Indians in early 20s suffering from hair fall, balding and greying, says study; check hairfall reasons

Hair loss is a big problem that young Indians today are facing. From environmental, lifestyle to genetic causes, the reasons for early balding and greying of hair are many.

Pic: Pixabay (representational purposes)

Data amassed by Traya, a holistic hair loss solution start-up, reveals that over 150 million Indians in their early 20s suffer from hair fall, balding and greying. This translated to 9/10 Indians facing genetic hair fall at least once in their lifetime due to underlying health conditions. Experts believe that apart from a genetic predisposition to the hormone DHT, genetic hair fall is further accelerated by a number of underlying root causes.

The Traya study further delved into the various causes of hair fall amongst Indians. From the 1,50,000 people who participated; 63 per cent of the subjects reported severe dandruff along with their hair fall, 43 per cent indicated the prevalence of irregular sleeping patterns, 68 per cent of the subjects were suffering from high stress, 45 per cent reported low energy levels due to a weak metabolism while 12 per cent claimed some kind of gut imbalances like acidity, constipation, or indigestion, 38 per cent suffered from stress, anxiety/depression and 52 per cent reported nutritional deficiencies (macronutrients and micronutrients) along with chronic hair fall. Additionally, the data also highlighted how certain hormonal troubles triggered hair fall. 64 per cent of the participants faced hair fall due to the prevalence of thyroid (hypo/hyperthyroidism), 10 per cent of females reported hair fall due to menopause, 62 per cent showed the prevalence of post-pregnancy hair fall and 83 per cent were suffering from PCOS.

The study also sought to understand the role of age and the efficacy of existing hair-fall solutions. Data shows that while 47 per cent of patients in Stages 1 and 2 of hair fall have 80 per cent of active hair follicles, around 32 per cent of patients between Stages 3 and 4 have only 50 per cent active hair follicles which further reduces in advanced stages where 21 per cent of patients in Stages 5 and 6 patients have only 20 per cent active follicles. Thus the time taken to see visible regrowth was 10x more for patients between the age groups of 18-25 in comparison to those who belonged to the age group of 45-62. A significant spike was observed in the time taken to see regrowth post the age of 36, which affirms a negative relationship between age and hair regrowth.

As of late, Indian consumers and brands have jumped on the "natural remedies" bandwagon. From rice water to onion shampoo every brand wants to hop onto the next anti-hair fall trend but, in the bargain, misses out on the fact that this does not serve as a long-term solution. The study examined the effectiveness of various haircare solutions and found that contrary to public opinion dermatological, ayurvedic or nutritional therapies, in isolation, have yielded only 62 per cent, 60 per cent and 74 per cent efficacy respectively.

Saloni Anand, Co-founder of Traya Health said, "A lot of our customers recount how they falsely fell for the claims made by beauty brands on hair regrowth. In fact, 92 per cent of existing hair fall products in the market fail to deliver on these claims. Most of them are either not clinically tested and proven to control hair fall or they work at just the follicular level and do not address the underlying root causes. On the other hand, our combinational approach of Ayurveda, Dermatology, and Nutrition has a 93 per cent effectiveness in delivering long-term hair growth results in Stage 1-4 individuals."

Experts at Traya recommend identifying the root causes and addressing hair fall as early as possible. More important than experimenting with OTC shampoos and serums is to understand at what stage of hair fall one is from the free Traya hair test and making the requisite lifestyle changes.

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