One of the most common reasons why men and women lose their hair is due to poor cosmetic grooming. The unfortunate thing about this is the fact it is so preventable. Fortunately there are some steps you can take to put right some of the damage caused.

Speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology's 2004 summer conference, Dr Zoe Draelos offered a number of recommendations to improve the hair care regime:

1. Itching associated with seborrheic dermatitis can weaken and damage hair over a period of time so seek medical help if your scalp skin is itchy, red or scaly.

2. Long hair is more easily damaged. People with extensive hair damage should therefore consider a shorter style.

3. Hair growth slows with age and hair becomes thinner in texture. Older people should therefore ensure that only weaker chemicals are applied.

4. Take care when choosing grooming tools. Use a comb made from flexible plastic with smooth, rounded and coarse teeth. Use a brush with bristles that are smooth, ball-tipped, coarse and bendable. In addition brush as little as possible and avoid brushing wet hair.

5. Don't use tight rubber bands for ponytails as these cause excessive trauma and breaking of hairs. Likewise use hair clips loosely.

6. Understand the nature of your hair and adjust the intensity of your grooming to match. For example, curly hair tends to crack more easily than straight hair so be careful.

7. Make sure the hair is always cut with sharp scissors as crushing the end of the hair will encourage split ends.

8. The less that is done to hair in terms of styling, the healthier it will be. It follows then that care should be taken not to over-style with cosmetic products.

9. Hair coloring and bleaching are damaging to hair. If you must change hair color, try to stay within three shades of the natural color to minimize damage.

10. Hair relaxing and permanent waving are both damaging to hair and should only be used on a very limited basis.

You can find out more about treating hair loss by visiting the site listed below.