Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
The Journey Begins
Vitamin E helps you Sport Healthy Hair
There are many factors that can make you look great, and healthy hair definitely tops the list. It’s important to practice a diet rich in vitamin E if you’re keen to keep your hair healthy and good-looking. Any deficiency in this vitamin can affect hair growth in significant terms and leave you with dull, lifeless hair. Taking stock of the foods and supplements that offer vitamin E in sufficient amounts allows you to overcome this problem and sport shiny hair that worthy of the catwalk.
How Much Vitamin E Do I Need?
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that has the ability to enhance hair growth and add shine to your hair. Include vitamin E supplements to your diet in natural forms such as alpha-tocopherol, considered to be the most active among the eight different forms of the vitamin in the human body.
Before actually listing what to eat to acquire vitamin E, it’s essential to know how much vitamin E your body needs to maintain the right balance. The dietary reference intake for vitamin E is based on the alpha-tocopherol form, and the recommended dietary allowance varies depending on age. While infants below 6 months require 1 milligram per day, the requirement for adults is 15 mg/day.
Excellent Foods for Your Vitamin E Needs
Eggs, green leafy vegetables, nuts, meat, poultry, vegetable oils, olive oil, whole grams, and fortified cereals are among the well-known foods that contain vitamin E in fair amounts. You can also rely on vitamin E supplements to turn your hair healthy and look glossy. If you’re on a special diet it’s wise to consult your dietician on the required dosage so that you adhere to the proper daily allowance recommendation.
There is no need to worry anymore about unhealthy hair; vitamin E supplements help you attain sufficient levels of the most important vitamin your hair requires. In addition to improving blood circulation in your scalp, vitamin E also serves to keep your hair follicles healthy to promote rich hair growth.
If you want to make sure you don’t suffer from vitamin E deficiency, practice a rich diet that is guaranteed by natural forms of vitamin E, and supplement with d-alpha tocopherol succinate.
Are Porosity and Crown Breakages Related?
The chances of hair breakage around your crown are higher than in any other region of your scalp. This can be linked to trauma and damage to the hair follicles among others. However, there is one cause for breakage in this area that’s rarely discussed: high porosity.
Understanding Porosity
The outermost layer of the hair, or the cuticle layer, is responsible for protecting the inner layer in the hair shaft. The cuticle layer consists of various scales that are flat or either lifted, affecting the movement of moisture between the cortex and the environment. This is where porosity comes into play. Women who suffer from high porosity have missing or damaged scales. This renders their hair unable to transfer the moisture to other hair strands.
Are Porosity and Crown Breakages Related?
Yes, these two aspects are directly linked to one another since the crown is exposed to severe damage at a structural level. As is the case with hair strands, the texture of your scalp and porosities vary as well. Even though the rest of your hair is low on porosity, there’s a chance that the crown may have high porosity.
Constant exposure of the crown to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is a major contributing factor to this issue. If you don’t wear a hat or scarf whenever you go out, your hair may end up growing slower, weaker and sometimes with an entirely different structure. Dry hair can also elevate this issue, so keep moisturizing your tresses to protect them from the elements.
Now that you have a good idea about the link between these two aspects, you should put in extra effort to ensure that your crown is protected from everything that can harm it and cause hair breakage at that sensitive spot.
Practices That Cause Natural Hair Breakage
You’ve probably heard every advice possible from your stylist – keep your hair moisturized, don’t pull your tresses, pay attention to the ends of your hair, and try avoiding stiff protective styles. While these are all great things to keep in mind, none of them can be as effective as making sure to fully avoid the following four practices.
1) Banding
Banding is a common yet very simple technique to lengthen curls in the hair without using a blow dryer or flat-iron. Banding too tight or too frequently cause the roots of the hair to get damaged, leading to hair breakage. To avoid this issue, take down bands in reverse. This will prevent your hair from tangling or becoming damaged.
2) Hair Claws
Hair claws are a girl’s best friend after diamonds as they keep their hair out of the way while they’re working. However, using hair claws too often causes the hair to become fuzzy and stiff, tangling your hair and causing it to break. To prevent this problem, evenly part your hair before sectioning or stop using hair claws.
3) Pineappling
A pineapple is a quick nighttime styling method. However, it leaves your nape hair wide open and ready for breakage. It also exposes the backside of your hair with time, guaranteeing breakage. To counter this, sleep on a satin pillowcase or while covering your hair with a satin bonnet.
4) Heat Damage
Heat may help you get the style you want, but it’ll suck the moisture out of your hair, causing dryness and eventually hair breakage. So go on a hair detox of sorts and avoid using heat styling tools for six months to prevent hair breakage.
So avoid these four habits if you want to enjoy flaunting healthy, great-looking hair. However, remember to also go for a healthy diet as looking good starts from the inside out.
