In Dublin, the word “uisce” is used for both “water” and “life,” and the Delaware people, original inhabitants of the Lehigh called it “mpi.” No matter the language, around the world it is one of the few universal truths. Water is life.
Most people understand from a very young age that you can only go without water for a couple of days without dying of dehydration. Dehydration affects your body on a massive level from your skin to your hair to your internal organs to your brain function. Everything requires adequate hydration. Yet as Americans an estimated 75 percent of people are chronically dehydrated.
A surprising number of people do not understand what that has to do with the way their body performs. Symptoms of chronic dehydration include everything from brain fog, constant fatigue, and muscle weakness to dry skin, headaches and even hair loss.
Can You Lose Hair From Lack of Water?
Many people misunderstand the nature of hair, not realizing that it is comprised of many parts. To understand exactly how dehydration affects your hair and why dehydrated hair is different than dry hair, the first step is to understand how the anatomy of the scalp and hair work.
The scalp is a very specific type of skin tightly adhered to two additional layers, connective tissue and aponeurosis, which all move together as though they were one thing. It differs from other skin on the body in that it has terminal hair as opposed to vellus hair. Vellus hairs are the thin almost imperceptible hairs that protect most of the body.
On an evolutionary basis, the hair on our scalp has developed to provide better protection against the elements. Terminal hair provides insulation against the cold, protects your scalp from sun damage, and even protects your eyes, as eyelashes are the same type of hair as the hair on your head.
When you are dehydrated, the body does not have the things it needs to keep the scalp and the hair on it healthy. Better Not Younger explains it this way, “Our scalp and hair follicles require water—along with other nutrients—to optimally do their jobs. Water helps keep our follicles active and our hair growing. Without water, we can end up with a dehydrated, itchy scalp that under-produces sebum and slows hair growth.”
That means when the body is dehydrated, it does not have enough of those nutrients and water flowing to your scalp, the place the hair grows from. That leads to a thinning of the hair shaft. Think of it like a spaghetti noodle: When the noodle is moist, it is flexible and strong. When it is dried out, it is hard and brittle.
Much like dry spaghetti, hard and brittle hair breaks and falls out. In some cases, what appears to be overall hair loss from dehydration could just be hair breakage. But it can be more than that if the hair is damaged by the lack of water as well.
What Does Dehydration Hair Loss Look Like?
The image of dry hair that just needs deep conditioning is familiar to most people. Whether it is from over-styling, bleaching, or just a natural propensity – some hair is coarse and dry. Much like dehydrated hair, that hair is brittle and prone to breakage. The difference is that dehydrated hair cannot be fixed with a deep moisturizer. To repair the damage done to dehydrated hair, the only solution is to rehydrate.
Can Hair Loss From Dehydration Be Reversed?
The good news is that in this case, changing the circumstances that created the hair loss can result in regrowth. So, the first thing to do would be steady, consistent hydration. The old standard for water was that you should have eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. The problem is that standard does not account for activity levels, body size, age, or weight.
More recent studies have argued that you should have an ounce of water per pound of body weight a day so a 200-pound man should have 200 ounces of water per day. Does that mean you need to be constantly drinking water? Not necessarily. There are things that will help with hydration that are not strictly water. Many of the foods we eat, especially raw fruits and vegetables, will help with hydration. Grapes, celery, and watermelon are especially noted for having a high percentage of water.
Many liquids will provide some amount of hydration. No, none are as effective as just plain water. Actually, some things we drink will contribute to dehydration. Things that are heavily caffeinated, like coffee or green tea, can actually dehydrate the body.
If you have hair loss related to chronic dehydration, it will probably be discouraging at first to try to immediately start drinking the proper amount of water. When we are dehydrated, our body does not process water as well and drinking that much water after not drinking much at all will result in a lot of trips to the bathroom. Gradually increasing your water intake by a glass per day until you reach full hydration is a much better approach.
Here are three ways drinking water can improve hair growth:
- Proper hydration prevents the development of brittle hair that breaks.
- Drinking more water helps you avoid dry scalp. A less dry scalp means less scratching. Scratching your head can lead to unintentional damage to the hair, follicles, leading to more hair breakage.
- Drinking water makes your hair feel and look thicker. Dehydrated hair is thin and brittle. Healthy hair is not.
As a bonus, proper hydration helps improve blood flow to the scalp, getting nutrients to your hair follicles and helping hair regrow. It can also help your overall health, preventing other illnesses that might cause hair loss.
Hair Restoration of Lehigh Valley Identifies the Causes of Hair Loss
No matter what the cause of your hair loss, the professionals here at Hair Restoration of Lehigh Valley can help you develop a treatment plan to reverse or repair the damage. Whether it is hair restoration therapy, hair replacement surgery, medications or just a good old glass of water, we can help you figure it out. Contact us today.
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