Part of the natural aging process in women is having gray, shedding, and thinning hair. It could stem from transitional phases in a woman’s life, like menopause, childbirth, too much hairstyling, and stress. Since it is a natural part of aging, there is nothing wrong with it, so it would be a great idea to embrace these changes in your hair.
Note, though, that despite being completely natural, yearning to revive your strands and bring back your hair volume after 40 is still the goal of many women. Fortunately, there are things you can do to bring back the volume and beauty of your locks even once you start to age.
Possible Reasons for Losing Hair Volume After 40
Once you hit 40, you will notice your hair losing substantial volume. It is mainly because aging also reduces the number of hair follicles designed to help with new growth. There are also other major factors that can cause hair thinning at this age, including the following:
- Hereditary hair loss – This means that hair thinning and loss result from your genes. The genes you inherited from your family may have the tendency to shrink your follicles, thereby preventing new hair growth. This also tends to worsen with the loss of estrogen.
- Thyroid disease – It could also be due to a thyroid disorder, which may affect women over 40.
- Major changes and stressors in life – Some examples of these are pregnancy and giving birth, personal trauma, such as a divorce, and a major operation. These major changes may cause shock and pressure on your body, thereby triggering hair loss.
- Hairstyles and treatments – You may also notice your hair losing volume once you hit 40 and above because you were fond of tight hairstyles and other harsh hair treatments before. Styling your hair using heat too often and applying too many chemicals, such as when you get a perm, Brazilian treatment, or hair color, may be damaging to your hair follicles. It may lead to breakage and loss of volume.
- Nutritional deficiencies – Hair thinning and loss may also be triggered by being deficient in certain nutrients, like zinc, biotin, Vitamin B3, and iron.
It is advisable to learn about the exact reason for you losing hair volume after 40. That way, you will be able to do the necessary fix based specifically on your unique case.
What Can You Do About It?
So what are the things that you can do to at least restore your losing hair volume once you start to age? Here are a few tips:
Stimulate hair growth by caring for your scalp
Just like your hair, your scalp also needs care and attention. It is time to give your scalp more care and attention in order for you to stop hair thinning and stimulate strong and healthy hair growth. When it comes to caring for your scalp, take note that its health depends on a few internal factors, like the balance of stress and sex hormones, and your gut health and level of oxidative stress.
With that in mind, things that can benefit your scalp, such as ensuring that you do not over-wash your hair, staying away from or minimizing hair colors, and not using too much hair chemicals and hair processing, can help in encouraging new growth.
Use hair color without ammonia
If you need to color your hair, use a hair dye, which is free of ammonia. Note that this is a common ingredient in many hair dyes since it helps in opening up your hair cuticle in preparation for the depositing of color. The problem is that ammonia also contains a higher pH level that can further damage your follicles and scalp and cause problems with your hair’s structural integrity.
To restore your hair volume after 40, it is time to avoid using hair dyes containing ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Go for natural and organic ones. Fortunately, you can now find a lot of hair color brands that made some changes to their color formula. They are the ones that no longer contain ammonia, making them less damaging to your hair. The result would be softer and shinier locks after coloring.
Massage your scalp
It is also time for you to give your scalp a good massage regularly. This is important as it can promote good hair health. It stimulates hair bulbs as the massage can help in boosting blood circulation in the area.
To make your scalp massage even more effective, make it a point to position your head downwards. Use your fingertips in making tiny and circular motions on your scalp. Spend around five to ten minutes doing this every day to strengthen your hair’s internal structure.
You may also want to start using a massaging serum applicator, which works effectively in massaging your scalp while nourishing the area with ingredients that can renew hair and stop its age-related brittleness and thinning.
Use dry shampoo
You may also want to start using dry shampoo. It is a great product to use for your age as it allows your hair to absorb more sebum and enhance your hair volume based on your cut.
What’s even better about dry shampoo is that it is quick to use. You only have to put it to your roots then let it stay there for several minutes before removal. Dry shampoo is also effective in coating your hair and giving it additional support and protection.
Stop using heat when styling your hair
The reason is that heat may only cause more damage to your hair, further resulting in hair loss and thinning. If you wish to volumize your hair through blow-drying, it would be best to use lukewarm water and a round brush best.
Work on your root well so you can stimulate a better hair growth result. If your hair is already too thin, lessen your use of nourishing creams or serum. Go for a styling mousse, instead, as it aids in providing your hair with more structure, volume, and substance.
Author: *Mary Cris Dumdum from Better Not Younger*
