We all know that our skin ages with time. But do you know that our scalp ages too? Yes, it does and at an astonishing rate; our scalp ages at a rate 12x faster than the skin on our body and 6x faster than our facial skin!

Our scalp can become older and thinner as it loses its elasticity. Over time the scalp will have fewer active hair follicles and this may lead to finer, thinner hair. The monthly average speed of hair growth on a healthy scalp is approximately 1.25cm. On an ageing scalp, however, the speed may reduce greatly by 80%, and grow less than a quarter cm.

So how can we tell if our scalp is ageing?

Sign #1. Oily scalp
Barely a few hours after you wash your hair in the morning, you find your hair sticking together, becoming limp and oily. You may also experience scalp sensitivity and inflammation or even find pimples growing on your scalp.

Sign #2. Dandruff
Our scalp is very much like our skin. The cells undergo renewal regularly but for an ageing scalp, this process is affected and dandruff is likely to result. There are 2 types of dandruff: dandruff due to dry scalp is fine and powdery while dandruff due to oily scalp is translucent, sticky and in bigger flaky pieces. (To know more about dandruff, click here.)

Sign #3. Hair loss
When your scalp ages, the hair follicles get clogged easily and this may affect the absorption of protein. This could in turn aggravate your hair loss problems; look out for clumps of hair on your pillow, comb and drainage (after shampooing). If the amount of hair you found lying around seems more than usual, you may want to take heart, and for a quick preliminary assessment, click here to find out more.

But what can we do to treat an ageing scalp? Replenishing the lost nutrients with protein for your hair follicles is a good way to start off.

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