How to Promote Body Hair Growth
Body hair is a natural part of human growth and development, but hair growth patterns differ from person to person. Some individuals may have more body hair than they prefer, while others may not have as much hair as they'd like. For many individuals, the benefits of having body hair are numerous and may include warmth, protection or simple cosmetic preference. Fortunately for those individuals who are not able to grow hair in the area they wish, whether it's the scalp, face, chest or any other area, options are available to stimulate hair growth.
Massage the area on which you'd like to grow hair every day. When trying to grow healthy hair, be it on the face, legs, scalp or any other part of the body, adequate blood circulation and oxygen flow is essential. Massage stimulates circulation.
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Eat a healthful, well-balanced diet to ensure your body is getting adequate nutrition. Individuals who experience rapid weight loss or participate in dietary fads often have trouble growing hair due to a lack of proper nutrition. Getting sufficient amounts of iron and protein are essential for hair growth.
Ensure that your body is not experiencing any hormonal imbalances. Hormonal imbalances can make it temporarily difficult for the body to grow hair and often lead to hair loss 1. Imbalances can be caused by a variety of factors, including pregnancy, childbirth, an overproduction of testosterone or an overactive or underactive thyroid gland. Identifying and correcting any imbalances will promote hair growth, so visit your physician.
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Take 2.5 mg of a biotin supplement every day, suggests San Diego-based dermatologist Jeffrey Benabio. Biotin is a dietary supplement that helps to increase hair and nail growth.
Apply minoxidil to the area where you would like to grow hair. Commonly used to treat male-pattern baldness, minoxidil is an over-the-counter medication available in liquid or foam form that can theoretically encourage hair growth anywhere it is applied; however, once you cease using minoxidil, hair growth stops almost immediately.
Speak to your doctor about hair transplant surgery. Most commonly used to treat bald patches on the scalp, hair transplant surgery involves the use of grafting techniques to take plugs of skin with one to a few hairs and placing them onto the areas in which you wish hair to exist.
Warnings
Applying minoxidil to areas other than the scalp can cause irritation.
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References
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Changes in Diet Can Sometimes Lead to Hair Loss
- American Hair Loss Association: Causes of Hair Loss
- American Academy of Dermatology: Hair Loss
- Phillips TG, Slomiany WP, Allison R. Hair Loss: Common Causes and Treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2017;96(6):371-378.
- Watras MM, Patel JP, Arya R. Traditional anticoagulants and hair loss: a role for direct oral anticoagulants? A review of the literature. Drugs Real World Outcomes. 2016;3(1):1-6. doi:10.1007/s40801-015-0056-z
- Urysiak-czubatka I, Kmieć ML, Broniarczyk-dyła G. Assessment of the usefulness of dihydrotestosterone in the diagnostics of patients with androgenetic alopecia. Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2014;31(4):207-15. doi:10.5114/pdia.2014.40925
- Vincent M, Yogiraj K. A descriptive study of alopecia patterns and their relation to thyroid dysfunction. Int J Trichology. 2013;5(1):57-60. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.114701
- Peters EMJ, Müller Y, Snaga W, et al. Hair and stress: A pilot study of hair and cytokine balance alteration in healthy young women under major exam stress. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(4):e0175904. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175904
- Pratt CH, King LE, Messenger AG, Christiano AM, Sundberg JP. Alopecia areata. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17011. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.11
- American Academy of Dermatology. Alopecia Areata: Overview.
Writer Bio
Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shawn Mihalik has been writing articles in several topics including health and fitness, consumer technology, and society and culture, since 2007. His articles have appeared in several student publications including Youngstown State University's "Jambar." He has won several awards in student journalism and is pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism with a focus in consumer technology at Youngstown State University.