Hair Loss Awareness Month: 5 Ways to Use It to Your Advantage

As part of our Hair Loss Awareness Month coverage, we look at five effective ways to use this occasion to your advantage, for men and women.

Hair Loss Awareness Month takes place throughout August, and while raising awareness is important, it can also be a useful prompt to take a closer look at your own hair.

Perhaps you've noticed more hair in the shower recently. Maybe your parting is becoming wider, your hairline has started creeping backwards, or your hair simply doesn't feel as thick as it did a few years ago. Or perhaps hair loss isn't currently a major concern, but you'd like to keep your hair in the best possible condition as you get older.

Whatever your situation, August is a good time to assess where you are, learn a little more about hair loss and make a few sensible changes.

Here are five ways to make Hair Loss Awareness Month genuinely useful.

1. Understand Your Hair Loss

The best place to start is with the hair you have now.

Hair loss is an umbrella term covering numerous conditions, and understanding the difference between them is important. What works for one type of hair loss may have very little effect on another.

Androgenetic alopecia, better known as male or female pattern hair loss, is one of the most common forms. In men, this often appears as recession around the temples or thinning at the crown. Women are more likely to notice reduced density across the top of the scalp or a gradually widening parting.

There are plenty of other possibilities.

Periods of increased shedding can occur following illness, significant stress, rapid weight loss, nutritional deficiencies or major hormonal changes. Pregnancy and menopause can affect the hair cycle, while certain medications and medical conditions can also contribute to thinning.

Then there is the normal ageing process. Hair naturally changes over time, with individual strands often becoming finer and overall density gradually decreasing.

Use Hair Loss Awareness Month as an opportunity to take stock.

Look at photographs from a year or two ago. Check your hairline, temples, crown and parting under good lighting. Take a few photographs now so you have something objective to compare against in the future.

If your hair loss is sudden, severe, patchy, accompanied by scalp symptoms, or you simply can't explain why it's happening, speak to your GP, dermatologist or another suitably qualified professional rather than trying to diagnose it yourself.

Understanding the problem gives you a much better chance of choosing an appropriate solution.

2. Explore Hair Supplements and Nutritional Support

Not everybody experiencing thinning hair wants to immediately use medication.

Prescription and topical hair-loss treatments have an important place and can be effective for appropriate candidates, but they are not necessarily the first option everybody wants to explore. Some people prefer to begin with lifestyle changes and nutritional support, particularly when thinning is relatively mild or in its earlier stages.

This is where hair supplements can fit into a wider hair-care plan.

A good hair supplement isn't a magic pill, and we'd be wary of any brand claiming otherwise. Hair loss has too many potential causes for a supplement to solve every case.

What supplements can do is provide nutrients associated with the maintenance of normal, healthy hair, particularly where diet isn't consistently providing everything required.

We generally favour comprehensive formulas over products built around one fashionable ingredient.

HR23+ Hair Restoration Supplement is one example. The formula combines 23 ingredients and has been developed specifically for men and women experiencing thinning or weaker-looking hair. It is designed for long-term daily use and can be incorporated into a wider hair-care routine without requiring a prescription.

Other established specialist hair supplements are available too, including products from brands such as Viviscal and Nutrafol.

Whichever supplement you consider, look beyond the front of the bottle. Check the complete ingredient list, serving sizes, manufacturer information and how long the product is intended to be taken.

And give it time.

Hair grows slowly. Constantly switching between products every few weeks makes it almost impossible to determine whether anything is actually helping.

3. Look Out for Hair Loss Awareness Month Offers

This is one of the more practical benefits of Hair Loss Awareness Month.

Throughout August, hair-care companies, supplement brands, clinics and other businesses within the industry often run special promotions linked to the campaign.

If there is something you've already been considering, it can therefore be a good time to buy.

Look for discounts on things such as:

• Hair supplements

• Specialist shampoos and conditioners

• Hair serums and scalp treatments

• Hair-loss consultations

• Minoxidil products

• Microneedling devices

• Laser hair-growth devices

• Hair transplant consultations and procedures

The important distinction is between taking advantage of a discount on something useful and buying something simply because it has been discounted.