Inositol Stabilizes Hair Cell Membranes
Inositol is a member of the B vitamin group and plays several important roles in the body from helping cells to keep their integrity to metabolizing fats and cholesterol. Inositol can also be found in fiber rich foods such as beans, brown rice, corn, and sesame seeds.
While the whole vitamin B family is important to maintain a healthy head of hair, inositol is a stabilizer for cell membrane, and works as an antioxidant on the follicles of hair. It’s believed that it shields hair follicles from membrane damage caused by the build-up of oxidized cholesterol in the scalp, and can play a central role as a monophosphate.
Recent studies have shown that inositol can be used to promote healthy hair growth as used in a supplement form to prevent hair loss. laboratory tests have shown that a diet lacking in Inositol can lead to balding but by taking supplements and eating foods rich in inositol that the balding can not only be reversed but new hair can start growing again.
Not all baldness is caused by the same issues so you definitely want to consult with a medical doctor before beginning and regimen of supplements. If the doctor finds that you are deficient in multiple B vitamins including inositol then you can discuss the best way to re-introduce inositol back into your system. It’s believed the natural form of the vitamins from foods works best as higher percentages of the nutrition are absorbed, but it is certainly the case that supplements including inositol monophosphate can be used as well to great success.
After some time using either supplements or eating natural foods containing the B complex vitamin you should see some change in your hair loss and indeed you might even start growing new hair!
Resources
Do Sulfate Shampoos Really Damage the Hair?
Consumers are growing more concerned about the ingredients available in their shampoos. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate especially has become a hot topic on all hair and beauty product forums. Many claim that this chemical compound is responsible for causing problems affecting both the scalp and hair itself. Question is: is there truth to these claims.
Sadly, the answer is yes.
Sulfates are commonly used as lathering agents in your shampoo. Their main purpose is to cleanse the hair from dirt and dust. However, using sulfate shampoos will get more than dirt. The chemical reacts with your scalp and hair, causing dangerous side effects you could do without. To give you an idea of what problems you can expect, here are four common side effects.
- Dry Hair – Your scalp and hair will be deprived of the essential oils that keep your hair moisturized. As a result, it will go dryer than normal.
- Itchy Scalp – As your hair turns dry due to the addition of sulfate to your shampoo, you scalp may develop dandruff. As a result, it may start feeling tight and itchy.
- Hair Loss – Since your hair and the follicles suffer extensive damage, substantial hair loss will follow. You may start losing more hair quickly if you don’t rinse shampoo out of your hair.
- Fading of Hair Color – Sulfates are quite aggressive in nature. While they may be great for cleansing your hair, they can leave it dull and force you to live with faded locks.
So if you have a few sulfate shampoos in your bathroom, it’s about time that you dump them for a safer alternative. The simplest way to avoid this harmful ingredient is by screening the labels of your new shampoo before buying it. However, you can always choose a natural product instead to steer away from chemicals altogether.
Preventing Breakage from Ponytails and Buns
Ponytails and buns have become infamous because of their ability to cause hair breakage and affecting its thickness. However, for many women, these are the two perfect hairstyles that match their age and suit their looks. If you belong to this group of women, here are some tips to continue wearing your hair in these styles while preventing breakage.
Never Style Tangled Hair
One of the worst things you can perhaps do is to pull tangled hair into a ponytail or bun. If you do so, you’ll probably end up with a rat’s nest, which is a nuisance when you have to detangle it. To avoid such a hairy mess, calmly detangle your hair with your fingers before styling or wash your hair and dry it before pulling it through a ponytail or bun.
Avoid Styling Soaking Wet Hair
Hair is at its most delicate state when it’s wet. So it’s never a good idea to put your sopping wet tresses into a ponytail or bun. The least you could do is to wait for your hair to become a little dry before you style it.
Moisturize Your Dry Hair before Styling
If you want to put your hair into a ponytail or a bun, make sure that you moisturize your hair before you do so. Dry hair is prone to breakage, whereas moisturized hair is more workable and less likely to break.
Use a Satin or Silk Scarf for Slick Edges
After applying either gel or wax, immediately put on a silk scarf for approximately five minutes. If the edges of your hair don’t seem to be smooth enough, try using a different product or moisturizer.
With these tips in mind, you won’t have to worrying about never wearing a ponytail or bun again. Just remember to use a protective style to also promote hair growth and ensure less breakage.
Sarsaparilla – Full of Rooty Goodness
Let’s talk about sarsaparilla root, what it can do for your health, and how it might be able to help you with a variety of different conditions that you might have. It may seem like a strange choice of plant to be considered a great source of nutrients, but emerging research is showing sarsaparilla root may be a great way to treat some skin conditions, and to have a powerful effect on how fast and how thick one’s hair grows.
Not Just a Tasty Drink
Sarsaparilla root, as with many things good for our health, comes from a plant. People have been using the root of this plant for centuries but it wasn’t until the 1400’s that the sarsaparilla root became available in European countries. If you’ve heard of sarsaparilla before, it’s probably because you’ve heard of the drink that became very popular. Perhaps you are not aware though that a pharmacist originally came up with the idea for the Sarsaparilla drink.
