According to the American Academy of Dermatology, "It’s normal to shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day. When the body sheds significantly more hairs every day, a person has excessive hair shedding." There are tons of reasons why women may experience thinning or shedding hair (depression, hormones, genetics, poor diet, etc.) and there are many ways to prevent it -- and one of them starts with the type of hair brush you use!
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A coarse hair brush with synthetic bristles is the one hair brush you want to avoid if you have thinning hair. ''Squeeze the brush,'' says Dr. Robert Walther, assistant professor of dermatology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. ''If it hurts, the edges are too sharp.''
Excessive brushing with this type of brush can prove to be "deleterious," as it will lead to hair loss, according to Dr. John F. Romano, attending dermatologist at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. "Any sort of traction on the hair, including curling it tightly or brushing your hair wet while blow-drying, is the cause for what is known as temporal alopecia, a medical term for baldness. It is very common now," he says. Yikes!
Instead, experts say that your should opt for a soft hair brush made for those with fine hair. “It’s the gentlest brush possible and has soft, natural bristles," says Dove hair stylist Cynthia Alvarez. "Its cushion setting allows for more flexible bristles so as not to pull any hair out."
The way you brush your hair is also important in preventing further hair loss. For thin hair, brush softly and gently to prevent pulling out more hair. "Even if you use the best brush, vigorous brushing can remove layers of your hair's protective outer cuticle—and this can weaken strands and make them more vulnerable to damage from other things, such as daily styling, UV rays, and color processing," says trichologist (hair and scalp dermatologist) Anabel Kingsley.
Last but not least, for thinning hair, you must take it easy on the heat. According to dermatologist Debra Jaliman, MD. "It needs a lower setting," she says, "otherwise it can, quite literally, fry and break."
If you're looking for longer and stronger hair, check out the one vitamin you should take for longer hair at SheFinds.com