Don't allow a 20% or 30% saving to persuade you into buying a questionable hair-growth product you wouldn't otherwise consider.

Research the product first. Look at the active ingredients, evidence, independent reviews and long-term cost.

For products you already use regularly, however, an August promotion can be a sensible opportunity to stock up. This is particularly true for treatments and supplements that need to be used consistently for several months.

4. Do the Simple Things at Home — for Free

Not everything you do for your hair needs to come in a bottle.

Some of the most sensible changes cost absolutely nothing.

Start with how you treat your existing hair.

If you regularly pull your hair into very tight styles, ease the tension. Repeated pulling can put unnecessary stress on the hair and, over time, may contribute to traction-related hair loss.

Reduce excessive heat where possible. Hair straighteners, curling irons and very hot hair dryers don't usually cause genetic hair loss, but repeated damage can leave strands dry, brittle and more susceptible to breakage.

Be gentle with wet hair, too. Hair is more vulnerable to mechanical damage when wet, so aggressive towel drying and brushing can cause unnecessary breakage.

Then look beyond hair care itself.

Sleep matters. Stress matters. Exercise matters.

You don't need a perfect lifestyle to have good hair, but your hair is part of your body. The habits that support your general health tend to create a better foundation for healthy hair as well.

Another useful free habit is taking a photograph of your hair once a month.

Use the same room, lighting, hairstyle, angle and camera position each time. Hair changes slowly enough that looking in the mirror every morning can be misleading. Comparing consistent photographs after three or six months gives you a far better indication of whether your hair is actually changing.

5. Eat With Your Hair in Mind

You don't need an exotic "hair-growth diet".

A varied, balanced diet containing sufficient calories, protein, vitamins and minerals is a much better starting point.

Hair itself is largely made from a protein called keratin, so adequate protein intake is particularly important. Eggs, fish, poultry, lean meat, dairy products, beans, lentils, tofu, nuts and seeds can all contribute.

Oily fish, such as salmon, sardines and mackerel, provides protein alongside omega-3 fatty acids and other useful nutrients.

Eggs provide high-quality protein and several micronutrients, making them an easy addition to many diets.

Leafy green vegetables, including spinach and kale, provide folate and a range of vitamins and minerals.

Nuts and seeds provide healthy fats, protein and micronutrients. Pumpkin seeds are particularly interesting from a hair-health perspective and are easy to add to breakfast, salads or yoghurt.

Beans and lentils are useful sources of plant-based protein, iron and other nutrients, while colourful fruit and vegetables help provide the wider range of micronutrients your body needs.

Iron deserves particular attention because iron deficiency can be associated with hair shedding, especially in women. However, that doesn't mean everybody experiencing hair loss should immediately start taking high-dose iron supplements. Too much iron can be harmful, so suspected deficiency is something to discuss with a healthcare professional and, where appropriate, confirm with testing.

Extreme dieting is another potential problem.

Rapid weight loss, very low-calorie diets and inadequate protein intake can place stress on the body and may contribute to increased shedding several months later.

If you're trying to lose weight, aim for something sustainable rather than crash dieting.

Make Hair Loss Awareness Month Count

Hair Loss Awareness Month shouldn't simply be four weeks of talking about hair loss.

Use it as a reason to do something useful.

Work out whether your hair has actually changed. Learn about the type of hair loss you may be experiencing. Review your diet. Improve the way you treat your hair. Explore reputable supplements such as HR23+ if nutritional hair support appeals to you, and investigate established treatment options if your hair loss requires something more targeted.

And if the products or treatments you already want are discounted during August, there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of that too.

You don't need to completely overhaul your routine overnight.

Pick one or two sensible changes, stick with them, and monitor your hair over the coming months.

By the time the next Hair Loss Awareness Month comes around, you'll have something far more useful than another collection of hair-loss products in the bathroom cabinet.

You'll have a year's worth of evidence showing you what has — and hasn't — worked for your hair.

This article is intended for general information only and should not be considered medical advice. Sudden, severe, patchy or unexplained hair loss should be assessed by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.