This is a guest post by Josh Meyer, co-founder of Brickell Men’s Products.


Outside of death, marriage, and taxes, nothing scares a man more than the idea of hair loss. Unfortunately, by the age of 35, over two thirds of men will experience some degree of hair loss.

Is there a way to prevent or slow down hair loss in men?

Read this guide to help you understand why men lose their hair, find out how to prevent it, and if there is a cure.

Why Men Lose Hair

How to prevent hair loss and what is causing it

Image Courtesy: Antonio Gravante/

Hair grows out of small holes in your head called follicles.

There are two parts to your hair – the root, which is underneath the skin in the follicle, and the shaft, which is what you see growing out of your head.

At the base of the root is a small bulb that is full of the nutrients the hair uses to stay healthy and also where new hair cells are created. This means in simple terms, the healthier your follicles and your scalp, where your follicles live, the healthier your hair will be.

For the most part, men start losing and getting thinning hair when their hair follicles start to shrink and close off for good. This happens when a chemical called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) attaches itself to the hair follicle, slowly causing the follicle to shrink and close up.

If we’ve identified the main culprit, DHT, then why can’t we stop hair loss?

The reason is because your body needs DHT to keep you being a man. DHT is a bi-product of testosterone and early in life, it helps develop facial hair and other testosterone driven qualities in men. Later on in life, DHT presents a problem by attaching itself to hair follicles in men that are genetically predispositioned for it to do so.

Why this happens, scientists are stumped.

How to Prevent Hair Loss and Thinning Hair

Until scientists figure out the DHT issue, there are a few things you can do to help slow down hair loss. I’ll be upfront though – there is no magical cure to prevent it, it’s mostly genetic.

1. Shampoo less

Natural shampoo is able to prevent hair loss. Shampooing every day may have negative effect

photo credit: Shampoo (license)

Shampooing strips the essential oils your hair and follicles need each time you take a shower.

Try to shampoo only every other day, and if you do shampoo, use a natural men’s shampoo. Natural shampoos won’t strip your hair of essential oils and nutrients that it needs to look healthy and generate new hair cells.

2. Take care of your scalp

Take care of your scalp by avoiding scolding hot showers which irritate and dry it out. In this same category, avoid excessive time in the sun without a hat. Even though you have hair on your head, (hopefully) the sun’s powerful UV rays can easily damage your scalp, without you knowing it.

Taking care of your scalp also includes not coloring your hair. Become comfortable with your gray hairs as hair dye, even when done professionally, can dry out and destroy hair follicles. You’ve probably met a few females who have dyed their hair their whole life and now have dry, lifeless locks.

After showering, also make sure to let hair air dry or only gently towel dry. Vigorously rubbing the hair with a towel causes hair to become weak and brittle, and undermine the foundation it has with the follicle.

3. Condition your hair

Condition your hair, even on days when you don’t use shampoo. Men’s hair conditioner provides vital moisture and nutrients to your hair and the follicle.

The more nutrients your hair and scalp have flowing towards them, the healthier they will be.

4. Proper nutrition

Proper nutrition can prevent hair loss for men

photo credit: Capsules (license)

As new hair cells are created in your follicles, they mature through a process called keratinization. As the hair emerges from the follicle above your skin, it is a merely a keratinized piece of protein.

In fact, your hair is made up of 91% protein. Eating more lean protein or supplementing with protein shakes throughout the day will help make your hair look better than ever. Aim for .8g of protein per pound of body weight and you should see a noticeable difference in your hair.

You’ll also notice your nails growing faster and becoming thicker as well. They mature via a similar process.

5. Look for these ingredients

Look for the following ingredients in your shampoo and/or conditioner:

  1. Aloe: This natural moisturizer is loaded with vitamins, minerals and hydrators that your hair and scalp will love.
  2. Pro Vitamin B5 (D-Panthenol): This vitamin is a natural humectants. Humectants allow hair strands to hold more water, making it look fuller and shinier.
  3. Amino acids and protein: As mentioned above, your hair is primarily made up of protein. Washing it with protein and amino acids (the basic building block of protein) is a smart move.
  4. Essential oils such as peppermint and tea tree oil help dissolve dead skin and flakes on the scalp, helping not only follicles from becoming clogged, but also destroying flakes on top the head.

Now that you know more about why men lose and get thinning hair, the above steps should help slow that process from happening.

While it can take awhile to see results, following these steps should allow you to keep more what’s rightfully yours – your head of hair.

