Summertime is always an interesting time for hair. On one hand, all the sun feels great and can even give you a quick boost of nutrients. On the other hand, your hair can get dried out and brittle, putting you at risk for hair loss.
No one wants that, and that’s why we want to discuss hair moisture. To know how to prevent the problem, you need to know what’s causing it.
What’s Happening When Hair Feels Dry?
Your hair can dry out in one of two different ways:
Your scalp isn’t producing enough natural oil to properly moisturize your hair.
Your hair strands are letting moisture escape.
Both of these conditions can either be hereditary (in your genes), or they can develop over time. As you get older, most people’s scalps simply produce less natural oil. If you’re not making up for this loss of moisture with other products, your hair will be dry and more prone to breakage.
How much moisture your hair strands retain depends on your cuticles. When hair cuticles are tight together, moisture stays in and your hair will look shiny, full and healthy. Loose cuticles (also brought on by age or genes) let the moisture escape.
How can you tell if your hair is dry? Well, you will definitely feel a difference when you run your fingers through your hair. It won’t be as smooth or as silky as it normally is. The other key part to check is your ends. Split ends are one of the main signs of unhealthy or dry hair.
What Causes Dry Hair?
Realizing that your hair is dry or brittle can be a bit shocking. The truth is, it doesn’t just happen overnight. Most of the time dry hair is caused by slow, consistent exposure. And we’re not just talking about the weather.
It’s certainly true that natural elements like sun, wind and extreme heat can contribute to dry hair, but one of the most overlooked factors is heat abuse from styling tools.
Flat irons, blow dryers, hot rollers, curling irons…all of the tools that we use everyday to make our hair look great are can strip your hair of its natural moisture if you’re not careful.
In fact, the heat from these everyday styling tools can actually break down your hair’s structure. Yikes. That’s what happens when you put a 400 degree tool directly on your hair.
What Should I Do About My Dry, Brittle Hair?
When your hair is dry to the point that the hair strand is damaged, there’s no way to reverse it. If you have split ends, you should immediately cut them before the split end rises up your hair strands and does damage to the root.
Experts say that your yearly trims are enough — you should be getting a haircut every three to six months. Not only does it keep your ends looking good, it can provide a better growth environment for your healthy strands. When your healthy hair looks fuller, your damaged hair will not be as noticeable.
For hair that is just dry, and not completely damaged, there are a few ways that you can breathe new life into it. But before you look into ways to give your hair more moisture, you need to be understand how to prevent it in the first place.
How Can I Prevent My Hair From Drying Out?
Prevention is absolutely key. If you know that you’re going to be out in the sun, or other extreme conditions, you should look for a light styling spray that protects it from the elements. A quality styling spray provides a very thin layer of protection that prevents the sun, wind, and water from penetrating your hair strands.
Another great way to prevent damage is by wearing protective hair styles like french braids or buns. These hairstyles reduce the amount of stress on your hair follicles and they don’t require much (if any) hair styling product or the use of any hot tools.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your styling tools altogether. You just have to make sure you’re protected. Before using your flat iron or blow dryer, make sure that you have a quality heat protectant serum. Not only will it create a shield between your hair and your tools, it will also make it easier to style your hair at lower (and safer) temperatures.
Always look for products that contain all-natural products. Serums with hair growth vitamins and nutrients like biotin, vitamin E, and iron can help your hair grow at its full potential.
Other Ways to Keep Your Hair Moisturized
Even though it’s tempting to simply wash your hair every time you shower, you really should only be washing it 2 or 3 times per week. Washing your hair too much can strip it of its natural oils. If your hair is feeling dry, take a few days off so it can get its moisture back.
While you shouldn’t be washing your hair everyday, you certainly can use a good conditioner every time you shower. If your hair is really dry, look into a leave-in conditioner that will boost your hair with nutrients.
Another key tip: use a boar bristle brush. Boar bristles are great for dry hair because they help spread your natural oils throughout the rest of your hair. It makes your hair look and feel healthier, and it even lets you wash less as often.
Keeping your hair properly moisturized is something that needs to be attacked from multiple angles. Even if you’re doing everything right product-wise, none of it will be very effective if your diet is lacking, or you’re not drinking enough water. Take care of yourself, and your hair will look much better.
Hair growth supplements companies are doing their best to formulate a product that gets your hair to grow. Often these products may work somewhat, and the ones that work best are usually the ones that include the most ingredients.
In fact, many of the hair growth supplements have ingredient lists that look similar to what’s in a multivitamin / multimineral formula.
That’s because there are three primary reasons for why your hair may not be looking its best is that you could have some vitamin or mineral deficiencies. For example, if you have a zinc deficiency, you could end up with hair loss. The zinc will affect hair growth and reproduction.
There are a few other reasons why you could have hair loss and need hair growth supplements.
1. You have an infection of the scalp, which is bacterial, parasitical, or fungal.
2. Your hormone levels are out of balance. You may have high testosterone and low estrogen as a female, or high testosterone as a male, which kills the hair follicles.
Each of these respond to better nutrition although if your hormone levels are out of balance, it’s best to work with your doctor to get them leveled out. And of course, if you do have an infection of the scalp, it’s best to get that treated so your hair can start to grow again. Some types of microbes will cause hair breakage, which contributes to further hair loss.
What Do Most Hair Growth Supplements Contain?
The primary ingredients found in hair growth supplements are any of the following:
B vitamins especially biotin, inositol, choline and vitamin B6
Antioxidant vitamins vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E
Minerals zinc, selenium, iodine, copper, and iron
Amino acids L-methionine and L-cysteine
Alpha-lipoic acid, MSM, and N-AC
Omega 3
Some supplements may only contain five or six of the ingredients listed above. Others may contain almost all of them. A few may contain all of them.
There are some additional ingredients that may be found in hair growth supplements.
Some may contain herbs such as Korean red ginseng, the mushroom Polygonum multiflorum, Eclipta alba, Thuja orientalis, rosemary, or Fo-ti. These are herbs that have been used historically for centuries for hair loss and hair improvement.
Which supplements are the best? Certainly, the it would be the ones that contain the most ingredients in the right amounts your body needs.
