Carol asked…
I have hair loss. I also us an herbal hair color. Is using hair color promoting hair loss?
Hair coloring agents only impact the part of the hair follicle which is essentially the visible hair located on the head. Hair represents highly compressed skin which is not alive. As such, coloring agents can not promote hair loss of new hair per se. If chemicals are used which go down below the skin level, then damage to the growing elements of the hair follicles can occur. This would be difficult to do and would require a real chemical burn. What most people who report hair loss from topical solutions are talking about is the hair that is already outside of the head, the hair that we comb and style. Hair can be made brittle by the use of chemicals and as such, hair can break off, creating the illusion that it is promoting hair loss. But this hair loss is strictly above the skin and does not usually impact the hair below the skin which is deep and well protected from the things you can do to it. The new hair, which grows at about 1/2 inch per month, will replace the fallen hair almost 100% of the time. If you are used to hair that is 6 inches long, the normal replacement might take 12 months on its own (a half inch per month), reinforcing the concept that topical agents can promote hair loss.