping of berries, dark greens and fresh herbs to load on the antioxidants pertinent for healthy skin, nails and hair growth!

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Knock, knock doc

If your diet is sound and not lacking in the above mentioned nutrients, make it a point to visit your family physician for a comprehensive medical check-up to look for possible causes behind your hair woes. Procrastination will likely lead to more stress which in turn is a well-known aggravator of hair loss.

“Thyroid diseases, anemia and autoimmune disorders such as Lupus can all lead to accelerated hair thinning.” Says Dr. Chua Han Boon, senior consultant physician from the SW1 Clinic, a one-stop destination for medical spa, cosmetics dermatology and cutting edge aesthetics surgery in Singapore. “Blood tests can be run to verify or determine any underlying issues and early intervention and treatment may prove timely to rescue thinning scalps.”

Minoxidil is a FDA approved topical medication that can be rubbed into the scalp once or twice daily to promote healthy hair growth and prevent further loss, very much like a “follicle fertilizer”. Some ladies do experience some hair regrowth or a slower rate of hair loss or both, and it may take up to 12 weeks or more for new hair to start growing for visible improvement. Available in 2%, 5% or as an additive in combination hair serum, Minoxidil acts as a vasodilator that keeps hair in the growing phase longer and can increase the diameter of those downy miniaturized hairs as well.

SW1 HAIR RECOVERY Strengthening & Rejuvenating Serum is an advanced hair tonic with the follicle stimulating trio of Minoxidil 5%, Ginkgo Biloba and Vitamin B6, aimed to provide total “tricho-juvenation” for both sexes.When used religiously as instructed, it will help to improve fine or thinning hair while helping to prevent hair loss. HAIR RECOVERY’s state-of-the-art ingredients help to strengthen damaged hair, build body, help increase diameter of the hair shaft and encourage new hair growth so hair is healthy, shiny and thicker.

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Styling smart with care

Another way to rescue your thinning hair is to watch how you style it. The damage done is usually accumulative over a period of time so it’s best to minimize hair coloring, perming, re-bonding, flat ironing and extreme heat.One useful tip is to stop pulling on your hair during brushing and avoid excessive combing when your hair is wet. Your hair is more susceptible to damage when it’s wet and traction injury is known to worsen any thinning scalp and pre-existing hair loss.

CHAI Hair Botox is a new revolutionary hair treatment out on the market that’s been garnering a lot of attention in the past year or so. Akin to the way Botox anti-wrinkle microinjections can wind back the clock for your facial wrinkles, Hair Botox can transform hurt and abused hair back to its lustrous, natural form, and this is where the similarity ends. There’s no actual .Botulinum toxin nor needles involved in this treatment, and Hair Botox is essentially a protein rich formula which fixes the imperfections in each individual strand of hair with a potent blend of collagen, biotin, keratin and silk protein.

CHAI filler anti-aging overnight treatment is a follicle-strengthening hair salve that’s rich in vitamins (panthenol, biotin, vitamin E), horse chest nut extracts as well as collagen protein that absorbs quickly and thoroughly without giving a greasy leave-on feel when applied and left overnight for the proteins to integrate with your follicles, to moisturize, nourish, and restore hair from inside out before washing off in the morning. Hair Botox and Hair Filler when combined, literally revert your hair back to its healthiest state by plugging up all holes, repairing internal damage, fixing the tears, and hydrating withered hair. Hair becomes softer, frizz-free, and much more manageable with regular use, and further damage to the hair shafts prevented.

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Say no to stress

It is easy to pass this off as an old wife’s myth but studies have shown that too much stress is indeed linked to hair thinning. Stress acts on our adrenal glands to increase the release of cortisol into our circulation which lead to the breakdown of proteins and vitamins, essential components of a healthy hair cycle. This in turn lead to an ugly cycle that’s hard to break with hair loss bringing forth more stress that adds up to our pre-existing woes. To make sure you are not stressed to the point of appreciable hair fall, be sure to have a back-up plan to de-stress and unwind. Getting adequate sleep, exercising, practicing yoga and meditation are all great ways to keep the cortisol level at bay. Health supplements such as calcium/magnesium complex, gingko and Vitamin B complex can help to combat stress and keep check on mood swings and emotional roller-coaster rides.

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Redefining hair restoration

Gaining momentum as an effective treatment of hair loss is laser therapy, and the FDA approved Revage 670 Laser is widely recognized as the gold standard that redefines hair restoration, providing a viable non-surgical option to rejuvenate thinning scalps and widening part-lines in ladies. With a total of 30 laser diodes, Revage provides critical coherent beams of laser light in a hood that goes over the scalp to ensure optimum laser energy contact, with maximum stimulation of each hair follicle at a much higher level than that provided by hand-held lasers of lesser make.It works by thickening fine, miniaturized hair and is therefore highly suitable for women with diffuse thinning or general weakening of their crowning glory.

“Studies have shown that Revage produces an 85% success rate in halting hair loss with an almost 40%of increased fullness reported.” Says Dr. Chua Han Boon. “Therefore, this treatment targets not only current hair thinning, but is useful to help prevent further hair loss.”

Revage can be done as a standalone treatment, or best paired with Revitascalpin the Keramax Scalp Program conceptualized by the beauty experts from the SW1 Clinic. Working in tandem with Revage to fight hair loss, Revitascalp is a holistic in-house specialty whereby a targeted blast of scientifically selected nutrients to help support a healthy growth of hair, including vitamin B12, folic acid, protein-building amino acids and a hefty shot of clinically proven Minoxidil is infused directly into the scalp via a special delivery system. Revitascalp helps to inhibit the production of hair-hindering DHT,and when combined with the hair stimulating effects of Revage, boost your chances of retarding any ‘hair-zards’ in the foreseeable future while restoring your thinned out coiffure to its former glory.

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