Choosing the supplement with the most in it is much better than taking only one nutrient, thinking it will work. One ingredient by itself may or may not work, You will never be deficient in one nutrient alone; it doesn’t happen in nutrition since nutrients work together. It makes more sense to take a supplement that contains the most ingredients aimed at helping improve your hair.
The Missing Ingredient From Hair Growth Supplements
What is quite interesting is that many of the supplements on the market are overlooking a basic fact about hair, skin, and nails, muscle, and bone: these tissues are connective tissues that depend upon dietary silica for them to become strong.
It’s no wonder that they don’t add silica to their supplement. The nutrition boards of doctors that determine what nutrients are essential for the body don’t even acknowledge that silica is worthy of essential element status. Yet, when you do a little research on silica, you’ll find that not only has the soil been vastly depleted of this nutrient, but also there are only a few foods that have the mineral in it. Some of those foods include cucumbers, parsnips, and bell peppers.
Some hair growth supplements may contain small amounts of silica, but they are nowhere near the amount that is needed to get an excellent result in the hair and for hair growth. The dosage recommended is the amount of silica found in one heaping tablespoon food grade diatomaceous earth twice daily. This amount is usually added to protein shakes, juice, milk, or water. Diatomaceous earth isn’t tasteless but it is not a bad taste either.
For the past three years, I’ve recommended dietary silica in the form of diatomaceous earth to patients with all sorts of health issues that are related to connective tissue disorders. They might have hair loss, lack of hair growth, gum disorders, blood vessel disorders, bone and joint disorders, or muscle problems such as strain, tears, or injuries.
Every one of these problems has healed in record time, and I’ve been especially impressed with the results seen for those whose hair never grew much. They report that they have to get their hair cut about two weeks earlier than usual, and their hair has reached a new length they never had before in their entire life. I remember one patient in her 60s whose hair had grown past shoulder length. She was exceptionally happy about this and had wished she had found her secret to hair growth years earlier.
With diatomaceous earth, small hair loss patches on the scalp start to fill in, and over time look a lot better.
When it’s time for you to decide on a comprehensive hair growth supplement, choose wisely. Then start taking it regularly. Go the full distance and add the extra missing ingredient – dietary silica. You’ll be very happy with the results.
Essential oils (or simply EOs) are a popular natural hair care product. Sadly, when it comes to hair oils, not many people understand how different types of oil should be used and what affect they have on our hair and scalp. In this article, I’m going to talk about what essential oils are, how to use them and how they differ from other types of hair oils.
Essential Oil Basics
Let’s begin with the name. Oils are called essential because they carry a very strong essence (or scent) of the plants that they have been extracted from. Essential oils penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and should be used with care – only a few drops of EO are usually used.
Now, most hair care regimens recommend mixing EOs with carrier oils such as castor, almond, olive, jojoba, sesame and so on. Carrier oils help to hold essential oils, making them easier to apply and preventing any unwanted side-effects of using strong EOs. Hard oils, such as coconut oil, are rarely mixed with EOs.
Popular Essential Oils
Below are quick descriptions of some of the most popular essential oils out there.
Peppermint oil: A very strong essential oil that has a strong scent and a pleasant cooling effect on the scalp. Peppermint oil should not be used undiluted, because it can easily burn the skin causing serious damage. Normally just 2-3 drops of peppermint EO is enough to give any hair oil mixture pleasant cooling and refreshing properties. The main benefit of using peppermint oil on hair is that it stimulates blood flow to the scalp, thus helping your body deliver more nutrients and minerals to the hair follicles.
Tea Tree oil: Another popular EO that is known for its superb fungus-fighting properties. Tea tree oil is often used to treat issues with itchy and flaky scalp. These annoying conditions are usually caused by fungus that can also cause dandruff and tea tree oil is a good all-natural way to keep this fungus growth under control.
Remember that tea tree oil should not be applied undiluted in its pure form as it may cause damage/burns. Mix it with a carrier oil or put a little tea tree EO into your normal shampoo/conditioner. Another thing to keep in mind is that too much tea tree oil (or simply using it too often) can lead to scalp/skin dryness, which is not a good thing.
Rosemary oil: This oil has a very, very strong scent that is also quite pleasant. For this reason, it is often added to other oils to improve the way your hair/skin smells after an oil treatment. Some people claim that rosemary EO can help with hair regrowth, though it’s really hard to confirm these reports because rosemary oil is practically always used as an ingredient in a mix of different oils. Do not use rosemary oil undiluted!
Lavender oil: This commonly used EO is a little controversial as it is thought to increase estrogen production, especially in young boys. The effects that this strange property has on adults are not very well studied. Lavender oil is often used as an ingredient in complex EO and carrier oil mixes as well as found in many hair care products.
Ylang Ylang oil: Another oil that has a very strong scent and should be used sparingly. Ylang Ylang smells a bit like jasmine and can be overwhelming if overused. Whether this EO helps with hair growth is very difficult to tell, but it does seem to help moisturize and relieve tension from the scalp! Just remember to mix Ylang Ylang with other EOs as well as some carrier oil/oils – do not use it on its own!
Thyme: Used to treat various skin, ear and mouth infections, thyme oil is also found in most potent hair growth products. It is not clear exactly how and why it works so well to treat certain types of hair loss, but it has been proven to work over and over again (only when used in a special mix with other oils though)!
How to Use Essential Oils
One thing that you must remember about essential oils is not to use them undiluted! They are usually very strong and, if overused, can cause serious skin burns as well as other health issues (such as high blood pressure, headaches and so on). People with high blood pressure should avoid using rosemary oil.
Now, for hundreds of years people have been using EOs to treat hair loss, so they are definitely worth trying. Most people either mix 1-3 drops of their favorite EO into shampoo/conditioner or add some to their pre-shampoo oil treatments.
Another thing about EOs that seems to come up time and time again is that they work best when used in conjunction with other oils. This makes it very difficult to pinpoint exactly why EOs help with hair loss and growth.
