Chemical Treatment-Induced Hair Loss and Scalp Treatments

It may be surprising to learn that a significant fraction of hair loss or thinning is the result of the styling treatments that we often use on our hair. From styling waxes to hair sprays, various hair styling products (or treatments) are used to make our hair look great and manageable.

However, excessive use of these treatments could inversely be causing your hair loss, and the question then becomes, “How do you treat chemical treatment-induced hair loss with hair loss and scalp treatments?”

How is hair loss induced by chemical treatments?

Hair styling has become a day-to-day essential not only for women, but also for men. It could be as simple as using hair sprays, gels or waxes to mind the unruly strands, or the hair-straightening combs that we reach out for every morning before we start our day.

Chemical treatments don’t just end there, though. Salon-based rebonding, perming, bleaching or colouring of your locks could also be contributing to the deterioration of your scalp’s health.

However good the end results may look, if you neglect your scalp’s health after chemical treatments, it could induce hair thinning earlier than you’d expect.

Heat styling tools: Blow dryers, hair straighteners or curling irons

Frequent use of heat styling tools can cause heat damage to the hair shaft, eventually causing dryness, thinning, breakage, and hair shedding.

Hair products: Hair sprays, gels or waxes

The high concentration of alcohol present in sprays as preservative can dehydrate the hair-strands and irritate the scalp skin too. Similarly, hair gels and waxes tend to settle down on scalp skin blocking the pores and thus hinder skin breathing. This can adversely affect hair follicle health, weakens and constricts them and eventually result in hair thinning and fall.

Salon-based hair treatments: Hair colouring, rebonding or perming

While bleaching our hair to achieve the right colour contrast seems reasonable, it’s important to remember that harsh chemicals like bleach can injure and erode our hair cuticles. This can result in thinner hair with every exposure.

They can become brittle and more prone to breakage, and if our hair follicles are exposed to hair bleach, it could cause burns and inflammation, leading to permanent hair loss.

Not to mention the keratin-based hair treatments that are meant to transform the state of our hair. These popular hair grooming techniques are extremely tempting, especially for frizzy hair in Singapore’s weather. But unbeknownst to us, these techniques may involve using strong chemicals to tame our unruly hair.

Other grooming treatments like rebonding or perming our hair can also disrupt the natural keratin disulphide bonds of our hair strands. By using strong chemicals and restructuring them using heat, our hair is constantly being stressed to reform and rebuild its bonds to achieve our desired look. This compromises the strength and moisture-retaining capacity of hair strands, precipitating dryness and lustre loss.

Chemical hair treatments and scalp health

The modern styling tools target the scalp too. The scalp is the source of nutrition for proper hair growth, and chemicals can easily be absorbed by the scalp and deteriorate the quality of new hair growth. Prolonged use of chemicals may even burn the scalp, causing the permanent loss of certain hair follicles.

Signs of poor scalp health

Early detection of chemical treatment-induced hair loss is the key to prevent early or severe hair loss. Signs of scalp irritation such as excessive dryness, scales, redness, rashes or itchiness following a hair treatment should raise an alarm. Dull, brittle hair with thinning and split ends mostly indicate chemical damage.

Is chemical treatment-induced hair loss treatable?

Mostly, such damage is temporary in nature and is both preventable and treatable. Advancements in the science behind hair and scalp care provide several ways to help revive chemically damaged hair. These may include micro needling, hair transplants, or non-invasive techniques like Papilla’s signature S.E.P. Activator.

Each of these treatments have their own pros and cons, and only a trichologist or a hair and scalp specialist can decide which method will work best for you.

Non-invasive Hair Loss and Scalp Care Treatments in Singapore

Cell Nutrition Therapy

An effective, lab-certified technique used for reversing hair thinning of milder grades (Hair loss 1 to 3), it facilitates the direct transfer of active ingredients like stem cells, active growth factors, nutrients and even medication through the skin directly to the hair follicle to nourish the scalp and trigger hair growth.

Based on the principle of iontophoresis, the Cell Nutrition Therapy involves tiny electric currents working on the negatively and positively charged ions (to alter pH levels of the skin) to generate a voltage gradient sufficient enough to push micromolecules like nutrient-rich media towards the hair follicles. This then stimulates hair regrowth and rejuvenation.

Apart from efficiently providing nutrition, this technique collaterally:

• Improves microcirculation in scalp
• Promotes collagen regeneration
• Improves scalp immunity
• Cleanses the hair follicles
• Reduces inflammation
• Eliminates lymphatic toxins

DNA Activator

Papilla’s newest DNA Activator is another advanced technology to combat early phases (Hair loss to 4) of hair loss and thinning. Along with iontophoresis, the ionization technique is also equipped to gear up hair restoration.

A powerful combination of iontophoresis and ionization, the proprietary Double i-i protocol facilitates healthy hair growth by delivering hair growth factors and potent cells to the follicles with the help of tiny electric pulses. It stimulates the dormant, weak dermal papillae and encourage hair cell revitalization to fight hair thinning.

To add to this, ionization further potentiates hair regeneration by enabling the active ingredients reach deep down to the dermis and also by balancing the pH values in the scalp.

S.E.P. Activator

To top the list of non-invasive procedures tackling chemical related hair issues, Papilla’s award-winning Scalpelectroporation™ (S.E.P.) Activator is an FDA-approved, improved-upon needle-free nutrient delivery system for all scalp types.

It works by direct application of controlled low voltage electric impulses over the targeted areas, resulting in a temporary opening of cell membrane micro-pores by utilizing the skin’s water-based channels. As the pores open, the permeability of scalp tissue and thus the absorption rate increases almost 17-fold.

This paves way for easy entry of both micro- as well as macromolecules such as a blend of peptides, stem cells, nutrients and growth factors into the scalp tissues to stimulate hair regrowth and stop hair loss simultaneously.

Furthermore, enriched media can effectively be delivered to a deeper subcutaneous level that doesn’t disrupt the pH balance of the surrounding tissues.

Particles as big as 1 to 2 Daltons can smoothly pass through the epidermis and dermis, right into the subcutaneous layer targeting the follicle bulb to activate hair growth directly in the roots.

Compared to the other non-invasive treatment modalities, S.E.P. is clinically proven to:

• Result in 38% more hair cell growth in 28 days*
• Encourage complete cell restoration
• Promote 600% improvement in hair thickness
• Provide noticeably less hair fall after just one treatment

*Based on clinical studies conducted on the Scalpelectroporation™ technology.

Healthy hair begins from a healthy scalp

By infusing nutrient-rich media into the scalp to improve the quality of scalp tissues, the health of your scalp is also reflected in the appearance and overall health of the restored hair volume. Chemical treatment induced hair loss is, fortunately, not permanent and can be treated effectively and safely.

If you are also going through similar styling-inflicted hair thinning or hair loss, schedule a scalp analysis with our specialists today and leave the rest to us.