Ask the Hair Experts: Does Hair Loss Come with Aging?

Change in Hair color – Greying

The most common sign of aging is the greying of hair. It occurs due to the decrease in melanin production by the hair follicles. Greying refers to the natural process of the change in hair color as you age. It is permanent, progressive and not naturally reversible and sometimes can happen prematurely too.

Change in texture and tenacity

Blood supply and essential oils travel through the hair follicles and they naturally coat our hair with the much-needed layer of protection, providing it the shine of health. As you age, the oil glands produce less sebum, resulting in hair that is drier and rougher in texture.

The cuticle, your hair’s outermost covering, becomes increasingly fragile and your hair loses its elasticity, making it prone to break. This also happens due to lack of hydration and nutrition. As you age, your body’s absorption capacity changes. Those with nutritional deficiencies such as calcium, iron, vitamin D, biotin deficiencies often observe dry and fragile hair.

Hair Thinning & Hair Loss

Your hair grows thinner and falls out during the Telogen phase, during the hair growth cycle. New hair then gets produced and it replaces the lost hair. Naturally, as you age, the rate at which new hair replaces the fallen hair slows down. When you age, each hair spends more time in the resting phase, which means you lose hair faster than the speed at which the growth is happening. The hair follicles also decrease in size with age. They, therefore, produce thinner hair, leading to an appearance of varying degrees of baldness. While thinning of hair is a natural sign of aging and need not necessarily indicate any major problem, it is good to be on the watch out.