One of the most popular (and potent) essential oil recipes for hair growth is:
2 drops of Cedarwood EO
2 drops of thyme EO
2-3 drops of rosemary EO
2-3 drops of lavender EO
3-5 teaspoons of grape seed oil
About half a teaspoon of jojoba oil
Mix all of the above oils together and then massage the mixture into your scalp (especially the areas where hair loss is occurring). Wrap your head in a towel or something to keep it warm. Now, depending on how your scalp and hair react to this treatment, you have two choices: either wait 30 minutes and then wash it all out, or keep it in overnight and wash your hair in the morning. Do not overdo this; just two treatments per week should be enough.
When it comes to figuring out how to make hair grow faster, it’s important to cut through the hype and myths, not to mention all those marketers out there trying to make a quick buck selling you products that may or may not get the results you’re looking for. In this article, I draw upon only the best sources of information out there in order to give you the truth about many different aspects of hair growth, whether you’re interested in just learning about what makes your hair grow, how to make hair grow longer, or how to make hair grow faster naturally.
Is There a Worldwide Epidemic of Hair Loss?
A recent study by Relevant Research, Inc. for the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, found the following (source):
Number of hair loss sufferers worldwide seeking professional treatment
811,363
Percent of men who will have noticeable hair loss by age 35
40 %
Percent of men who will have noticeable hair loss by age 60
65 %
Percent of men who will have noticeable hair loss by age 80
70 %
Percent of women who will have noticeable hair loss by age 60
80 %
Percent of male patients that use a minoxidil (such as Rogaine)
85 %
Percent of male patients that use a finasteride (such as Propecia)
15 %
Percent of all patients that had a negative reaction to any hair loss treatement
7 %
Percent of hair loss sufferers who would spend their life savings to regain a full head of hair
47 %
Percent of hair loss sufferers who said they would rather have more hair than money or friends
60 %
Clearly, there are a lot of people all around the world who are concerned about the state of their hair as it thins and disappears. I think it’s worth taking a good look at the science of hair growth to find out what’s really happening.
The Science of Hair Growth
What does the medical community have to say about hair growth? You can be sure that doctors all around the world have had to deal with patients concerned about hair growth and hair loss issues. Here is the collective wisdom the scientific medical community has come up with, as found at the WebMD website:
What is Hair Made of? It’s fascinating to think that as of week 22, a human fetus developing in the womb has already formed all of its hair follicles! There are typically around 5 million hair follicles all over the body, with the only exceptions being the palms of the hands, bottoms of the feet, lips and eyelids (except, of course, for the eyelashes). There are a million hair follicles just on the human head, with 100,000 of those found on the scalp. Everyone tends to say that hair is “dead,” but there is a living part to hair, but we can’t see it because it’s below the skin. At the base of the follicle is a bulb of living cells that divide surprisingly fast – every 23 to 72 hours, which is faster than most other cells in the human body. Those bulb cells are fed by the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) of the papilla that the bulb surrounds. It is true that the hair we see growing is in fact dead. It’s made of a protein called keratin.
How Fast Does Hair Grow?
The hair growing from your scalp tends to grow at a rate of about .3 to .4 mm/day, which overall translates into about 6 inches (15.24 cm) per year. You’ve probably noticed that out in nature, it’s pretty common for many animals to grow more hair or shed hair according to the seasons. This is not the case with humans – there is no seasonal variation in hair growth for us! We do, however, shed. In fact, there are three distinct stages in the hair growth cycle. A hair’s active phase is called anagen. Those cells at the base of the follicle are dividing away quite rapidly and pushing a new hair up through the follicle, if there’s an old hair already present that is no longer growing (called a club), it will get pushed up and out of the follicle. This anagen phase can last for 2-6 years, during which time the hair can grow as fast as 1 centimeter every 28 days. The hair on your arms and legs has a much shorter anagen phase, to the tune of 30-45 days, which is why those hairs don’t get very long – and isn’t that a relief to know? Then comes the catagen phase, which applies to about 3% of your hairs at any given moment. In this phase the individual hair has stopped growing and is becoming a club hair. In the final phase of hair growth, the telogen phase, the hair has made the final transition to being a club. It is at rest and will typically stick around for about 100 days before it gets pushed out by a new hair. On average, people lose about 25-100 telogen hairs each day. If you pull a telogen hair out at the root, you’ll find a bit of hard white material around the base of the hair.
At this point, you may be wondering, “What does any of this have to do with how to make my hair grow faster?” What you first have to realize is that there’s no magic solution that will make your hair grow faster or make your hair longer. If you want your hair to be longer, don’t cut it. If you want your hair to grow faster, there are some things you can do that will let it grow at the fastest rate possible, but you’re never going to beat the overall average by anything significant. In other words, your hair may be growing slower than it should, and you can address that. There is also a common myth out there that when you cut or shave your hair it seems to grow faster. This is not true. What is true is that shaving can make hair seem thicker when it grows back in, but it’s definitely not growing any faster.
What you’re really aiming for is to improve the general health and quality of your hair, which will include normal growth. I’m going to take a different approach, and it’s one that you won’t see taken in most of the articles about hair growth you’ll read on the Internet. I want you to understand the following statement very clearly:
You Hair Will Only Be As Healthy As The Rest Of You
That statement is the most basic truth you must accept when it comes to how to make hair grow faster. The healthier you are overall, the healthier will be your hair. But please don’t misunderstand me – you can be as healthy as anything and still have hair problems! There’s no guarantee that achieving optimal health will make for a luscious full head of hair, but it does give you your best shot at it! The reason there’s no guarantee is because there’s more at work here than just overall health – you can inherit hair problems through your genes, which can include both male and female pattern baldness. With that said, I believe that human health in general depends on three simple things:
Hydration
Nutrition
Exercise
And the next thing I’m going to suggest is that you can do all three things for yourself in general and for your hair in particular!
Hydration for You and Your Hair
The easiest rule of thumb for hydrating your whole body is the 8/88 rule – drink eight glasses of water each day that are about eight ounces each. If you’re not used to it, it’s harder than you might think, but so worth it in the long run. Those 8/8oz glasses come out to about 2 litres or a half-gallon each and every day. Now, when it comes to specifically hydrating your hair, keeping your whole body hydrated will help. Then, and only if you really need to, you could do a deep conditioning treatment, perhaps once per week if your hair tends to be dry.
