Viva Beauty: Mother's little helpers

HAIR HELP
Hair thinning and breakage is a concern to many mature adults and they're not all balding men who can tackle the issue head on with a shaver. For women, hair loss is a sensitive topic that can have a significant impact on self-esteem.

GPs and experts in the field of hair and scalp health, called trichologists, can explore if wider health issues are at play, however, some thinning with age is not unusual, says Geurt Renzenbrink. This South Auckland trichologist says hair can recede around the forehead or thin on the scalp in women as well as men.

It may also become finer and possibly oilier with age. Renzenbrink says hair shedding across the age groups may be because of medical reasons including auto-immune diseases and hormonal changes, and to stress or poor diet. Over-processing with colouring chemicals and inappropriate over-use of heat tools are other possible causes of damage.

Treatments and their success vary according to the root cause, but in less extreme cases of general thinning and shedding, ensuring scalp health and bolstering hair with cosmetic products that make it appear thicker are useful starting points.

Dietary supplements may help.

Hair stylists can advise on products, but be aware that many which volumise fine hair, often with the likes of corn starch, are purely cosmetic styling aids rather than therapeutic in effect. Look for those that contain ingredients chosen to help fortify strength at root level and along the shaft, as well as fluffing hair out. Some salons offer treatments aimed at improving scalp health and smoothing damaged hair cuticles.

Even the simple act of a thorough cleanse and good massage when shampooing your own hair will help keep follicles clear and pep-up scalp circulation. Renzenbrink advises women to go easy on daily washing and blowdrying, saying: "People wash their hair too often." Two or three times a week is plenty and dry shampoos can help stretch out the time between washes. Hair should also be left to dry naturally at times and not be over straightened.

Nioxin is a specialist name in anti-thinning haircare, started in America by a woman who suffered hair loss during pregnancy. It has a cosmetic effect by making hair appear thicker and the company claims that after four weeks of using its products hair shaft diameter will be enhanced.

The theory is that for every 5 per cent decrease in hair diameter we will appear to have lost the equivalent of 5000 hairs, based on a typical scalp of 100,000. Average healthy daily shedding is around 50 to 100 hairs but with hair follicle closure or damage can increase.

Nioxin maintains that because thinning hair can have a dramatic effect on appearance, addressing this with diameter boosters can be more effective than many "anti-ageing" hair loss prescriptions. Expensive, slow-acting hair-loss medications are often concerned with maintaining fibres and follicles, with transplants also promoted.

Viva tried an in-salon Nioxin treatment said to give hair the appearance of 11,000 more strands. This involved a cleanse and an application of its new Diaboost leave-in treatment which contains panthenol, niacinamide and caffeine, which work together to envelop the hair shaft. Diaboost, $64.95, is recommended for ongoing daily at-home use.

After a bouffant blowdry, hair was noticeably fuller looking, with a somewhat powdery feeling texture though a natural appearance. I Couldn't count the strands or vouch for long-term results, but if your locks are lacking this treatment certainly does a temporary trick.

• For a Nioxin in-salon treatment (for which prices with blowdry may vary), ph 0508 493552 or see nioxin.com.

Other new ranges of note include: Kevin Murphy Plumping Line, with its Body Mass, $70, being a leave-in treatment for thinning hair with oleanolic acid; Schwarzkopf Professional BC Fibre Force, with a weekly Fortifying Treatment, $34.90, using keratin bonds to reinforce damaged or lifeless chemically or physically over-processed hair to restore it to health for chemical treatments. Kerastase also specialises in hair restoration.

FACE FIXES
They say ageing is an attitude, but it is also a physical challenge. As our appearance alters with time, so too can our self-esteem. If health and happiness is on your side you will be well on your way to facing the future with a positive outlook. Add in some advice from experts and mix this with realistic expectations, plus a willingness to give yourself permission to invest in your own well-being with anything from a relaxing time out to a professional treatment.

When Catherine Stone launched Australasia's first specialist Botox clinic in Auckland in 2001, it was discreetly tucked away. Now her new Britomart premises are at ground level, indicative, she says, of how attitudes to appearance medicine have shifted.

Although injectables aren't for everyone, Stone says plenty of people now consider them a normal part of the anti-ageing armoury. Up to 15 per cent of her clients are men and she now has a Chinese-speaking nurse to cater for demand. "It's not about changing the way someone looks, it's about subliminal changes," says Stone. Her advice is: "Hold on to what defines you, get rid of what ages you."

Treatments and skincare need to be individually tailored, she says, and recommends avoiding aggressive laser resurfacing, deep chemical peels and harsh micro-dermabrasion. Opt instead for micro-dermaplaning, which removes surface dead skin cells and has the advantage of dealing with facial peach fuzz.

Non-invasive options she tips to freshen appearance are medi-facials with products designed to create change in the skin, and also the use of the likes of Latisse to promote lash and brow growth, which slows with ageing.

She is also closely following research into the use of platlet-rich plasma (PRP) on hair regeneration. PRP has been used internationally to help repair tendon and ligament problems for more than a decade, including in leading sports people such as Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant.

It is also being looked at for arthritis, while its use as a facial treatment is more recent. Locally, it is offered by a few appearance medicine specialists, but Stone has taken it a step further at The Face Place, combining PRP with dermal needling for delivery to the skin's dermal-epidermal junction in a treatment dubbed Renewed Radiance.

By adding the plasma to a naturally derived hydrating hyaluronic acid solution, she found it could be better delivered through the latest micro needling machine. "My favourite thing about this treatment is that you're using your body's own platelets and natural healing systems," says Stone.

"The downtime is minimal compared to similar treatments and because you are using something that is yours, there is almost no chance of a reaction or over correction - it's just a reminder to the body that it needs to come and repair the tissues."

As with most treatments, a course is recommended.

• The Face Place is at 50 Customs St East, ph (09) 358 5860, thefaceplace.co.nz.