Did you know that August is National Hair Loss Awareness Month?
Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty specific thing to celebrate all month, but the American Academy of Dermatology decided that there is enough mystery and myth surrounding the more-common-than-you-think phenomenon of hair loss to warrant its own celebratory month!
We’re going to break it down for you: the 411 on the realities behind hair loss. Plus, we’re arming you with the knowledge of what you can do to battle it. Spoiler alert: the 9 herbs packed into Nature Queen’s healthy hair growth bundle are Nature’s best weapons against hair loss.
So, if you want to celebrate National Hair Loss Awareness Month by trying a new hair care routine to keep you from being a statistic, read on!
Surprising Statistics on Hair Loss
- Mother Nature is gender neutral – fellas aren ’t the only ones who are follicularly challenged. 40% of people who report hair loss are actually females.
- Furthermore, almost half of all women will face hair loss by the time we reach age 50.
- How much hair in the drain is normal? My 30-something year old gal pal Emily just posted this question on Facebook the other day. Here’s what we can tell her: according to WebMD, the normal amount of hair shedding in a day comes to about 100 hairs. (Of the 100,000-150,000 hair follicles you have – that means that 100 ain’t so bad!)
- For the average Joe or Jill, about 10 percent of the strands on your head are in a “resting” state, rather than actively growing. These will die between 2-3 months and be shed. If your hair growth cycle is interrupted, it can trigger hair to enter the resting phase too early.
- Your hair growth rate natural slows down with age, so even if you're not experience significant hair loss, it takes longer for new hairs to grow, giving you the appearance of thinning hair.
- Stress and anxiety can cause your hair to fall out!
- Chemically treating your hair alters the structure of hair strands and cuticles, slowing their growth rate and ability to withstand damage from treatment, brushing, and ironing.
- Even wig-wearers should take heed that sew-in wigs damage the natural hair, leading to more breakage and loss than usual.
- Our bodies go through hormone cycles every 7 years, including a premenopausal phase around age 35 that triggers dry hair (among a few others) as a symptom of less-than-great nutrition or other areas of neglected health.
So, how are we supposed to battle hair loss, when Mother Nature herself seems to be allied with the baldness bad guys?
What if we use Mother Nature’s own ingredients to fight back against hair loss?
That’s exactly what we decided to do with our products at Nature Queen! Crafted around nine types of sustainable herbs known for various healing properties, Nature Queen’s hair-care products are made to cleanse, protect, nourish, and revitalize the hair and scalp, while supporting healthy hair growth.
We pored over research and studies that demonstrated hair growth properties of as many naturally-occurring herbs that we could get our hands on.
The result is this list of 9 botanicals from which we extract additives for our products:
- Gleditsia Australis Fruit
- Lemongrass
- Patchouli
- Holy Basil
- Shyonak Tree
- Billy Goat Weed
- White Mulberry
- Indian Goosegrass
- Kalmegh
In combination, our herbal infusion shampoo CLEANSES hair gently without drying out the scalp or stripping your hair color. The shampoo and conditioner combination contain extracts that stimulate blood flow to hair follicles. They also work to balance the sebaceous glands in order to PROMOTE HEALTHY HAIR GROWTH – naturally! Then, the conditioner’s Argan oil and Gleditsia extracts lock in SHINE and MOISTURE, without weighing your hair down. This means shiny, bouncy, voluminous hair is all yours! Not to mention, Nature Queen’s herbal hair products protect your hair and scalp against environmental damage, making them a fantastic DETOX between treatments, coloring, and daily blow-drying and ironing.
So, how did we come up with the right combination of natural botanicals to put into our hair growth boosting hair care products?
Our story begins in the lush and tropical fields of Southeast Asia. For hundreds of years, local women have enjoyed long luscious hair that grows to their knees, having discovered the beautifying and healing properties of different types of herbs. For generations, mothers have passed on this unique recipe to their daughters. And over generations, have gradually improved it to protect and nourish women’s hair and scalp, in an ever-changing environment.
We knew that the women of Southeast Asia were on to something – the proof is in the pudding, as they say! So, when we went looking for the best ingredients to battle the modern woman’s biggest beauty threat – we went right to the source to see if we could replicate the luster and shine of the hair we envied most.
And we’re not keeping it a secret either!
My kindergarten teacher always said, “Secrets don’t make friends,” so I’m happy to pass along exactly what 9 herbs are in the Nature Queen hair growth formulas. I’ll even give you their scientific and local names and exactly what properties each herb has been shown to provide for the hair and scalp:
- Gleditsia Australis Fruit (or Honey Locust, Chumket, bo ket) gives hair a healthy sheen and more manageability. This conditioning fruit is also known for promoting hair growth, restoring/balancing the sebaceous glands, and combating bacteria.
- Lemongrass (Cymbopogon) is both an antibacterial and an antimicrobial, which helps minimize pesky dandruff, fungal infections, and other skin conditions that can potentially plague the scalp. Lemongrass oil helps strengthen hair follicles making it an ideal ingredient for those suffering from hair thinning or loss.
- Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is best known for its distinct aroma. However, this oil is also an exceptional skincare ingredient. Patchouli soothes and treats eczema, acne, chapped skin, oily skin, dermatitis, and dandruff. It is also known for its pH balancing properties (think of it as a toner for the scalp.)
- Holy Basil, or Tulsi, is a skin savior. This herb is best known for improving blood circulation and for its antioxidant properties. Those susceptible to thinning and brittle hair can expect to see an overall improvement in the composition of their tresses.
- Shyonak Tree (Oroxylum indicum) is a staple in Ayurvedic practices; known for its antiseptic and astringent benefits, the extract from this tree is ideal for soothing disorders commonly associated with dry scalp.
- Billy Goat Weed (Ageratum conyzoides) packs a powerful punch in the world of herbal medicine. This super ingredient treats eczema and infected hair follicles (i.e., ingrown hairs, inflamed follicles.)
- White Mulberry (Morus alba) is a frequent staple in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. This incredible antioxidant is also antibacterial, hypolipidemic, adipogenic, and neuroprotective.
- Indian Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) combats and removes toxins as well as bacteria. Its tonic-like capabilities purify, detox, and stimulate the scalp. Also, Goosegrass promotes blood circulation to the hair follicles which increases hair growth.
- Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculate), harvested from Southeast Asia, is traditionally used for infections. This herb is best known for its astringent and antibacterial properties. Kalmegh is also incredibly soothing on the scalp.
So, there you have it! It’s no secret – these 9 herbs promote healthy hair growth in a way only Mother Nature could!
If you’re dealing with a particularly stressful phase of life or going through one of those 7-year hormonal cycles and noticing more hair in the drain than on your head, give Nature Queen’s healthy hair growth bundle a try. We’ve packed all of nature’s best weapons against hair loss into a beautiful shampoo/conditioner set.
References:
Hair Loss in Women. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/hair-loss-medref
The secret life of the hair follicle. Hardy, 1992 M.H. Hardy. Trends Genet, 8 (1992), pp. 55-61.
Hair Loss in Women. The Cleveland Clinic.
Thinning hair and hair loss: Could it be female pattern hair loss? American Academy of Dermatology Association.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2012 Hair Loss Study) https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
Hair care practices and their association with scalp and hair disorders in African American girls , Dr. Dina Strachan. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2012.
After all, Mother Nature’s nasty hair loss habits are what got us here in the first place – let’s let her work her natural magic to reverse them, too!
OH, and guess what else: Nature Queen products are safe for color-treated hair, are gluten free, and are suitable for all hair types. And they are never tested on animals. Even our packaging is 100% recyclable. You can feel good about your purchase in every way!