Nutrition for You and Your Hair
This is the big one. You’ve probably heard the phrase “You are what you eat.” It’s true, and your hair will reflect it. If you’re more the computer-geek type, back when computers were first being used and everyone had to be a programmer to use one, a common phrase was “Garbage in, garbage out.” This is another one that applies to what you eat. If you eat junky food, then your health and your hair will both decline accordingly. Most everyone knows these days that the best diet of all is one that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (7-9 servings) along with plenty of protein (not necessarily from red meat) and iron. What you want to minimize is all the highly processed food that’s full of fats, sugars, sodium, and all those chemical artificial sweeteners and flavors. Pretty simple, right? It’s not rocket science. But what can you eat that will specifically help your hair? Many people want to know what vitamins make your hair grow, so the following list are the ones that have been linked in some way to hair growth:
Vitamin A is key to hair growth, shine and flexibility.
Vitamin B2 boosts overall health of hair.
Vitamin B5 and B7 help maintain hydration, decrease hair loss, and enhance body and suppleness of hair.
Vitamin B6 regulates sebum production, a natural scalp oil that protects hair.
Vitamin C is said to give hair energy, although I couldn’t verify what that means.
Vitamin E stimulates the flow of blood to the scalp, an essential part of hair growth.
Find foods rich in those items and recipes to cook using them and you’ll be more than on your way to setting the stage for maximum hair growth and health. You can also take supplements, but it’s always better to get your vitamins from the food you eat.
Exercise for You and Your Hair
Do you know the World Health Organization’s minimum guidelines for Exercise? It says the following: Adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. If the idea of hair exercise sounds really strange to you, then you’re in for a surprise. Your hair will be healthier and grow faster (or not as slowly), if you take the time to brush or comb it regularly. What this does is stimulate the scalp, which means better circulation of blood to those living parts of the hair, keeping them vital and healthier. It will also help distribute the sebum that is your body’s natural oil for hair protection. And of course brushing and combing your hair many strokes at a time makes your hair look better and feel softer. Another way to get your hair exercise in is through a regular scalp massage.
Things to Avoid
Besides the obvious advice to avoid being unhealthy, I especially want to reinforce how important it is to avoid things that can really wreck your hair:
Too much stress – It’s not good for your health overall, and anytime you feel like “tearing your hair out” spells actual trouble for your hair as well.
Hair products with silicone – Check your shampoos and other hair products. They should not have silicone in them, which is known to dry your hair out and cause it to deteriorate.
Excessive Sunlight – Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you hide completely from the sun, as some skin doctors would have you do. You need to expose yourself to sunlight because it’s the best way to get your vitamin D, and there are many other benefits as well, but when you get too much sun, you not only put yourself at greater risk for skin cancer, but it wrecks your hair as well.
Harsh treatment – Curling irons, blow dryers, crimping irons, and all the other crazy ways we’ve come up with to bend hair to our will can really damage your hair as well, so use them sparingly. This can even include hair ties, clips and extensions – if they’re always worn in the same place, they can weaken and damage your hair. And should go without saying that bleaching, dyeing, perming is very, very hard on your hair over time.
Untreated health conditions – If you’ve got health problems, they’re probably affecting your hair. Be proactive to address and solve your health problems to have healthy hair.
Ancient Chinese Wisdom for Hair Care
Everything I relayed so far is really coming from a traditional Western perspective on health and sicence. In an effort to give fair play to both Eastern and Western approaches to healthy hair, I thought I’d include what some of my research has revealed for hair care practices in Chinese culture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I’m particularly indebted to Joanna Burton, a holistic health and beauty practitioner in Australia for providing me with much of the research she put into her own book on the topic of healthy hair and skin via TCM. After all, the Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world, and the women are renowned for their silky black tresses.
In TCM, human health is governed by groups of major organ-energy systems. Before getting into the details of that, however, there are several simple practices you can incorporate if you want the kind of beautiful hair often associated with traditional Chinese women.
Rice water is a common and very important aspect of Chinese hair care. Rice is such a basic staple in Chinese life that it’s not surprising to see that they’ve discovered how it can be used for hair. Soak the rice in water for 20-30 minutes, strain out the rice and voila! You now have a lovely hair rinse that you can use like a conditioner, leaving it in for a few minutes after a regular shampooing. This will both strengthen each shaft of hair as well as give it great shine. The really traditional Chinese women actually wouldn’t even use regular shampoo. They would only wash their hair every few days with the rice water!
Combing one’s hair in China is like a sacred ritual. 500 strokes is the standard. The ultimate TCM comb would be one made out of rhino horn, but that’s no longer acceptable given the endangered status of the species. Sheep and ox horn combs can be used to achieve the same types of effects, just not as strongly. The horn material is known to aid in the removal of excess heat and toxins, both of which can impede hair growth.
Other items that can be applied directly to the scalp to encourage hair growth include camellia nut oil, which you would use like a conditioner, as well as ginger. You can use either ginger juice or freshly sliced ginger put directly onto your scalp to stimulate growth. Using ginger in this fashion results in a tingling sensation that is the sign of enhanced blood flow to your scalp that will help you hang on to more of your hair as you age.
Now for the various Chinese dietary guidelines you can take advantage of for getting fabulous hair:
Certain dark nuts and legumes can help prevent or even reverse premature graying of the hair, especially for dark-haired people. You would want to focus on adding plenty of black beans, black sesame seeds and walnuts into your diet. Other foods that can help with graying and/or thinning hair include a number of different oils, including flaxseed, sesame, virgin coconut oils as well as avocado. It is both the liver and kidney organ-energy systems that relate to hair quality, thus any treatments that address those organs’ energy will be helpful as well (such as acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion and detoxification). Signs that you liver system’s energy needs boosting would be having a pale complexion, experiencing dizziness, having dry, dull skin and hair, and suffering from fatigue. If the kidney system is in need of attention, than can manifest as weak bones, poor teeth, deafness, impotence, infertility, exhaustion, and poor quality hair. As the energy of these organ systems decline with age, that’s why hair thins, gets weak and brittle, goes gray or falls out altogether.
