Good nutrition for growing healthy hair.
 
A balanced diet is the key

Good nutrition will encourage a healthy head of hair. Fad dieting can deprive your hair of the nutrition it needs to shine. Don’t totally eliminate carbohydrates and fat from your diet, no matter how calorie conscious you are. Complex carbs are best, e.g. whole grain bread and cereals and brown rice, these are important for overall health and wellbeing.

Protein is the building block for your hair and every other part of your body. Without sufficient protein the body cannot efficiently produce new hair to replace the hair that naturally sheds. Protein is found in; meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, and soy products. These all contain complete proteins that contain all the nine essential amino acids necessary for optimal health. Other sources of protein, such as pulses, seeds, nuts and grain products do not contain the complete form.

Eat green and yellow vegetable and fruit to get the required amount of beta-carotene.

Drink plenty of water. Proper hydration of the body is essential. Water helps to transport the vitamins and minerals throughout the body. Don’t wait until you are thirsty, your body needs about eight glasses of water or 64 ounces a day.

Forget sugary, fatty food and avoid caffeine and carbonated drinks. If something is missing from your diet, it will be reflected in the condition of your hair.  

Good Oils. The use of, cold-pressed nut and seed oils, such as flax seed oil, daily on salads and in any dishes that do not require heating, are great to prevent dry hair. They contain the essential fatty acids omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and omega-6 linoleic acid. Vitamin and mineral supplements can help when our diet is out of balance.

A healthy diet, adequate exercise, enough sleep and less stress are all important components in the mission to grow long healthy hair... oh the sacrifices we make for beautiful hair. The upside is your whole body will benefit, and you’ll look great from head to toe.

Washing your hair

– Carefully!

There are many varying opinions out there as to how often you should wash your hair. Some people advice everyday while others suggest weekly or longer! I think it depends on your hair type and your personal preference. Clean hair is beautiful hair. But whatever your choice is, be sure to treat your hair with care.

It helps if your hair is tangle free before shampooing, so using a natural bristle brush, distribute the sebum (natural oils that are secreted from your scalp) to the hair ends. Be gentle with your hair. When washing your hair, use a quality shampoo with a neutral ph balance. Concentrate on your scalp, massaging well with your fingertips (not your fingernails), allowing the suds to flow over the rest of your hair. Massaging your scalp will help stimulate blood flow, nourishing the hair follicle, aiding hair growth.

Finish off with a quality conditioner. This helps to minimise tangles, nourish and protect your hair. If hair is oily, apply conditioner to the ends only. Using a final rise of cold water closes the follicles and makes the cuticles to lie flat with the result of less breakage and very shiny hair – Bonus!

Towel dry hair, gently squeezing out excess water. Then, using a wide tooth comb, start at the ends and work your way up to the scalp, combing hair in sections. Wet hair stretches and will break, so handle with care.

Natural air-drying is the least damaging for your hair but this just isn’t always practical, so use a low heat setting and only partially dry hair, concentrating on the hair closest to your head. You will feel more comfortable especially if you live in a cold climate.

If you continue to care for your hair you are more likely to keep it longer, both in time and length!

Hair Loss Restoration

Although perhaps not desirable, hair loss is quite normal. Men, women and children can all be affected and many millions worldwide are, but the list of reasons for this occurrence is very long. Although there are a number of fancy names for types of hair loss, the correct medical term is Alopecia. Male pattern hair loss is the most common form, representing close to 95 percent of all cases in men; and due to a hereditary condition: Androgenic Alopecia.

Some people only loss a small amount of hair and this is often down to a poor diet and is worth checking with you specialist. There are other reasons though, some of which you may know including: mental tension, stress, hormonal imbalance or perhaps an over exposure to chemicals or cosmetics. No matter what the reason, it is worth remembering that it is only if the hair follicles are damaged that can make the condition permanent. Most people believe that it is primarily men that suffer with the condition but women actually account for forty percent of sufferers in the USA alone.

Hair loss is in fact more common with women as they age but it is often caused by a thyroid problem. By the time they reach sixty, forty percent of women around the world will have experienced loss of some form or another. However, many women experience hair loss during and after pregnancy. If you always thought that patterned hereditary baldness was a male problem then you will be surprised to learn that in America approximately 30 million women also suffer from this condition.

A relatively new treatment is to surgically restore hair for sufferers of permanent hair loss. The treatment uses a technique to transplant hair follicles from a healthy area of the scalp to an area where the follicles are dead. Hair transplants have become the most popular form of hair restoration treatment for men with the entire procedure done under local anesthetic and on an out-patient basis. Facelift surgery can often leave scarring so many women are using the same hair transplant treatment that men are to disguise these scars; or when they have lost their hair for other reasons.

It is important to try and keep your appearance as close as possible to your original when having hair transplant therapy and not try to look like someone else. A consideration before any hair transplant surgery is commenced is the physical and mental wellbeing of the recipient. Hair restoration therapy comes under the general umbrella of cosmetic surgery but aspects of it are completely different form other cosmetic treatments. Although the field of hair restoration treatment continues to move forward with new discoveries, there is no guarantee that any will work for you and surgical hair transplants might be your only option to solving your hair loss problem.

Know Your Hair Type

Everyday you see people with all color and style of hair. But did you know that you have a hair type? Yes! Not all hair has been created the same.

Basic structure of hair:
Hair grows from the follicle, which is long and bulbous. If you were to pull out a strand of hair you would see the bulge at the tip of the hair. The cells at the base of the follicle divide rapidly and is where you get your hair growth.

Each strand of hair consists of three layers, the first being the innermost layer called the medulla. This is only present though in thick hair though. The middle layer is known as the cortex. This layer provides the strength, color and texture of your hair.

The outer most layer is called the cuticle and this is what protects the cortex. It is completely colorless.

The entire strand of hair is made up of a protein called keratin. And that is hair!

There are Two basic kinds of hair:

Terminal hair is the hair that grows thick and long and is found on the head, armpits, pubic hair face and chest. (Face and chest on men)
and Vellus hair is soft short hair that you will find over the rest of your body.

Geography holds the key.

If you are of Asian descent, then the hair strands are round and thicker than all other types of hair. With the exception of the red head who has the thickest hair of all.
If you are of European descent with blonde or dark hair, then your hair strands are thinner. The strands are round to oval shaped.
 If you are of African descent, then the hair strands are flat and that is the reason for the frizziness and curl.

It's interesting to see when you get a mix of Asian genes with African genes or Caucasian with African. I am a white girl with blonde, curly frizzy hair. My parents came from Holland where there is a high concentration of people with African descent. So it's not hard to see where I got my hair type, which I personally love. It's a Hair Factor.

So you can now figure out why your hair is the way it is. You just need to do a bit of research into your family tree and there you'll have it.