Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Local student in giving spirit

DELAVAN — Fontana Elementary fourth-grader Madelyn Bosshart may be only 9, but her empathy and desire to put others first is well beyond her years.

Late last week, Madelyn sat calmly at Attitudes, a hair salon in downtown Delavan. As she brushed her 17-inch long, sandy blonde hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ears, she talked about why she was giving it up for Locks of Love.

"My friend's mom has a very serious kind of cancer and may pass in a couple weeks," she said. "She lost all her hair and I don't want little girls to feel sad and left out because all the other girls have hair. I want to give little girls, like some of my friends, the hair they need."

Locks of Love is an organization that collects hair donations and makes them into hairpieces for children who suffer from long-term hair loss. A hair donation to Locks of Love must be at least 10 inches and it takes about six to 10 donated ponytails to make one hairpiece.

Thanks to Madelyn, Locks of Love is one ponytail closer to making another hairpiece for a child in need.

Madelyn's idea to help through the donation didn't surprise her teacher, Kim Epping, one bit. Madelyn has made an impact at the school even though this is just her first year in Fontana. Epping said Madelyn never wants anyone to be left out, so she ensures to involve everyone in activities. Because of that attitude, she has made many friends in class.

"She is one of the most unselfish students I have ever met," Epping said. "She puts others before herself all the time. When she said she was doing this, it didn't surprise me at all. She always wants to help people and that is rare at this age. You just don't see that."

Epping remembers the first time she met Madelyn.

"It was an open house and she came bouncing into the room with a smile and introduced herself," Epping said. "That smile has never left her face."

For a short time as Madelyn sat in the chair having 10 inches of her hair chopped off, the smile wasn't as apparent. Before hopping into the chair, Madelyn said she wasn't scared about having her hair cut. Rather, she said she was excited and had told all her friends about it.

   
After Attitudes' hairstylist and co-owner Gale Galvin completed the cuts for the Lock of Love, Madelyn's signature smile quickly returned.

"I like it, I like it," Madelyn said with a beaming smile staring at herself in the mirror as Galvin put on the finishing touches of her new hairstyle. "It's cute. I don't have much to brush."

Epping agreed. She said she loved Madelyn's new hairdo.

"She never had time for her hair anyway," Epping said. "She just doesn't care about things like that."

As she held in a ponytail the hair just cut off her head, Madelyn said she thought there would be more. But she said she was happy to help out.


Since the nonprofit Locks of Love organization was created, thousands of children have been helped. Locks of Love has supplied children with hairpieces in all 50 states and Canada.

There are two main diseases that cause long-term hair loss in children.

The largest number of children helped by Locks of Love have alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes the hair follicles to shut down. The disease has varying degrees and affects 4.7 million people in the United States alone. There currently is no known cure for alopecia.

Children with cancer is the second highest percentage of recipients. Every year, approximately 2,200 people under the age of 20, are diagnosed with brain tumors. Radiation treatment to the brain stem as a treatment for cancer can cause permanent hair loss. Chemotherapy also can cause hair loss.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Helpful Tips To Prevent And Treat Hair Loss

Hair loss is a condition that will claim the hair of millions everyday. There are many causes for hair loss, and many solutions, as well. Some people resort to wearing wigs and toupees as a temporary fix, while others seek long term solutions. The tips in this article will show you long term solutions for hair loss.

Female pattern baldness is best treated with an oral remedy. This method allows the treatment to enter your blood stream quickly and ensures that the full effect of the medication can put itself to work. Do not try to alter the dosing in hopes of faster or better results as that is dangerous.

Massage Aloe Vera gel into your scalp to help stop hair loss. Aloe is a strong anti-inflammatory. It can help rebuild and restore the PH balance of hair while sealing in necessary moisture content. It can also stimulate the growth of hair and has been used as a home remedy for Alopecia.

To help you prevent or slow down hair loss you should try and live a stress free life. Stress especially in women have shown to increase the rate of hair loss. So if you want to keep all of your hair and not watch it fall out every day, try to live as stress free as possible.