Perhaps the most fascinating of all Chinese herbs for anti-aging and hair is one called Polygonum multiflorum, or He Shou Wu. The Chinese name literally translates into “Black-Haired Mr. He.” There are many similar folk tales that relate to this herb that all follow the same basic idea: Mr. He began taking a wild herb he found growing in the forest. After a time, not only did his graying hair turn back to its original black, many of his other health problems vanished and he lived to be 160 years old, so the herb is named after him. Not surprisingly TCM classifies this important herb as a kidney, liver and blood tonic, which explains why it is applied for both hair issues and longevity. However, its potency requires that you only use it with the direction of a qualified TCM practitioner.
Other herbal medicines that can help hair by bolstering kidney and blood energies include Rehmannia root, fo-ti root, dong-quai root, quince fruit, and Gastrodia rhizome. Foods that can be eaten to aid in the same process would be Hijiki seaweed, blackstrap molasses, black sesame seeds, nettles, wheatgrass and chlorophyll.
If you are suffering from hair loss, you can be very proactive by acupuncture geared towards tonifying the kidney organ energy system as well as a specific form scalp acupuncture using a 7-star plum blossom needle. This is an instrument that holds multiple needles in a star pattern that can be used to tap the scalp. In 2004, the Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion reported that among 110 balding people who underwent 7-star needle acupuncture therapy, the treatment was 99.1% effective and resulted in total cure rate of 83.6%. That is very impressive!
Conclusion
This article has given you a solid summary of everything you need to know from both Western and Eastern perspective to achieve the healthy head of hair you’ve been wanting. You’ve even found out how to make hair grow faster, which really means getting your hair to grow as fast as is humanly possible, by focusing on your overall health, which is the key to healthy hair as well.
Most of the United States looks forward to spring with great anticipation. Warmer weather, sunshine, and lots of outdoor activities make everyone eager for the change.
Spring also means a change in how your hair reacts to weather. Having the right spring hair care tricks can ensure that your look transfers easily from winter to spring and beyond.
Expect More Growth!
Many experts believe that the increased amount of sunlight triggers your hair to grow more quickly. When your hair grows more quickly, it affects a lot of your spring hair care routines.
First, you have to make sure that if you color your hair, you keep an eye on how quickly your roots are showing. You may need to color your hair more often starting in the spring as your hair grows.
Secondly, you may need more regular cuts. If your hair grows quickly anyway, the difference may not be extreme, but you may find that you need an extra hair appointment during the spring.
What’s you take
There are many natural ways you can encourage your hair to grow more quickly, including getting the right vitamins in your diet.
Use Spring Hair Care to Air Dry
In the winter, going out with wet hair can be both dangerous to your health and difficult on your professional image. As spring appears, however, you have an opportunity to allow your hair to dry more naturally.
If you can’t allow hair to air dry over time, then use your hair dryer further from your head. The heat will be more gentle, and your hair will benefit.
Drying your hair can cause damage, including breaking down the protective cuticles and leaving hair brittle. Of course, proper spring hair care means air drying your hair properly, not just letting it go on its own.
Get a Trim to Start Off Spring
The cold and dry air of winter takes a significant toll on your hair. Getting rid of split ends is a great way to start off your spring hair care.
You don’t have to get a major cut unless you want a new look – taking just a little bit off can get rid of dry split ends and make your hair feel as fresh as the new season.
Trims have a lot of benefits for your hair, improving the look and feel as well as reducing breakage, lessening flyaway strands, and making hair look thicker and shinier.
Change Out Shampoo and Conditioner
Similar to the way that we switch out winter clothes for lighter and airier looks, it’s important to switch out shampoo and conditioner as well. You probably use moisturizing products during the winter to fight the dry air, but in the spring, that’s not as necessary.
In the spring the increase in humidity can combine with your hair products and put too much moisture into your mane, which can mean major frizz. To avoid this, consider changing to a formula designed for normal hair once warmer weather moves in.
Another important consideration is that sometimes your hair becomes too accustomed to your hair products and they lose their effectiveness. Changing your shampoo and conditioner seasonally can help keep your hair looking fabulous.
Consider More Natural Highlights
As the days lengthen, it’s a good time to consider your hair color. If you color your hair, you may think about a less structured highlight style. For your spring hair care, ask your stylist about balayage, which is a technique that involves painting color onto strands more randomly.
With a less structured highlight, your locks look more sun-kissed and ready for summer. Not only that, but it will grow out more naturally, which can save you time and money at the salon.
Balayage works with any color of hair, as long as the lighter sections are just one or two shades lighter than your overall color. You don’t need dramatic contrast, just a soft, subtle look.
Control Your Hair on Rainy Days
April showers may bring out May flowers, but they also bring out the absolute worst in your hair. Having a go-to hairstyle to keep the humidity frizz at bay can do a lot to get you through a dreary month.
Throwing your hair in a top knot can help you get through a rainy day. So will going easy on hair products, which behave differently in high humidity. A sleek, smooth braid is another great trick.
Finally, if you do end up with wet, messy hair due to the weather, be sure to use a comb to detangle it. A brush can damage wet hair, while a wide-tooth comb can detangle your locks without causing problems – or pain.
Fight the Frizz
It isn’t just rain that causes more frizz in the spring. The rapid increase of humidity after a dry winter can create wild hair and flyaways on even the sunniest days.
You can use an anti-frizz serum on damp hair to help seal and smooth the cuticle. To avoid a greasy look, only use the serum from the midpoint of the strand to the tip. There are also anti-humidity sprays that can help tame your tresses. Mist these sprays on dry hair near the roots, without overdoing it.
Carrying an anti-humidity spray with you to work can help you get a midday touchup or avoid frizz when you leave the office for lunch. Coconut oil can also help while encouraging hair growth at the same time. Overall, though, you’ll do best on humid days if your hairstyle is similar to your natural look. Don’t fight your hair!
Spring Hair Care Can Be Fun
The best way to handle spring hair care is to embrace what the new season brings, challenges and all. Yes, you’ll get more humidity and rainy days. But you’ll also get beautiful sunshine, warm breezes, and more reasons to be outside than ever.
By keeping your hair with a natural look, you can avoid having to fight your mane’s natural tendencies. Spring is not the time to force curly hair into a super-straight style, and it’s not the time to try to bring significant volume and curls into extremely straight locks.
Whether you’re trying to encourage longer, thicker hair or simply trying maintain your current style, spring can be tough. With these spring hair care tips and tricks, you’ll be on your way to beautiful spring tresses!
