Hair loss: coconut oil could limit the number of hairs lost

Prior research suggested that coconut oil treatment "prevented combing damage of various hair types"; building upon this premise, researchers from the Nature Care Division in

Mumbai, India, compared the effectiveness of coconut oil compared to mineral and sunflower oil on hair. The paper explained mineral oil was included in the study "because it is

extensively used in hair oil formulations in India". The use of sunflower oil was also investigated due to it being the "second most utilised base oil in the hair oil

industry". "Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins," the researchers explained. "And because of

its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, it's able to penetrate inside the hair shaft." They continued: "Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for

proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results. "In the case of sunflower oil, although it is a triglyceride of linoleic acid, because of its bulky structure –

due to the presence of double bonds– it does not penetrate the fibre, consequently resulting in no favourable impact on protein loss." DON'T MISS How to live longer: Best time of

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added: "If you are not getting enough protein through your diet, you may experience excessive hair shedding (telogen effluvium)." Protein is essential to help build the cells of

your hair, with "85 percent of your hair" composed of a protein called keratin. "Dietary proteins are your hair’s building blocks — they make your hair strong and help keep it

in its growing (anagen) phase," Philip Kingsley added. Therefore, if you'd like to minimise the risk of hair falling out, eating protein is essential. However, if hair loss

isn't due to protein deficiency, but is due to older age, then more medicated treatment might be needed. The NHS recommend the earliest use of minoxidil to treat male or female pattern

baldness. Minoxidil isn't available on the NHS, and it can become expensive if you need it part of your hair care system. The use of minoxidil only works when the product is

continuously used, and it "doesn't work for everyone".