"You can have thicker, fuller hair in your 40s. But if there is permanent damage, it becomes difficult to revive your hair completely," cautions Rohilla. Jangid advises paying attention to any lifestyle disease and halting it right in its tracks to control hair loss and improve the longevity of your hair.
Because of these aging and environmental changes, some hair follicles stop producing new hair altogether. Over time, hair fibers become thinner and drop out, and unfortunately, they never regenerate. Natural pigment (color) changes occur in hair as you age as well.
B Vitamins: peanuts, carrots, eggs, berries—generally a variety of fruits and vegetables. Biotin (B7), has been shown to help with hair growth and can be found in milk products, salmon, beef, and bananas. Vitamin C: citrus, broccoli, peppers, and spinach.
Provided the hair follicles are still functional, hair loss can be stabilised and regrowth can still occur. This is entirely independent of age, so even if you're in your fifties or beyond, you can still take action to recover your hairline.
Growing long hair past your 50s is not only possible, but it is also probable. You should not be forced to cut your hair because of breakage, dryness, or other age-related damage. As we understand aging and its impact on hair, products can be developed to counter its effects.
In a way, yes, there is an age limit for hair growth. Our hair grows fastest between the ages of 15 and 30. From there, our hair growth decreases and continues to decrease as we get older. This decrease in hair growth is partly why we experience some level of hair thinning as we age.
"You can have thicker, fuller hair in your 40s. But if there is permanent damage, it becomes difficult to revive your hair completely," cautions Rohilla. Jangid advises paying attention to any lifestyle disease and halting it right in its tracks to control hair loss and improve the longevity of your hair.
Genetics
The most common reason for hair loss in both men and women is genetics. You can inherit the genes for hair loss from one or both of your parents. In women, hereditary hair loss usually starts after the age of 40. Roughly 40% of women have noticeable hair loss by the age of 50.
Hair growth rate naturally slows down with age, that's to be expected. More significant hair loss is attributed to changes in hormone levels, especially as women approach and reach menopause. An underactive thyroid is often another major cause.
As you age, it's common to start eating less. Sometimes, this may lead you to become nutritionally deficient. Because hair follicles are made mostly of protein, it's important to include protein into your diet. Foods like red meat, spinach and green leafy vegetables, eggs, berries, and avocados are all great options.
The stages of progression of hair loss may or may not travel through each of all the stages and the development may stop at any time. Also, as previously stated, after the age of 30-35, hair loss slows down and gradually stabilizes.
Only riboflavin, biotin, folate, and vitamin B12 deficiencies have been associated with hair loss.
Hair loss around the menopause is likely to be caused by changing hormone levels – and your body producing less oestrogen and progesterone. These two hormones keep your hair healthy, making it grow faster and helping it stay on your head longer.
Some 40% of women will experience hair loss after the menopause. In two thirds of women this will be all over the scalp. For the remainder, the hair loss is over the front or temples only. Hair loss may start during the perimenopause or occur many years after.
Can thin hair become thicker again? A person cannot change the texture of their hair. However, the hair may grow back after chemotherapy or pregnancy, for example.
It is most effective for people under 40 years of age whose hair loss is recent. Minoxidil has no effect on receding hairlines.
“Vitamins are essential for healthy hair growth and may help in preventing hair shedding and thinning,” says Michele Green, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in New York. “The best vitamins for hair growth include B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, biotin and iron.
Hair growth rate slows at midlife and beyond—it spends less time in the growth phase and more in the resting phase, which means it will grow more slowly, and won't be able to grow as long as it once did.
Midlife Hormonal Changes May Contribute to Thinning Hair
Androgens, a group of hormones that include testosterone and androstenedione, don't increase during the menopause transition, but the ratio between estrogen and androgen changes, so you have less estrogen and relatively more androgen, she explains.
As you age, your hair may continue to grow, but the growth will become slower, and the follicles that were once coarse and thick will often become finer, thinner and lighter in color.
Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatrics-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of topical minoxidil in the elderly. However, studies have shown that the medicine works best in younger patients who have a short history of hair loss.
Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased. During and after menopause, hair might become finer (thinner) because hair follicles shrink.
Your hair is the fastest growing tissue in your body. It grows quickest between ages 15 and 30 and then hits the brakes in your 40s and 50s. Besides age, how fast your hair grows depends on genetics, hormones, and other factors. It may be tapered by nutritional deficiency (zinc deficiency, anorexia, anemia, etc.)