Men, do you like to style your hair everyday? Do you use gels and creams and waxes to make it sleek and cool? Women, do you use hairdryers or curling irons daily? Do you stretch your hair with braids or ponytails, and even overuse hair color? Frequent abuse is one of the causes of hair loss. If we want to save our hair, this is the first step that we should be aware of. See if you are observing the following: Avoid rubbing your hair too vigorously and styling your hair when it’s wet. This can cause it to stretch and break. Be careful in using permanent dyes or color on your hair. These chemicals usually cause hair damage. Eat your vitamins! Our hair is composed of a protein called keratin. It is good to find a vitamin or food supplement that will nourish this type of protein. Also, take vitamins that have antioxidants. These fight free radicals that can damage healthy cells in our body including our hair. Have a well-balanced diet. Eat foods that have high protein content such as Lean Meats, Peanuts and Almonds, Eggs, Legumes, Oatmeal, Whole Grain Bread and Cottage Cheese. Keeping yourself physically healthy will prevent you from taking medications that can cause hair loss. Regular exercise and getting enough sleep naturally maintains overall health, as well as lowering stress in our lives. You may ask, are stress and hair loss related? Absolutely! If you are currently in the middle of a problem, you may be stressed. If you are putting a very high demand of your physical and mental energy to perform higher and above your capacity, you may be stressed too. Usually, hair loss happens after the onset of a very stressful situation or event. Telogen Effluvium is the medical name given to hair loss induced stress. When you realize that you are stressed, you must think of ways on how you can effectively manage it. One good technique is the “art of disassociation.” It is a kind of meditation you can do by imagining that the cause of your stress is moving farther and farther away from you. You can feel a sense of calmness and it will show in your face and in your actions. This is an important tool to allow your body to calm down and remove built-up stress. Another tool to use in managing stress is to have a form of relaxation that you enjoy doing. For example, if you like reading or watching a good movie, then do these activities often to release stress. Engaging in sports is the best way that some people use to relax themselves. Pick out a fun activity that will suit you. All of us want beautiful and healthy hair. Therefore, consciously caring for it should be a daily habit. It is better to be safe than sorry so don’t take your hair for granted! It is sometimes unfortunate that we appreciate what we have when we already lost them. Take care of your hair before it’s too late.