Are you losing more and more hair each day? Are you fearing this hair loss will evolve into bald spots in the near future? One thing you can do to cut back on hair loss is the be more gentle with your hair when it is wet. Refrain from brushing or combing your hair roughly while it is wet. When wet hair roots are very weak and are prone to breakage.

One way to avoid hair loss is to maintain positive mental health. Stress and anxiety can lead to early hair loss in men and women, so developing personal tools to ease these concerns will help you to keep your full head of hair as long as possible. Whether it be engaging in physical activities or seeking support from friends, keeping stress away is a huge step in avoiding hair loss.

If you are struggling with hair loss, it is a good idea to steer clear of tight hairstyles. The tight hairstyles include buns, ponytails, and braids. If you keep your hair in a tight style, you will experience more hair loss. Try to keep your hair as loose as possible if it must be pulled up.

A great contributing factor to hair loss is hair style. Ponytails and other hair styles that cause the hair to be pressed too much can be a contributing factor to hair loss. The simple solution to this is just changing the style in which your hair is worn and you will avoid the loss of hair.

To avoid vitamin-related hair loss, don’t take huge amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin A is good for you, but taken in extreme amounts, it can cause hair loss and can even be fatal to some people. Luckily, it’s simple to avoid taking massive doses of vitamin A so this type of hair loss is easily corrected.

In conclusion, hair loss causes baldness for millions each day. There are many different causes and solutions for hair loss. Some solutions are temporary, such as wigs, while others are long term. While seeking long term solutions for hair loss, be sure to remember the tips from this article.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Hair Loss Treatment – Simple Tips To Treat Hair Loss

Hair Loss Treatment, while thinning hair is a normal part of the aging process, excessive thinning of hair can be the result of factors you may very well have control over—and some that are, unfortunately, embedded in your DNA. But that doesn’t mean you need to start calling those late-night-television 800 numbers for a “free” hair loss evaluation, which typically results in costly hair loss treatment. In fact, recent advances in medical science has uncovered healthy hair loss treatment regiments to help slow hair loss due to hereditary, hormonal changes, irritation, damage, and diseases, such as autoimmune disorder.
Hair loss treatment – the basiscs

Hair loss treatment

First the basics. Hair grows in cycles—a growth phase and a resting phase. The growth phase of scalp hair (anagen) typically lasts two to three years, during which your hair will grow less than a half inch per month. The resting phase (telogen) generally lasts three to four months. Hair strands will fall out at the end of this phrase, with new ones taking their place. The growth stage begins anew once the hair is shed. Shedding amounts to fifty to one hundred hairs a day. Since most people have nearly 100,000 hairs in their scalp, the loss of fifty to one hundred hairs a day should not be that noticeable.

However, when hair loss exceeds the amount of the growth—when you start finding hair bunched up on the bottom of the tub after a shower, this is a sure indication that one day you may be wearing sunscreen on your head. There are, of course, specific types of hair loss that require hair loss treatment. Pattern baldness, for example, which applies to men and women, is when the growth time shortens and new hairs fail to remain thick and sturdy. Heredity is generally the key factor in pattern baldness, especially if there is a history of androgenetic alopecia in the family. Hair loss treatment may also be necessary due to cicatricial (scarring) alopecia, which is when inflammation damages and scars the hair follicle and new hair is prevented from growing. Other medical issues that can exacerbate hair loss and may result in hair loss treatment include telogen effluvium, in which an emotional or physical shock to your system that causes hair roots to be pushed prematurely into the resting state, and traction alopecia, which is when excessive hairstyling or hairstyles pull your hair too tightly and results in scarring of your scalp and permanent damage to the root.

Poor nutrition may also result in hair loss treatment—especially if you excessively engage in fad diets or have an eating disorder. Certain drugs for treating gout, arthritis, depression, heart problems, and high blood pressure may cause hair loss as well; this includes taking birth control pills. Finally, diabetes and lupus may lead to hair loss, and chemo and radiation therapy typically leads to alopecia. Fortunately, as radiation treatment subsides, hair will typically begin to grow back and hair loss treatment may not be necessary.