What’s your take on these spring hair care tips? Join the conversation in the comments section below!
With all the daily stressors in life, hair loss is becoming increasingly common among women of all ages. While hair loss can be a difficult thing to go through, you do have options to minimize and even reverse the effects of this stressful condition. As with all health disorders, curing hair loss is impossible without a proper diagnosis. In this article, I am going to talk about vitamins that are essential to healthy hair growth.
Do remember that not all types of hair loss can be cured by simply adjusting your vitamin intake! It’s a good place to start, though.
Vitamins That May Prevent Hair Loss
Vitamins are essential in the fight against hair loss. Just like the rest of your body, your hair needs vitamins and nutrients to survive and stay healthy. Plus, while most vitamins don’t have a direct effect on how fast our hair grows, they can influence other functions in the body which in turn promote healthy hair growth. Some vitamins that help with female hair loss are:
Vitamin A: Our skin produces an oily substance called Sebum, which helps to keep it from drying out and acts as a natural moisturizer. Now, dry skin sometimes leads to problems with dry scalp, which can inhibit healthy hair growth. The good thing is that a vitamin A deficiency is easy to cure. Fish, carrots, milk and other protein rich foods are all great sources of beta carotene, which can be transformed into vitamin A by the body on demand.
When it comes to vitamin A supplements, you have to be very careful! Since vitamin A accumulates in the body, taking too much ready-made vitamin A (such as that found in most multivitamins) can lead to poisoning. This, in turn, leads to further hair loss and thinning. So don’t make the mistake of eating tons of different vitamins just because you think they are good for you! Natural foods sources rich in beta carotene are the best way to ensure that your body never lacks vitamin A (and you can never overdose this way).
B-Complex vitamins: There are tons of B vitamins including niacin, biotin, B3 and more, and they are all essential to keeping your hair healthy. Some of the benefits of B vitamins include keeping your hair from falling out, moisturizing your hair and much more. Read my article on vitamin B complex to learn more about this. There is no doubt in my mind that vitamin B is one of the most important nutrients for healthy hair.
Vitamin C: This vitamin functions as a shield and a building block for your hair. Due to its antioxidants, it helps protect against devastating conditions such as stress and fatigue. Since stress is one of leading causes of hair loss in women, it’s important that you have enough vitamin C in your diet to help keep your hair healthy.
Plus, vitamin C is essential to collagen production, which is a special protein that makes up connective tissue in most body organs including hair. Common sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and even cranberries. Most scientists agree that vitamin C works best when it comes from natural food sources instead of supplements.
Vitamin D: While most studies show that vitamin D is not linked to better hair growth, some people report having amazing results when taking vitamin D supplements. The reason for this might be other underlying conditions that could be inhibiting hair growth or the fact that vitamin D acts as a steroid which helps the body absorb calcium and some other minerals. Most people take vitamin D together with calcium, normally during cold and cloudy winter months, since it can help minimize seasonal mood swings.
Vitamin E: Proven to improve blood circulation throughout the entire body, which means that more minerals and other nutrients reach the scalp and hair. Now, since vitamin E is stored in the body and can be toxic in large doses, you should avoid taking too many vitamin E supplements. Some great, natural sources include mangos and kiwis.
Remember that vitamins cannot prevent hair loss directly. In some cases, however, they are extremely helpful in fighting various underlying conditions that can cause hair loss. Since most women experience hair loss due to stress (either mental or physical), it makes sense to use vitamins that can help with that. This includes vitamins B, C and, in some cases, vitamin D.
And lastly, remember that hair regrowth can take time, while hair loss normally happens very fast and unexpectedly. Do not expect to see results instantly or it will just cause you more stress which can further contribute to your condition!
Iron deficiency is frequently linked to hair loss, although this very simple condition often goes misdiagnosed or ignored until it’s too late. In this article, I’m going to give you some basic information on how iron and other minerals affect hair growth and what you should do about it.
How Does Iron Affect Hair Growth?
Since hair growth is a continuous metabolic (hence “growth”) process, it requires a constant supply of essential vitamins and minerals in order to function well. It’s long been known that iron and vitamin D are both extremely important to our metabolism and any deficiencies can have serious adverse effects.
Curiously, hair growth is considered to be a non-essential process (by the body), which means that it’s always one of the last things on your body’s to-do list. For this reason, vitamin and mineral deficiencies have such a strong effect on hair growth: there’s simply not enough “fuel” left over for these not-very-important processes, and so they are ignored.
Now, practically anyone can suffer from an iron deficiency. Some of the most common risk factors are:
Following a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Women of menstruating age (blood loss during periods leads to chronic iron deficiency when combined with an unhealthy diet).
People who suffer from various health conditions such as anemia.
Possible iron deficiency symptoms are: difficulty sleeping, increased anxiety levels, chronic fatigue, depression, skin that’s very sensitive to cold, brittle nails, muscle weakness, and so on. The most important thing is to get proper blood tests done. These tests are not expensive, just ask your doctor to check your blood iron levels. Never self-supplement with iron without a proper diagnosis.
Does Supplementation Help?
If your hair loss was caused by an iron deficiency, taking supplements will surely help. Sadly, making an accurate diagnosis can often be very difficult, because hair loss can be caused by a huge range of factors. Normally however, both men and women with severe iron deficiency experience slow, gradual decline of hair density on the scalp (which, unlike pattern baldness, affects the entire scalp).
Iron deficiencies are almost always accompanied by other vitamin/mineral deficiencies as well as the inability to absorb certain minerals from food (either due to a medical condition or poor diet). For this reason, most people who take iron supplements should also be taking a multivitamin that includes vitamins C and D. Vitamin C is particularly important for absorption of iron.
Foods like lean red meat (sirloin steak), green leafy vegetables (spinach), lentils, beans (especially kidney beans), dried apricots, and so on also contain iron. Studies show that protein-based iron sources are by far the best way to replenish our iron supplies (which means eating lean red meat, skinless and boneless chicken breast, turkey breast, etc).
Remember that iron deficiencies take a long time to develop and an even longer time to go away completely. Sadly, normal hair/nail growth can take many months (normally between 3 to 6 months) to resume, so be patient and do not just assume that your treatment didn’t work.