What Can Sarsaparilla Do for Me?
Number one, sarsaparilla helps to purify the blood and provide relief for inflammation and spasms of the muscles. So, if you have any type of condition that causes inflammation or muscle spasm, sarsaparilla is a lesser-known root you should definitely get your hands on. It’s also been known to work well as an antiseptic.
What Makes It So Powerful?
The sarsaparilla root has a ton of nutrients in it, including selenium and iron. These ingredients can be used to help with gout and fevers. Sarsaparilla is also suggested for a variety of different problems related to the skin and hair. A study has shown that sarsaparilla root is good for treating psoriasis and allergies.
Sarsaparilla root has also been shown to be potentially powerful at helping to grow or regrow hair. It’s been used in the past by Native Americans for this purpose, and has seen a modern resurgence in use.
Resources
Fitness Habits That Help Hair Grow Longer
For many women (and some men) long hair is a symbol of sexuality, beauty and power. Some people even go to great lengths (pun intended) to get it. Studies have shown that medium and long-length hair have a significant impact on the perception of attractiveness.
Although it hasn’t been studied, it seems reasonable to conclude that regular cardiovascular exercise stimulates circulation, which in turn stimulates hair growth. It also has numerous benefits on your health which may also eliminate the cause of seemingly ‘stunted’ hair growth or even thinning hair. For these reasons, many people notice a difference in their hair once starting a regular cardiovascular routine.
Many women experience mood swings and even hair shedding which could be a result of hormone imbalances caused by eating too much saturated fat, processed foods or hormones. One of the signs of many hormonal or thyroid problems is hair loss. Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly are so important for combatting stress and reducing stress hormones from making their way into the blood. Here are some specific exercises that will lower your stress and keep your hair growing like Rapunzel.
- Cardiovascular Exercise – By doing cardio or high-intensity running or walking for short bursts, you will help oxygenate your blood, get your circulation moving, digestion going and experience the many benefits of what exercise can do for your hair. Modern exercises like high-intensity training (HIT) and Zumba are especially good for increasing circulation.
- Yoga – Certain yoga poses or asanas can actually stimulate your hair follicles through gravity or by also increasing circulation, relaxing tense nerves and relieving stress. Stress is also a cause for hair loss in some people, due to the release of cortisol and certain hormones triggered by it. By relaxing and releasing this stress, a number of bodily functions improve, resulting in optimal hair growth.
- Add little ‘extras’ to your daily routine to increase your fitness level. Take the stairs instead of those crowded elevators or park your car a bit further than usual from your destination to force yourself to walk more. While watching tv, do lunges or squats, which will not only lift and shape your butt; they will also improve your cardiovascular health and in turn, your hair.
Some experts say that adding these fitness habits every day is important for optimal health, but the time depends on your fitness levels. Remember to check with your doctor before embarking on any strenuous activity!
Thiamin’s Effect on You and Your Hair
Thiamin, also known as vitamin B1 is beneficial in hair growth, and health in general. The primary use your body has for thiamin is in the process of metabolization (we’ll get to this). Thiamin is naturally found in many foods, including meat, grins, beans, and similar products. You’ll also find it in foods artificially injected with thiamin, and in B1 supplements.
Thiamin has a number of great uses in the body including boosting the immune system, handling cataracts, canker sores, heart problems, and it can even reverse or prevent premature hair loss.
Without thiamin in your diet you will most likely suffer unhealthy hair, loss of hair, loss of appetite, and a number of immune system disorders. Overdosing on thiamin is difficult to do due to its nature as a water soluble vitamin. Excesses of vitamin B1 present in the body will be flushed out regularly by the process of going to pee. In other words, unless you are specifically trying to overdose on thiamin you are not going to!
If you find yourself low on thiamin and suffering symptoms of low thiamin then you may want to increase the amount in your normal diet by eating foods that contain it and possibly trying out a vitamin b supplement.
Thiamin helps the body produce ATP, which acts as energy for cells. It also helps to overcome stress. A major cause for damage to your hair and a big cause for hair loss is indeed stress and dealing with stressful conditions. Better adapting to and handling stress and stressful conditions with thiamin will prevent damage to your hair and your hair’s health. Thanks to its boost to your immune system, it can help prevent stress from illnesses and nasty colds.
Everything about thiamin is natural and necessary for your body. Thiamin is not some sort of magical drug; it is just a basic component that your body needs as fuel to do what it does. Keep your hair and body healthy by giving them what they need.
Resources
- http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b1-000333.htm http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-965-THIAMINE%20%28VITAMIN%20B1%29.aspx?activeIngredientId=965&activeIngredientName=THIAMINE%20%28VITAMIN%20B1%29
- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-b1/NS_patient-thiamin/DSECTION=evidence