How to Care for Thinning Hair | K-Beauty Hair Treatments

There are a variety of reasons your hair might be thinning – from reversible causes to irreversible causes. If hair is falling out in patches, clumps or it seems to be associated with scarring, irritation or other symptoms – always get checked out by a doctor. Any rapid changes can be a sign of an underlying cause (which are the most reversible), so get yourself checked out. 

For more general, slow hair thinning – it's important still to assess your health. One of the most common culprits is nutrition. Lack of protein intake, vitamins and minerals can prevent natural hair follicle growth and lead to breakage – so consider if you’re eating a balanced diet.  

Another common cause is stress, menopause and its more common in men – due to testosterone. Testosterone is converted in the body to DHT, a hormone that can shrink your hair follicles and create more fragile, delicate hair strands. Hair loss due to this reason can be improved using treatment such as finasteride or minoxidil – which help restimulate the hair follicles. 

If it’s none of the above – then it’s a natural part of aging. It happens to us all, where hair grows more delicate, grows slower and breaks easier – so it's important to improve your haircare routine to be more kind to it. 

If you’re a young’un reading this, its important to start caring for your hair at a younger age. Get into good habits of gentle haircare, eat well and manage stress. Try not to use damaging treatments on hair and be sure to visit the hairdresser to cut split ends and maintain healthy hair practices. Remember that damage can accumulate and lead to frizzier, dryer and more fragile hair later in life.

Your hair is similar to the rest of you and needs gentle care. Some chemicals strip the natural oils from your hair follicles, which can lead to premature damage and death – exacerbating thin hair appearance. Remember to avoid: 
- sulfates (SLS/SLES) 
- formaldehyde 
- parabens 
- alcohols 
As well as limit bleaching and straightening treatments (especially outside of a professional salon). 

It’s important to use a light touch on more fragile hair. Avoid ‘roughing’ up hair, when applying shampoo or conditioner. Instead, gently comb or brush hair to ensure good coverage and gently de-tangle. When drying hair, gently squeeze water out with a towel, instead of rubbing (as friction or distress will increase breakage). 

When tying up hair, avoid using tension-fueled rubber hair bands or cotton – instead try to opt for silk or satin hair ties and don’t tie hair up tightly. 

It’s vital to balance your washing routine based on your hair type. If you have a more oily scalp, it’s important to wash every second day to gently exfoliate and prevent oil-build up with can irritate follicles. 

For more dry scalps, however, you only need to wash every 3rd or 4th day to refresh the scalp. Instead, use hydrating serums with hyaluronic acid, jojoba or tea tree oils to refresh and stimulate scalp. 

For long-term and holistic care of the scalp – K-Beauty treatments have great efficacy to help your hair reach its peak health. We have a few recommendations here that we’ve had good results with – but absolutely cross-reference the active ingredients to any hair treatments that appeal to you! 

A rich extract that cools irritation and redness and can be a perfect remedy to general hair follicle inflammation. It also improves circulation – which has led to its success in boosting hair thickness and regrowth. It rivals minoxidil in helping boost hair thickness but also is great at improving scalp itching – making it a great general remedy and treatment.

Recommended: Aromatica Rosemary Root Enhancer 
This is our favourite hair treatment with rosemary, with a gentle and refreshing mist application that helps refresh and hydrate the scalp. It has a natural herbal scent, which creates a pleasant aroma. We recommend it after washing and drying hair to provide a protective boost. 

Not only is caffeine in all our favourite and tastiest drinks, it can also help improve scalp health. It improves circulation to the scalp, boosts proliferation and prevents cell death in follicles for healthier, stronger hair. It needs more direct studies to compare to other treatments – but it is a helpful booster to strengthen hair follicles. 

Recommended: Kundal Head Spa & Scalp Scaling Caffeine Water Treatment 
This treatment is great for dry scalps (less useful for oily hair!), providing a deep and refreshing spray that absorbs deeply into skin and cools irritation. It extends to the hair strands, creating soft and hydrated hair with a radiant shine. 

A newer and vibrant new hair treatment – peptides are making their way into hair care and boosting hair growth. Providing deep enrichment and protecting hair strands, carefully formulated peptide treatments can help strengthen hair from within for true protection and improvement of hair. 

Recommended: Cosrx Peptide-132 Ultra Perfect Hair Bonding Shampoo 
This carefully formulated hair-protective shampoo provides a balanced blend of caffeine, zinc, hyaluronic acid and proteins – heralded by Cosrx’s patented Peptide-132 treatment. It binds to the core of hair strands and holds there, rebuilding and strengthening hair with each use. It comes with a hair treatment and serum for maximum benefits. 

Extracted from peppermint oils, menthol has had great results in animal trials to improve growth of hair and skin cells for healthier, shining hair. One study found a 30% improvement of hair growth, but this has yet to be replicated well with human studies. It creates a cooling, gentle effect on the scalp and although it hasn’t been studied like it should – there are a number of people who have seen great effect with menthol. 

Recommended: Seapuri Scalpy Hair Serum 
Enriched with menthol, this cooling serum is also enriched with salicylic acid to clear follicles and improve growth, as well as a variety of protein-rich extracts to provide the scalp ingredients to strengthen and refresh. In Seapuri’s testing – it helped reduce hair shedding by up to 70%. 

Altogether, hair thinning can be a difficult time for people. It’s normal to be self-conscious or be distressed – but healthy hair doesn’t just mean full hair. The most important thing is to make sure you are taking care of yourself; from checking in with a GP, eating well, reducing your stress where possible and learning to safely care for your hair and body.  

For more haircare, treatments and more – check out our K-Beauty, specialty range on Arktastic. We’re always adding new, exciting products and brands – if you’re looking for that special something to boost your natural radiance. 

Looking for more beauty tips? Check out our guide to caring for mature skin – for holistic and radiant skincare that will have you feeling and looking your best. Or check out our guide to Cosrx and how they started their haircare journey. 

How to Care for Mature Skin | Reducing Fine Lines 
The History and Story of Cosrx 

What Causes Hair Loss? 
There’s a vast number of causes of hair loss, which can be simplified to ‘reversible’ and ‘non-reversible’ causes. Things that cause reversible, rapid and unexpected hair loss should always warrant a visit to the doctor – as they can range from dangerous syndromes to things that require treatment to preserve and protect hair follicles. For non-reversible, slow and general loss of hair – this is most commonly due to hormonal and genetic causes. 

 The most common are any causes of high testosterone – which converts to DHT and shrinks/damages hair follicles. This occurs in times of high stress, menopause, men with high testosterone and HRT. 

What Natural Hair Loss Treatments Are There? 
There’s a variety of natural hair treatments, to help reduce loss of strands and improve scalp circulation. It’s been shown that spots of hair loss often have poor circulation, meaning nutrients aren’t being delivered to those follicles. Thus, topical products that boost circulation will help prevent further loss – such as rosemary, menthol (or peppermint) or caffeine. Also consider scalp massagers (used gently) and gentle exfoliation of the scalp to help boost nutrient delivery. 

Do Hair Loss Treatments Work? 
Yes, there’s a variety of hair treatments that can help reduce shedding and preserve hair follicles. But similar to other cosmetic treatments – they don’t work for everyone. If you’re finding that topical hair treatments are not working for you, chances are your hair is not responding to those mechanisms. It’s always worth checking in with a doctor (especially if hair loss is causing distress) to make sure there’s nothing underlying your hair loss (such as lack of nutrients, hormonal conditions or alopecia).