Is your elderly mother or grandmother upset that her hair is thinning as she ages? As her caregiver, do you find it difficult to help her look her best to give her the confidence she needs to go out and socialize? Maybe you have a personal care at home provider who helps your loved one with personal hygiene tasks each day and they’re looking for the best way to keep your loved one’s hair healthy and full.
Like all parts of the body, the hair and hair follicles age. Hair starts to have a shorter life span and its texture and color often change as well. Some hair follicles stop producing hair entirely, leaving hair thin and lacking any body. But your loved one can help her hair look its best by following these five rules and having her personal care at home provider help with the care of her hair. Many home care providers are trained in caring for senior hair.
Wash Less Often
Because bathing often dries skin and hair out, your loved one should look at reducing her bathing and hair washing to every other day to prevent more damage. When your loved one does wash her hair, or has her personal care at home provider wash her hair, make sure they are using the products made specifically for your loved one’s hair needs.
Style Less Often
Hot air dryers, flat irons, and curling irons all can damage hair, especially when your loved one is older. Those hot devices can damage hair so try to encourage your loved one to use them as infrequently as possible. When she does use them, have her personal care at home provider help with applying heat protectant onto the hair before using the hot styling item.
Stay Away from Hair Color
Your loved one might want to stay a redhead, but hair coloring products can cause a lot of damage to fragile hair. If your loved one insists on getting her hair colored, take her to a professional so that they’ll know what kind of products will work best on her hair instead of simply buying a box of hair color off of the shelves and hoping for the best.
Eat a Protein-Rich Diet
Hair is made up of protein strands. A diet low in protein can lead to hair loss. A diet that’s rich in protein and Vitamin C can provide the building blocks needed for healthy hair.
Check Medications
If your loved one takes medication for heart disease, it may affect her hair. If this is a concern, talk to her doctor about it to see what solutions can be found to reduce the amount of hair loss that is occurring.
Hair may change as your loved one ages, but it doesn’t have to look bad. It may just be a matter of a new style and a new game plan for taking care of it.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Personal Care at Home in Ridgefield, CT, please contact the caring staff at Elderly Caregivers LLC. today (203) 628-7438
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