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How Does Aging Affect Your Hair?

By: Jennifer Summers
 

The changing colour of our hair is the most obvious sign of aging. As we get older our hair begins to produce less melanin, the same melanin that gives our skin its colour. This causes our hair to become grey. Grey hair can appear at any age. It's not always a sign of aging, it's caused by a reduction of pigment (grey hair) or a complete loss of pigment (white hair), and the reason it happens is not fully understood.
Age also has an effect on our hair in other ways. As we get older our hair is prone to getting drier, and so needs more moisture than ever before. Older hair also loses some of its elasticity and the texture alters. A number of women will notice that their hair becomes thinner and lacks life, for others it seems dry and coarse. This occurs because as we age, the size of the hair follicles diminish and hair growth slows. Consequently there is not so much new growth to replace what we lose.
Sebum (oil produced naturally by our skin) lessens as our body ages, and so our hair, as a result, loses its natural shine and softness. Plus, during the menopause our production of keratin slows. This protein fibre is important to keeping our hair healthy and strong. For men, there is the issue of going bald, thinning hair and coarse hair, especially the facial hair. Select the correct type of hair colour to disguise your grey hair, but don't go more than two shades darker or lighter than your natural hair colour. If you use a dark colour it can emphasize a dull complexion.
If you wish to keep your grey, try to use a hair shampoo and conditioner that is targeted specially for grey hair. Grey hair can look yellow or greenish on a number of people. To neutralize the yellow colour and leave your hair shiny and good-looking, try using a greying shampoo that has a violet based colour, instead of your usual shampoo. Highlights or lowlights can camouflage any grey you want to mask by blending them into the rest of your hair. The same with hair colourants, keep away from going more than a couple of shades lighter than your own hair colour to steer clear of looking older than you really are.
Moisturizing (conditioning) is a requirement for older hair. Use a weekly deep conditioning treatment - suggested for aging hair. This will help to preserve the moisture levels in your hair. As time goes by your hair loses its elasticity and this makes it more difficult to style, so try using a protein treatment at least once a month to assist your hair. For men and women, thinning hair can be given a more voluminous look by using volumizing products such as conditioners and mousses.

Article Source: Main Articles

Jennifer Summers is a great source of information on grey hair shampoo, regularly providing informative advice on grey hair colour.

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