What can you do to help prevent hair loss in just about any of these situations? Here are ten tips for hair loss treatment, recommended by medical professionals and health and beauty experts.
Ten tips for hair loss treatment

1. Certain shampoos, which can be used in hair loss treatment, may help slow or stop hair loss. Check the labels. Shampoos that contain rosemary or caffeine may help promote blood circulation, which will stimulate the scalp and the hair follicle. Avoid using shampoos advertised for hair loss treatment that contain a laundry list of ingredients (especially ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium xylene sulfonate, TEA lauryl sulfate, and sulfur, which is found in dandruff shampoos).

2. Silica capsules or drops are useful in hair loss treatment to help strengthen nails and hair. It will take two to three months of consistent use to see visible results. Another common vitamin for hair loss treatment is biotin, which helps promote healthy cell growth. Read the labels for dosage recommendations.

3. Several different oils may be beneficial in hair loss treatment. Castor oil, for example, helps build strong, thick, and voluminous hair. Simply mix about a teaspoon of castor oil into your regular shampoo, followed by using a natural conditioner (minus the aforementioned chemical additives). The difference in hair texture and density will become immediately noticeable, though stopping hair loss itself as a result will be more gradual. The anti-inflammatory properties of emu oil will keep it from clogging up your pores in hair loss treatment. Rubbing the oil directly onto the scalp and leaving it in overnight will help strength hair follicles. Olive oil also helps to heal stubborn scalps and provides nourishment for your hair in a course of hair loss treatment. Finally, sesame oil will add sheen to your hair and help relieve scalp irritation. Use about a teaspoon of these oils, either mixed in with your shampoo or leave it in your hair overnight (wear a night cap to keep the oil from getting all over your pillow case).

4. Medications (prescription and nonprescription) are also used in hair loss treatment. Most of these medications contain alfatradiol, which blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, which is the hormone that converts damaging hair.

5. Apple cider vinegar and black strap molasses have been used for centuries for hair loss treatment. Apple cider vinegar contains essential probiotics that will help stabilize your hair’s natural bacteria balance. Wash your hair with a mixture of half water and half apple cider. Eating two tablespoons of black strap molasses every day will help maintain your energy levels, hair, and skin due to its high levels of iron. Iron deficiency is also a notable factor in sudden hair loss.

6. Aloe vera, the plants of which are easy to grow, will also help in hair loss treatment. In fact, aloe vera is a common ingredient in most shampoos because it helps balance a scalp’s pH levels.

7. Following a diet that contains protein-rich foods such as tuna, lean meat, and whole milk is also useful in hair loss treatment. Protein is necessary for tissue repair and for the construction of new tissue, especially in the scalp, where it help prevent hair breakage.

8. It’s not just protein that helps maintain healthy hair. You also want to include lots of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will add the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for hair loss treatment. Dark green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, and Swiss chard, are excellent sources of vitamins A and C.

9. You also want to keep in mind how you wash your hair in a hair loss treatment regiment (and in general). Wash your head with cold or luke-warm water. Hot water will damage your hair follicles. Do not wash your hair with a bar of soap, which is meant for your skin. You also want to avoid using the high-heat setting on your hair dryer. And it’s always best to avoid excessive use of hair dyes and a curling iron.

10. Finally, abiding by a few simple common sense rules for healthy living will help with a hair loss treatment. For one, quit smoking and ease up on alcohol use. Avoid wearing a tight hair style, which will ultimately pull your hair from its roots. And get proper sleep, which will help alleviate stress—stress often leads to premature graying and hair loss.
Conclusion of hair loss treatment

Following all of these tips for hair loss treatment will not always guarantee a fashion model’s luxurious head of hair. However, if you fail to achieve any kind of positive result, it is critical that you see your doctor. There may be a health issue going on that you are unaware of. The doctor will look at your medical history, such as what medications you are using and hereditary issues, and help you devise a hair loss treatment plan. Keep in mind that most insurance carriers do not cover hair loss treatment.