Your scalp ages with time, here’s how to adapt your hair care routine

Our skin changes with age and we adapt our skin care routine accordingly. We give our face a lot of love with products or procedures to make it look its best but tend to forget our skin to the north. In this article we will go through things to look out for and some things to help slow the aging process.

Aging of your scalp includes programmed changes and damage-related changes. Programmed changes follow your biological clock, much like how your facial skin naturally ages over time. Damage-related changes are internal and environmental stresses (oxidative stress) that can increase the rate of aging.

Signs of an aging scalp

Your scalp ages first before it showed signs on your hair, but because your scalp is covered with hair, you’re less likely to notice it. What you might notice in your hair is dullness, thinning (alopecia), graying and changes in the structure of the hair which can mean it is more brittle, or less elastic.

Can you reverse or slow the rate of aging?

Scalp aging does not follow a rigid timeline. There is a possibility of aging to become slower and it’s linked to general health, nutrition, lifestyle, and hygiene. Essentially your scalp aging is no different to your face or body aging. The better you treat it, the slower it will age, the better results you’ll get.

What are some of the things you can do?

Encourage blood flow to your scalp. We have a great article all about how to increase blood flow to your scalp. One of the best ways to do this is giving yourself a scalp massage

Protect your scalp from the sun. Your hair does give protection from harmful UV rays, however if you have a prominent hair part, it wouldn’t hurt to apply a little sunscreen there. If you are going to be out in the sun all day, we would recommend wearing a hat.

Keep your scalp clean. We don’t recommend going beyond 1 week without washing your hair. Yes, even if you are wearing a protective style. The issue is that dust and dirt does accumulate on your scalp, which mixes with sebum and sweat. Leaving your scalp unwashed for a prolonged period will do damage.

When shampooing, focus on your scalp and use a shampoo brush which gently, but thoroughly, cleans and exfoliates your scalp.

Antioxidants are your friend. Your diet plays such an important role in every aspect of your life. To fight the damage related changes, we touched on earlier, we recommend looking at your diet to ensure it is diverse and rich in antioxidants. Topical solutions, like our Scalp Elixir, are also very beneficial to apply to your scalp. This product is full of rich oils like green tea, hibiscus, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, black seed, rosemary and wheat germ which have high antioxidant properties

As you make changes in your routine, set reasonable expectations. Following these tips won’t reverse your graying for example, but it might slow it down. Aging is part of our life process, and it’s a beautiful process. It’s what makes us wiser, makes us understand the world better, so a few grays are just your badge of honor ;-)

References

Trüeb RM, Henry JP, Davis MG, Schwartz JR. Scalp Condition Impacts Hair Growth and Retention via Oxidative Stress. Int J Trichology. 2018;10(6):262-270. doi:10.4103/ijt.ijt_57_18

Trüeb RM, Rezende HD, Dias MFRG. A Comment on the Science of Hair Aging. Int J Trichology. 2018;10(6):245-254. doi:10.4103/ijt.ijt_56_18