Understanding and Treating Weak Hair
Let’s talk about weak hair. We know this topic is about as fun as watching your hair dry but talking about it may actually help you beat the brittle, frizzy hair and restore your luscious locks.
Understanding the symptoms and causes of weak hair gives you an advantage. Once you know what’s behind it, you can do something about it.
We’ll look at some weak hair treatments (here’s where things do get fun — did someone say ‘scalp massage’?) and how hair loss medication can work to restore your hair to its former glory.
Ready to let your hair down?
So what is weak hair?
Healthy hair looks silky and smooth. It shines, retains moisture, and is elastic. By contrast, weak hair is limp, lacklustre, thin, or prone to breakage or falling out.
If you recognise these symptoms in your hair, it’s time to stop beating yourself up. It’s often genetic or caused by hormonal factors. But that doesn’t make you helpless. We’ll take a look at what you can do to strengthen your hair below.
Signs You May Need Hair Treatment
Feel like you have more bad hair days than good? Weak hair can show up a few different ways but some of the common symptoms include:
- Frizzy hair
- Split ends
- Dry hair
- Limp strands
- Thin and lacklustre hair
- Brittle hair
- Increased breakage
- Shedding from the roots
- Tangled hair
Elasticity is a sign of healthy hair so a good way to check your hair strength is to gently pull it at both ends. If it bounces back into place, it’s a healthy strand but if it breaks easily, it may be weak.
Why is my hair weak and falling out?
Your hair is strong and healthy when you have the right balance of protein and moisture levels. Any number of things can occur to disrupt this balance and weaken your hair. Here’s the shortlist.
Genetic or Hereditary Factors
Genes influence many aspects of your hair, such as the density, length, colour, and texture. They can also be responsible for certain hair conditions, including male pattern baldness and female hair loss.
However, while your hair may be predisposed to certain conditions, many other factors may also affect the strength and health of your hair.
Hormonal changes
Our hormones can directly impact how much our hair thrives or just survives. A hormonal imbalance can disrupt the hair growth cycle and lead to hair thinning.
Certain hormonal factors that may affect the health of your hair include menopause, childbirth, birth control pills, and thyroid problems.
Excessive Hair Styling
It’s time to let your hair down. Tight hairstyles, hair extensions, hair dyeing, bleaching, and heat treatments (such as blow drying, straightening, and curling) can stress your hair shafts and damage the cuticles (the protective outer layer of hair).
Nutritional Deficiencies
Your hair relies on a healthy balance of essential nutrients. Since hair is made up of protein, a protein deficiency may lead to weakened hair. Other vitamin and mineral deficiencies that may affect the state of your hair include iron, vitamin D, and zinc deficiency.
Medication or Drug Use
Certain medications may weaken the roots of your hair, disrupting the hair growth cycle and causing premature shedding.
Some drugs that may weaken the hair are obvious — we’re all familiar with the effects of anticancer drugs like chemotherapy. But there are other medications that may weaken your hair, including thyroid medications, blood thinners, antidepressants, and antihypertensives.
Treatment options
We’ve covered symptoms and possible causes. Now we get to the good stuff: the things you can do to restore moisture and shine to your lacklustre locks.
Increase Vitamin, Iron And Zinc Intake
What you eat every day can help nourish your roots since certain nutritional deficiencies — particularly zinc, iron, and vitamin D — may be linked to hair loss.
That doesn’t mean you should rush to your nearest supplements aisle and invest in zinc, iron, and Vitamin D supplements.
But it does mean you can make sure you’re meeting your body’s nutritional needs through certain foods. Read the chart below for inspiration to boost your levels of these nutrients.
| Nutrients | Foods |
| Iron | Red meats, fish, eggs, lentils, dark leafy greens like spinach |
| Zinc | Oysters, pumpkin seeds, cheese, most nuts, lentils |
| Vitamin D | Fatty fish, egg yolk, milk, cheese, mushrooms |
If you feel like you may need hair growth supplements, it’s best to consult your doctor first to confirm you have a deficiency.
High Protein Foods
A natural way to start strengthening your hair is to make sure you have enough protein each day since protein forms the building blocks of your hair.
Foods that are high in protein include:
- Eggs
- Fish
- Yoghurt and milk
- Chicken
- Lentils and beans
- Soy
- Nuts and seeds
Scalp Massage
Scalp massages may help boost blood circulation to your hair follicles. In the results of a small 2016 study, people who gave themselves daily 4-minute scalp massages increased their hair thickness after 24 weeks.
Just apply gentle pressure to your scalp with your fingertips. For bonus hair strengthening points, you can try to combine it with a hair strengthening product like a deep conditioner.
Hair Strengthening Products
Some products that may help strengthen your hair include keratin treatments and deep conditioning treatments.
Remember how we mentioned that your hair is made of protein? The particular protein that is central to your hair’s composition is called keratin.
Keratin treatments are often used to straighten and strengthen hair. While effective, many commercially available treatments are inadequate for the task and may contain formaldehyde.
But that doesn’t mean we have to dismiss keratin altogether. One study found that applying human hair keratin to chemically damaged hair increased the hair’s diameter up to 49% and doubled its strength after one application.
Deep conditioning may be a safer alternative. Conditioning products or hair masks usually contain moisturising oils, such as coconut oil, to hydrate the scalp and protect the hair proteins from damage.
Prescription Hair Loss Medication
Sometimes, all your hair needs is a little extra nudge to boost its health and stimulate better hair growth. Fortunately, prescription hair growth medication is designed to do just this.
The Hairy Pill® is a hair loss medication for men and for women that may help halt hair loss and stimulate regrowth.
It’s made specifically for your needs with a powerful and personalised combination of active ingredients, essential elements, vitamins, and minerals.
Your Treatment for Weak Hair Approved by a Renowned Hair Loss Doctor
It may feel disheartening to have weak hair but the good news is that you can do something about it. Even if your brittle or thinning hair is hereditary, there are ways to strengthen your strands and stimulate your follicles.
The Hairy Pill® can deliver your personalised hair growth treatment to your door with minimal effort from you. It only takes 5 minutes to get started.
