Health: Hair, Skin & Nails, Part 8

From the end of our previous installment: You can supplement your diet with royal jelly, spirulina, kelp, B Vitmains which help to strengthen your nails.

Calcium and phosphorous, found in high amounts in fresh carrot juice, are excellent for strengthening nails.

A number of herbs can be taken in order to strengthen your nails. They are:

Evening Primrose and Gotu Kola.

And moving on:

HAIR

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The things we do to our hair these days should be outlawed. I’m one of the guiltiest parties. Dye for the gray, perm for the straight hair, gels, mousses, flatteners, hair sprays, it goes on and on. Add to that the stresses of summer, fall and winter activities where your hair is constantly exposed to the sun, wind and chlorine of pools and your hair is screaming for help.

Lackluster hair, flat hair, thin hair, curlier hair, straight hair, brittle hair, split ends . . . the problems go on and on. Most of these can be addressed with nutrition and exercise. Really, 99.9% of them can be addressed with that. Many things that are good for the hair are also good for the skin and nails. This is why these topics have crossed over one another throughout this series.

Biotin, good for the hair, skin and nails, is critical to your diet. So are the Omega 3-6-9's. All the Vitamin B’s help in that area, as does drinking lots of clean water daily, eating good amounts of fruits and vegetables, keeping your proteins sources high quality . . . all of it.

One of the issues women face today, because of all we do to our hair and exceedingly poor diets, is hair loss. Hair Loss is divided into three major areas.

• Telogen Effluvium, also known as Diffuse Hair Loss can be suspected if there is an overall thinning of hair from the entire scalp. There are numerous possible causes, including nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, extreme or prolonged emotional stress, illness etc. This condition does not lead to complete baldness and can resolve itself once the underlying cause is corrected.

• Androgenetic Alopecia is characterized by thinning on the top and crown areas. The follicles in these areas begin to shrink, causing finer hair with a shorter life span. Eventually the cells within these affected areas stop producing hair. This type of hair loss will not cause total baldness. It may first show up during hormonal changes such as pregnancy, birth control pills, menopause or hormonal changes which occur during periods of extreme stress.

• Alopecia Areata usually begins as a round bald patch and may progress to total hair loss from the entire scalp and body. It is believed to be an autoimmune disorder which can be triggered by many factors such as illness, high fever, bacterial or viral infection, extreme stress, trauma, allergy, fungal infection etc. The follicles under the scalp lie dormant but remain alive for an indefinite period of time, making a good possibility for re-growth to occur.

Whatever may have caused your hair loss, as long as the follicle has not been destroyed there is always a possibility for re-growth, according to hair specialists. Remember, it is important to deal with the causative issue contributing to your hair loss as it may be a symptom of a greater problem.

Another critical part of attaining healthy hair would be your hair care. The following section outlines a number of tips which help to maintain the healthiest hair possible despite the constant damage inducing treatments.

TIPS FOR THE HAIR

Proper hair care is also critical to healthy hair. Any hair stylist, at least one who knows what he or she is talking about, will tell you that quality products along with regular trims are a necessary part of hair care. A few tips which I have found to be extremely useful in maintaining the mane of hair I am so vain about.

• A humectant hair product attracts moisture to the hair while an anti-humectant repels moisture. Use a humectant to combat static electricity and an anti-humectant to deal with humidity.

• Adapt hair style to your face. If you have a long thin face, a shorter, softer, rounder hair style will flatter you more. If you have a Campbell-Soup-Kid face, long, straight hair is just your style. Avoid the trends. Find a hairstylist that has your best interest in mind and not the need to impose the latest trend or antiquated age style, and stick with him or her.

• Get enough sleep. Hair will tend to act up when you are under stress, not eating well or getting enough rest. Remember that if you take good care of your body, your hair will show the results.

• Short hair draws more attention to your eyes. So if you’ve gone from long to short, adjust your makeup accordingly to play up the extra attention. “Eyes are the window to the soul”, as the old saying goes, play them up with shorter hair and makeup.

• The perfect cuts for fine hair are:

The Bob: a short bob will give your hair volume and a healthier look.

The Chop: a basic bob with uneven ends gives the cut dimension.

The Cap Cut: an all bangs approach is best for petite or oval faces and plays fine hair up to its highest qualifies.

The Crop: any short tapered cut draws the focus to your eyes and away from any flaws you are self-conscious about.

The Lightly Layered Mid-Length: can provide a variety of options with a slightly diagonal cut and layers.

• Color treated hair requires daily moisturizing to prevent the hair from becoming overly dry.

• When using a blow dryer to dry your hair, hold the blow dryer at least 6 inches away from your head, keep it moving at all times, using a cool setting.

Check in next Thursday for the next installment in healthy hair, skin and nails, thereby enjoying all over health.

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