Have you heard celebrities talk about the benefits of taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth? The big question is whether or not this is true.
Many women find that their hair does grow exceptionally long during pregnancy, but does that mean that the two are related? Pregnant women also do other things like eat odd food combinations; maybe these are related!
Two Physiological Reasons Why Hair Grows During Pregnancy
The fact is that a woman’s hair grows fast during pregnancy, not because she is taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth, but because of her hormones. The higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy allow the hairs to essentially stay on the head longer before they are shed.
Scientifically speaking, the estrogen-influenced hairs stay in the anagen phase (when they grow) before they progress to the telogen phase where shedding occurs. This results in thicker and longer hair.
Another reason is that the circulation is expanded in the pregnant woman’s body so that the baby can get more nutrients it needs, especially oxygen. Extra blood vessels and capillaries begin to grow and every part of the body including the scalp receives more blood flow. With more blood flow, it’s easy for hair follicles to grow.
It’s a coincidence that the woman is taking prenatal vitamins for hair growth. Or is it?
What About Nutritional Reasons?
Actually, we have to identify what’s in prenatal vitamins for hair growth to see if the nutrients may be part of the reason why a pregnant woman’s hair does grow thicker. Comparing a prenatal vitamin to a regular multivitamin, you won’t find much difference. The average prenatal vitamin formula has more iron and more folate and usually more biotin.
The nutrients cited in medical studies that may be responsible for hair growth include biotin, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, and vitamin D.
The average prenatal vitamin contains the following amounts of these hair growth nutrients:
• Biotin – 300 mcg
This amount is 100% of the estimated value for adults. A biotin deficiency will cause the hair to fall out. If someone is deficient in biotin, the amounts taken to correct it are 3 mg, 5 mg or even 10 mg. Thus, it’s easy to see that a prenatal isn’t providing a nutritional cushion for those with deficiencies or those with hair loss.
• Iron – 30 mg
This is more than the 18 mg a multivitamin for women would contain for a menstruating woman because the needs are greater in pregnancy, and anemia can seriously harm a developing baby as well as the mother. Iron deficiency causes hair loss.
• Zinc – 15 mg
This is the amount everyone needs as an adult. There’s nothing special with this amount, and it won’t cure a deficiency. Zinc deficiency causes hair loss.
• Iodine – 150 mcg
This amount is 100% of the estimated value for adults. This is an interesting amount to have in a prenatal vitamin since the American Thyroid Association recommends 250 mcg for pregnant and lactating women. Iodine influences thyroid health, which controls how fast the hair, grows. (Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol, 2012 Sep; 94(9):677-82.)
• Selenium – 100 mcg
The usual amount in supplements is 70 mcg so the 30 mg extra could provide a small buffer, but not enough to be considered a replacement if a woman is deficient. Deficiency is associated with hair loss, as is toxicity. Toxicity is exceptionally rare.
• Vitamin D – 400 IU
Prenatal vitamin companies haven’t caught on to the idea that up to 75% of the population may be deficient in this nutrient, and if so, could need up to 10,000 IU per day for three months in order to correct the deficiency.
Higher circulating levels of vitamin D in moms during pregnancy are associated with improved mental and psychomotor development in infants. (Pediatrics, 2012, Oct; 130(4):e913-20.)
Animal studies are beginning to show an influence of vitamin D on hair growth and regrowth, too, although it’s not definitely proven. However, since vitamin D controls over 1000 different genes that are related to illness, it’s not far-fetched to think that one of those 1000 could possibly be connected with hair growth.
Prenatal Vitamins Can Supplement But Never Be Enough
From this summary, it’s easy to see that prenatal vitamins really aren’t going to do much for hair growth, let alone for pregnancy! Prenatal vitamins are pretty inadequate in providing all the woman’s needs for pregnancy. Surprisingly, prenatal vitamins are one area of medicine not addressed much, as ob-gyns simply hand out prenatal vitamins as if one size fits all.
The problem is that all of us are living far underneath our nutritional potential and have dietary and nutrient imbalances. Nutritional studies have found deficiencies in every group of people, young or old – and it’s not only one deficiency; it’s multiple ones. It’s conceivable that your nutrition can be boosted to optimal and your hair loss could stop.
By adding prenatal vitamins for hair growth, you can temporarily give yourself a boost of some nutrients and notice that you’re feeling better, but there are better ways to approach hair loss that are more scientifically sound. By using a whole panel of nutritional tests and hormonal tests, you can detect the cause of your hair loss.
Hair breakage can cause serious long-term problems. If your hair keeps breaking off faster than it grows, you may even begin to think that it has stopped growing completely! It’s no secret that most people who complain about slow hair growth suffer from extremely bad split ends, and eliminating this annoying condition is the only way to have healthier looking and longer hair.< In many cases split ends are the main cause of hair breakage. It’s very important to understand that your hair is not a living organism – as soon as it leaves the follicle its properties can no longer be changed. Now, as hair grows longer it gets increasingly more susceptible to developing split ends. This condition can be caused by many things:
Dry ends: Anything from lack of proper conditioning to using too many heat-based styling products can lead to extreme dryness and, eventually, split ends.
Poor hair care: Things like combing your hair too often or using a very narrow comb can also lead to split ends. Some hairstyles are also known to contribute to both split ends and hair breakage around the crown.
Chemicals: If you tend to color your hair or “touch it up” often, it may lead to a lot of chemical overlapping, dryness and breakage. This breakage can occur both in the very ends and around the crown, so be very careful about this!
As you can see, split ends are not some sort of mystical condition that requires expensive treatment! For most of you making just one or two simple lifestyle/hair styling changes should make a huge difference. Remember that preventing hair breakage is crucial, because the damage cannot be repaired once it is done!
How to Prevent Split Ends
Most of you likely already know what you need to do to stop split ends from forming in the future. If you don’t, here’s a quick checklist to get you started:
Trim your ends! Most women agree that the only way to successfully retain length is to trim dead-hair-ends regularly. Do not be scared that trimming will somehow make your hair look shorter; in the long term, it will do the exact opposite. Make sure that you ask your stylist to cut off only the very (dead) ends and leave the rest of your hair be. Most women should trim their hair once every 2.5-3 months (or about four times in a year).
