Good hair like good skin requires with a healthy diet and a little care. A lot of patients come to the clinic with complains of hair fall , dry and brittle hair. The foremost thing to remember is some amount of hair fall is normal. Every hair that grows on the scalp will fall and a new hair will grow in its place. Normal hair fall is up to 50-100 strands per day. The commonest cause of hair fall is a condition called telogen effluvium (TE). TE itself has many causes and the most common ones include a dietary deficiency, any physical or mental stress, illnesses in the past few months, and childbirth in case of women.

For a good hair growth the body requires certain micronutrients and protein. Hair is mostly made up of protein and thus a protein rich diet is a must. Protein rich food includes milk and milk products, pulses and legumes, cottage cheese, soya beans, chicken, fish to name a few. Many micronutrient supplements in the form of tablets are available and your dermatologist will be able to help you with those. Your dermatologist may advise a few investigations before prescribing the above which generally include counts, iron studies, vitamin D3, vitamin B12 levels and a thyroid function test. Abnormalities in these may also lead to hair fall and correction will lead to improvement.

To prevent dry and brittle hair the most important thing to remember is to handle your hair with care. This includes simple but effective measures like: use a wide toothed comb instead of a brush. While combing/ untangling your hair start with the end of the strand and work your way up. Never use too much force while combing your hair. Even after washing one should not use a towel very vigorously to dry the hair. Hair dryers should be avoided as far as possible as the heat damages the hair. Hair treatments such as straightening , rebonding should ideally be avoided.

Whichever shampoo one uses must be followed by a conditioner which will help keep the hair soft. Remember be gentle with and your hair, eat well and exercise and hopefully this will help avoid ‘bad hair days ‘ in the future.

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The information provided in Dr. Dixit's answer is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice. The information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with a qualified health professional who may be familiar with your individual medical needs.