Whether it is the stay-at-home mother of two or the teenager locked up in her room on the phone or the corporate go-getter, the one problem that every woman in the UAE seems to suffer from is hair fall. Some blame it on the water, others on the harsh climate, The weekend tabloid! spoke to Dr Steve Shiel, the Pantene hair expert, about the issue.

Shiel was quick to stress that it is natural for an individual to lose 50-100 hairs a day: this is our body’s natural mechanism. While hair naturally “jumps”, there is the problem of hairs being “pushed”: the problem of hair fall. This can be due to a number of reasons such as diet, hormonal imbalances and climate changes. However in the UAE, the problem seems to be the exposure to harsh chemical influences in the desalinated water — when hair is exposed to these chemicals it slowly loses its protein layer leaving hair unhealthy, damaged and weak. The new Pantene Pro-V range tackles the problem by fighting the invisible causes of damage and prevents protein loss with the new formula.

“Wash your hair with bottled water first and then shampoo, condition and rinse your hair with the normal tap water,” recommends Shiel. “Hair is like a sponge and when wet, hair cannot absorb further, meaning it cannot absorb the harmful chemicals present in desalinated water.”

Another topic of concern for women in the UAE is “scarf hair”: where hair tends to thin on the crown. “This is caused by friction between rough hair and the harsh material of the scarf. Wearing silk scarves and using a product from the oil replacement collection from the all new Pantene Pro–V range can keep hair soft and healthy and therefore preventing chafing,” Shiel says.