Treating chemical damage is a bit trickier. If you believe that your hair is breaking off because you’ve overdosed on hair color or other chemicals, you are going to need a suitable protein treatment. Protein works to shield and strengthen hair, which is absolutely crucial when dealing with weakened and damaged hair. Another good option is deep conditioning using coconut oil (since it mimics protein and has a very similar effect). Remember that intensive protein/coconut oil treatments can cause drying and further breakage, so start slow and see how your hair reacts!
Know when and how to comb and brush your hair! As a general rule, you should never comb dry hair and never brush your hair when it is very wet. So remember: comb your hair while it’s wet and brush it once it has, at least mostly, dried. Another important thing is to only use wide-tooth combs and natural bristle brushes (plastic ones are a no-no).
Avoid tight hairstyles and other physical damage. Avoid very tight hairstyles since they put a lot of extra pressure on the roots and will cause damage over time. You should also avoid pulling your hair and/or running fingers through it (which is something that many of us do when talking to others or working on mundane tasks).
Detangle your hair with care! Our hair, especially the very ends, tends to tangle easily. If you try to detangle it with your fingers while in a rush, you are almost guaranteed to cause breakage!
Avoid heat! Do not use flat irons and avoid blow drying your hair where possible. The best way to retain as much length as possible is to let your hair dry naturally after every wash. Remember: both towel drying and blow drying are very bad and will most likely cause damage! Flat irons can cause serious damage after just one use.
Getting rid of split ends once and for all is not hard and while it does nothing to speed up how fast your hair grows, it will certainly help you retain more of that growth over time! Once your hair stops breaking off so much you can cut down to trimming it just once or twice per year.
Just like the rest of your body, your hair needs to be maintained and well kept to stay healthy. Obviously vitamins are a great way to help keep your hair healthy and strong, but there are other things you can do to make sure you have a nice set of hair on your head. Hair washing techniques, hair products and natural remedies can all be utilized to maintain healthy hair.
How to Make Hair Grow Faster
There are a lot of ways to make your hair grow faster besides just loading up on vitamins. If you’re not satisfied with the rate your hair is growing at, don’t panic; consider some of these great tips to help your hair grow faster.
Stop loading up on chemicals: Throwing a bunch of chemicals at your hair to help it “look better” is doing more harm to your hair than you can imagine. Chemicals weaken your hair and slow growth. The same way throwing tons of preservatives into your food harms your body, constantly using chemicals on your hair causes harm to your hair.
Scalp massages:The great thing about scalp massages is not only will they help promote hair growth, but they’re also a great way of giving yourself a little treat! Scalp massages help to generate blood flow to the scalp and stimulate hair growth. Consider hot oil treatment as well with your scalp massages. Heating up some olive oil (rosemary oil works well as well) and using it as a part of your scalp massage will help provide your scalp with much needed nourishment.
Improve your overall health: Living a healthy lifestyle helps improve your immune system which helps stop your vitamins from diminishing. And when you’re healthier you feel better, which may encourage you to take better care of your hair.
Wash your hair: Make sure you’re keeping your hair clean to help reduce build up of residue, dead skin and dandruff. These menaces can congest hair follicles and stunt hair growth.
Choosing the Right Shampoo
Knowing what kind of shampoo works best for your hair is essential in maintaining healthy hair. There are several factors to consider when choosing the type of shampoo that works for you. Ingredients are probably at the forefront of things to consider when choosing your shampoo. Make sure you know what the ingredients in your products are and what they do. Stick to products that have natural ingredients and are not loaded with a bunch of chemicals that you can’t pronounce.
A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that just because a shampoo advertises the fact that they include certain vitamins, they are somehow superior. This is not true. Vitamins aren’t well absorbed through the scalp and you’re better off including vitamins in your regular diet. Vitamins taken in through food are much better absorbed than those in shampoo.
Another thing to consider when choosing your shampoo is your hair type. Is your hair curly, straight, limp or dry? The answer to this question will help you make the best decision for your shampoo.
Fine Hair: You will probably want to avoid creamy shampoos that were made for curlier hair. You’ll need something that will be gentle on your hair. And you may be able to skip on the conditioner as well. Generally, if you can manage to run a comb through your hair after washing it, conditioner isn’t necessary.
Curly Hair: As opposed to fine hair, you can go ahead and use creamy shampoo for your curls. Look for shampoo with natural oils such as coconut oils to help moisturize your hair. These creamier shampoos are usually moisturizing as well which is what you should be looking for.
Dry Hair: If your hair is dried out or damaged, stick to creamy shampoos instead of thinner or clear shampoos. Creamier shampoos will help detangle your damaged hair and help provide some moisture to combat the dryness.
Natural Dandruff Remedies
One of the most irritating things about trying to keep healthy hair is getting rid of dandruff. There are plenty of dandruff shampoos on the market and chemicals that promise to get rid of dandruff, but you may want to try out some of these natural dandruff remedies as a way of getting rid of dandruff and keeping your hair healthy at the same time.
Vinegar: One of the most popular and well known home remedies for getting rid of dandruff is washing your hair with vinegar. White wine vinegar seems to be the most popular option. You can use straight vinegar or make a mixture of water and vinegar.
Olive Oil: Similar to vinegar, washing your hair with olive oil is another great natural way to get rid of dandruff. The oil keeps your hair from drying up and flaking, thus preventing dandruff.
Lemon Juice: When life gives you lemons, use it to get rid of your dandruff. Use the juice from lemons to massage your scalp and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Not only will it fight dandruff, but it also gives your hair some shine!
Other Hair Growing Tips
One easy way to help your hair grow is putting down cigarettes if you’re a smoker. The smoke from cigarettes alone is enough to damage your hair, and all the chemicals you’re inhaling into your body aren’t helping at all. Another thing you can do to help out with hair growth is try to keep stress at a minimum. This will save you some headaches as well.
If you follow these tips and take our advice, you can help prevent hair loss and maintain healthy hair. Stick to natural products and avoid chemicals whenever possible. Your hair is a part of your body and health and should be treated as such. This state of mind will help you keep a healthy set of hair for a very long time.
