The battle between traditional medicine and Western, modern medicine exists even in the field of hair loss treatments. While researchers are trying to find ways to remedy the problem with one drug or a cocktail of chemical compounds, traditional remedies for hair loss have existed for thousands of years. If you're tired of taking pills and applying topical remedies to your balding areas, perhaps it's time to visit the age-old medicine chest of traditional remedies.

Why Even Try?

Generally, traditional medical approaches are safer than taking pills or using gels or patches filled with synthetic chemicals. Usually, traditional remedies involve the use of natural items and foodstuffs that can be found all around us.

The same principle applies with traditional Chinese medicine; herbs, roots and leaves are prepared in measured amounts to remedy common ailments. Economically, it's also more practical to use natural ingredients because they cost less, and you can prepare infusions and creams from the comfort of your home, at your own time.

Oil

You've heard the drill; put oil on your hair to keep it supple and shiny. To an extent, safe oils like mineral oil and essential oils from plants such as lavender and walnut are effective in keeping the hair healthy. If you have extremely dry hair, your sebum production may have been probably affected already. Sebum is the natural oily secretion that's responsible for keeping the hair shiny. If you're exposed to immense levels of smoke and toxins on a daily basis, your sebum production may have already weakened.

In such case, oils are a natural remedy. Dry hair is also brittle hair; ignore dry hair enough and you are rewarded with easy breakage and unattractive, unmanageable hair. Don't worry; you don't have to look far for the oils you can use. You can use any of the following for the purpose of strengthening and maintaining younger-looking hair:

- Castor oil
- Almond oil
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Essential oil of thyme
- Essential oil of rosemary
- Essential oil of lavender
- Essential oil of cedar wood
- Jojoba oil
- Grape seed oil

More Vitamins, Please

Keeping your hair on your head may be simpler than we formerly have thought. If you know that you're not getting enough vitamins because of your diet, there's no point in changing your diet now.

You can, but it would take longer for the vitamins to reach your ailing scalp. Instead, change your diet while taking vitamin supplements. Common multivitamin formulations with tocopherol, biotin, thiamine, ascorbic acid and the like are sufficient for maintaining a healthy scalp and hair.

Don't go to extreme lengths, either. It's not only pointless, but dangerous, to take multiple vitamin pills a day. The body can only make use of a certain amount of a vitamin; the rest are thrown away (through urination and bowel movement).

While some vitamins are kept in the body for future use, it is still recommended that you take only the recommended RDA for all vitamin types. This would prevent unnecessary problems associated with the overabundance of vitamins.