When you’re experiencing hair loss, it’s hard not to fall for the marketing claims of different shampoos to completely rid you of your problem. Only there are countless shampoos available in the market, making the same assertion. And you might’ve noticed that even after trying multitudes of hair loss shampoo from different companies, you continue to lose your hair.
You might end up buying the bottle because, at the front and centre of it, there’s a glossy label that says, “For Hair Loss.” It’s easy enough. The product is literally telling you that the solution is standing right in for you, so buy it. To overcome your problem as soon as possible, you might go for the “hair loss shampoo” without even taking a look at the ingredients on the bottle’s back.
The point isn’t to bash all hair loss shampoos. Some are actually quite helpful and deliver on their promises. But for you to find such a shampoo, awareness of the ingredients is important.
Most shampoos don’t end up working for various reasons. Some chemicals are even known to be dangerous for the hair and the scalp. You need to make sure that you avoid those to not further exacerbate your hair loss.
What Is Causing You to Lose Your Hair?
That’s where you need to begin before buying any hair loss shampoo. There are many reasons why you may be losing your hair other than your age and genetics (pattern baldness).
It could be due to iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency, PCOS, hormonal imbalance, certain hairstyles, and illnesses like infection, autoimmune disease, thyroid disorder, STDs, etc.
Hair loss shampoos are very unlikely to work for them. So, you need to know the answer to the “why” of hair loss before the “what” to do for hair loss.
Does Hair Loss Shampoo Ever Work?
There’s no easy way to answer that. If you’ve been asking around for some hair loss solutions from your friends and family, some might’ve recommended you a particular “hair loss shampoo.” They might’ve even raved about its fantastical effects.
Now, it might prompt you to look up the said shampoo on the internet. You can end up finding thousands and thousands of glowing reviews for that shampoo. Surely, they can’t all be lying.
Hair loss shampoos usually claim to work by increasing the blood flow to the scalp. This will, of course, increase the nutrients reaching the hair roots, helping them grow. Other than that, there are caffeine-based shampoos.
Some studies have shown that caffeine might potentially reverse the effects of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. Only, these claims have no long-term clinical studies to back them up. So, there’s no way to say that your caffeine-based shampoo might work for hair loss.
Another problem with these shampoos is that there’s no saying how effective they are once diluted. You might barely notice any difference in your hair after using such shampoo. So, you can’t completely rely on them to regrow your hair.
Now, certain ingredients in volume-increasing shampoos can increase the strength of your hair while trapping moisture in the hair strands. This gives them a fuller look. The important thing when looking for hair loss solutions is finding out the actual root cause of your hair loss. Otherwise, the treatment might not end up working at all, no matter how good or expensive your shampoo is.
So, Is A Hair Fall Shampoo Worth Buying?
If you’re losing your hair, you might feel extremely frustrated at times. Marketers profit from this vulnerability. To make your hair fall stop, you might be ready to purchase any product that would help you. However, these products don’t function well most of the time. You’ll end up feeling disappointed and even more frustrated.
You should also know that any “hair loss shampoo for women” and “hair loss shampoo for men” have no difference between them (except for the fragrance sometimes), so don’t fall for them! Looking up the “best shampoo for hair loss” online might have you come across a lot of unreliable results.
Shampoo and conditioner for hair loss can end up costing you a lot of money in the long run. You might think that it’ll take some time for the product to start working, and it’ll keep you going for some time. But then you’ll eventually end up realizing that it isn’t making any difference and it was just money down the drain.
It’s true that some shampoo brands make sure to perform a lot of laboratory tests of their products to make sure that they are effective and actually work. However, it might just be that the number of ineffective shampoo ingredients outweighs the effective ones. Therefore, it might have a minimal effect on your hair and scalp.
So, What Shampoo Is Good for Hair Loss?
If the reason you’re losing your hair is a seasonal change or poor hair care, switching to a better shampoo can stop your hair from falling. So, it can’t be said that hair loss shampoos don’t work at all. There’s just no easy answer to this question. But it mainly comes down to the cause of the hair loss and your shampoo ingredients.
There are two different types of hair loss shampoos. One you can get over-the-counter, and the other is prescription-based. It’s the latter that’s actually a hair fall shampoo.
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Prescription Shampoos
They simply work by curbing the production of hormones that are responsible for causing pattern baldness. Your dermatologist might end up prescribing it to you because it might work better on you than the over-the-counter shampoos. These can work quite well if the patient has dandruff, hair loss due to psoriasis, or any other issue.
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Over-the-Counter Shampoos
It can work well if it contains ingredients such as vitamin E, H, B3, amino acids (histidine), ginseng, lavender, Saw Palmetto, minoxidil, and peppermint oil. You should look out for these when buying an over-the-counter- shampoo.
Can Shampoo Cause Hair Loss?
It might because of certain ingredients. Try to avoid those shampoos which contain:
- Chemical fragrances
- Artificial colours
- Sulfates (Sodium Laureth and Lauryl Sulfate)
- Propylene glycol
- Parabens
- Silicones
- Alcohol
- Urea
- Salt
Certain “film-forming” ingredients can prevent the growth of new hair. The sulfates can actually break down the protein that your hair really needs. Moreover, it can strip away the moisture from your hair, making it dry and prone to breakage.
Now, you might actively try and seek out a shampoo that makes your hair smell out of this world. But it’s better if you avoid shampoos with fragrances because they can damage your hair. This is even worse if you’re already battling damaged hair.
Other ingredients can act as skin irritants, make your hair dry and brittle, cause rashes, allergic reactions, inflammation, and dermatitis. This can eventually cause more hair loss. Sometimes, a shampoo itself can become a cause of a massive hair loss problem.
Does Dry Shampoo Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, it can if it’s overused and thought of as a substitute for the traditional shampoo. It can do so by:
- clogging the pores, resulting in inflammation &
- over-drying the scalp, which can cause dry scalp hair loss
Are Hair Loss Shampoos the Only Way to Stop Hair Loss?
Not at all. Many products and treatments can help you deal with hair loss.
If the reason you’re losing your hair is genetics, you can’t rely on shampoos to work or regrow your hair. These shampoos also don’t work if you’ve lost your hair as a result of tight, hair-pulling hairstyles.
In many cases, the hair loss is too extensive, severe, and simply irreversible. Therefore, surgical intervention becomes the only workable solution.
Hair transplant gets commonly opted by people with pattern baldness. This is because it promises permanent results that’ll come through. The way surgical intervention works is that it can make your hair grow back the way the hair on your back or sides is growing.
There are also medications like finasteride, minoxidil, spironolactone, etc., prescribed for hair loss.
Ending Note
An anti-hair loss shampoo has always been around. Most of them are just marketers who take advantage of the frustration, fear, and vulnerability of hair loss sufferers. In a hurry to stop your hair from falling and thinning anymore, you might fall for these claims. Not all of them are false, but many are.
Many good hair loss shampoos are available. Still, it is possible that they might not work for you. This is because it comes down to the cause of your hair loss. Why it is that you’re really losing your hair. If it’s stress that’s making you lose your hair, a protein-rich shampoo won’t do much to help you.
Go to a dermatologist in order to find out what’s causing you to lose your hair. S/he might prescribe a shampoo to you for your problem, medication or suggest other treatment options like hair transplant. You can also consult surgeons at Longevita for that.
Reviewed and Approved by Trichologist Yaprak Yazan
