healthy hair central

*Image courtesy of Fried Dough

The science behind smoking and hair loss

Many of us already know that smoking is not good for you. Sorry if we just provided you with some shocking information, but smoking is not good for anyone. There are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco. Tobacco has a number of toxic ingredients such as toluene, nicotine, methanol, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, DDT, vinyl chloride, butane, cadmium, nitrobenzene, and mercury. You may find some of these same chemicals in batteries, mothballs, rat poison, embalming fluid, and rocket fuel. That does not sound like something you want in your body.

However, if you are not afraid of cancer or breathing problems, maybe you are afraid of going through the rest of your life bald because of smoking and hair loss. Because this is not a farfetched statement. Studies on smoking and hair loss have shown that smoking can damage the hair follicles which leads to hair loss.

Smoking and hair loss

Smoking cigarettes can speed up the rate at which we lose our hair, and slows down the rate at which our hair grows. It is difficult for our cells to reproduce into healthy cells when we have toxic products in our system. The flow of oxygen in the blood stream is also reduced by the carbon monoxide in cigarettes. We have written before that oxygen is necessary for your hair to retain its moisture and be healthy.

Smoking can cause hair loss in the following three ways:

When combined with sebum, the scalps pores may undergo a minor clogging effect.
Smoking pollutes our blood. This directly affects our liver.
Smoking reduces circulation to the extremities, which includes your scalp. This means that the blood flow is drastically reduced.

The reality of smoking

The truth is that when it comes to the long-term effects that smoking can have on hair health, baldness should be one of the least of our worries. However, it may be the motivation someone needs to make a healthy change in his or her life. The good news is that if you do quit smoking, chances are that the hair will eventually grow back and become healthy. If you want healthy hair, do not smoke.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site: www.tojilife.com.

Image courtesy of Joanna Bourne

Hair brush choices got you confused?

It’s time for a spring cleaning for your bathroom– and not a moment too soon. Your kits and caboodles are overflowing with hair brushes and combs, and it’s time to throw some of the older ones away. But hair products are expensive, and you know they are still useful, so which do you keep?

What is this boar bristle hype all about?

If you’ve looked into hair products lately, chances are you’ve read about the wonders of boar bristle brushes. People really like these brushes, but it’s not only because they are the latest it thing. Boar bristle brushes are, in general, easier on the hair than your typical plastic hair brush, with the added bonus that they distribute your natural oils from your scalp, down to your oftentimes-dryer ends.

In addition, the hard boar bristles are very effective at removing gross pile-up from dirt, dust, and debris from your everyday life, so it can even help in keeping your hair clean. That’s not all, the hard bristles of a boar hair brush are perfect for massaging your scalp, thereby stimulating the blood flow to your scalp and preventing hair loss.

Don’t worry, you can keep a brush for every occasion

So which of your boar bristle brushes do you keep? Well, all of them! All hair brushes serve a different purpose, and it is important to use them correctly. For starters, a paddle hair brush is best for detangling wet hair, while a round hair brush is perfect for use while blow drying – do your research on the hair brush you leave in your drawers to find out which of these boar bristles don’t really fit your morning routine.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site: www.tojilife.com.

Image courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

It’s been an exhausting nine-and-then-some-that-nobody-really-tells-you-about months, but the day is finally here. You push, shout, and cry, but finally – finally – meet your gorgeous baby…cue ball. Before you begin imagining yourself placing your baby on a life-long Rogaine regimen, you should calm down new mommy, because this is totally normal.

The reason? Telogen Effluvium, or to put it simply, a change in the normal hair cycle due to a variety of causes, like hormone changes or childbirth (yes, baby momma, this can happen to you too!). Essentially, this means that your baby has two phases of hair growth before they can even muster the strength to roll their tiny little bodies over.

While your mini-Michael-Jordan was marinating in your tummy, your baby was receiving a large amount of your hormones. Now that the umbilical cord has been cut, his or her hormone levels begin to drop, causing the resting phase of hair growth, the precursor to hair loss (these pesky hormones are also the reason why you may notice some hair loss after giving birth). So, if your baby was born bald, then the first growth has already fallen out.

The cure? Time. Within six months, your baby is going to show signs of having a luscious head of hair, I swear. On the bright side – there is always a bright side – while you wait for those curly-cute tresses to come in, there is a huge market of bald baby hair accessories, with all of the bows, caps, and headbands to keep your baby looking just as adorable (if not even more-so) as those full-haired fellow infants.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site: www.tojilife.com.

Image courtesy of lethargic

Good God, you are so stressed out. Johnson wants his reports at his desk by morning and this PhD program is just spreading you so thin! Speaking of thin, have you looked at your hair lately? I’m not saying that you’re balding, but I believe your neck is growing a bubble.

It’s high time for you to calm down, because stress – not your intelligence – is the reason that you are prematurely balding. You see, stress has a huge impact on liver health, which in turn affects your hormonal balance and hair loss. Here’s more detail about stress and hair loss, if you’re curious.

Take a breather, smarty pants, because this is reversible. Next time you go to the drugstore, buy yourself some vitamins, like fatty acids, B vitamins, and magnesium, because these all cleanse the liver. While you’re there, make sure to pick up some Biotin and fish oils, as they provide nutrients that may help restore your hair.

Take some time and re-evaluate your stressors and how you can reduce them. Strap on your sneakers, and go for a run around your block – have some fun with it, pretend you’re running away from Johnson (our little secret; don’t worry, I hate him too). Once you get back to your apartment, stretch and meditate, put on some Enya, listen to some NPR, just make sure to breathe in and out, and in…and out.

All done? If you’re not sure what that is you’re feeling, it’s probably because you’re finally relaxed. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Keep it up, chronic stress causes such ailments like headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site: www.tojilife.com.

*Image courtesy of Edwin Land

You look at yourself in the mirror while getting ready for another night on the town. You still look good, right? I mean, your wrinkles are barely visible and although there are some signs of graying, you write it off as aging gracefully. Yep, you’ve still got it – but wait, what is that? You drop the comb and, upon closer inspection, you find a small patch of your skin, glaring back at you in the mirror where your salt-and-pepper hair should be.

You remember that your grandmother once told you that alcohol stimulates hair growth, so you dab some of that scotch you have on-hand to your scalp in a feeble attempt to stimulate your follicles, knock the rest of your drink back, and you start your night.

I’m not the kind of person to run around dissing your nana, but this time she’s wrong – alcohol does not encourage hair growth at all. In fact, the words “alcohol” and “hair” should never really be in the same sentence. The only thing you succeeded in doing when you applied that expensive whiskey on your head is dry your scalp, cause hair breakage, and make you smell like a drunk.

You see, when you smeared that alcohol on your scalp, it evaporated quickly – taking some of your hair’s own moisture with it. As we know, dry hair is damaged hair, and although damaged hair does not cause baldness, it certainly causes hair breakage, which in turn may lead to some hair falling out.

So take your bottle of scotch back to the liquor cabinet where it belongs, and make sure to steer clear of alcohol-based hair products the next time you are at the drugstore – your hair may even grow back if you do!

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site: www.tojilife.com.

*Image courtesy of Uggboy

Samson, Hercules, Zeus, and Poseidon are all powerful, strong, and oh-so-hairy. Take a look through any artwork of any fictional influential figure and chances are that their manes will be flowing in the wind. The bottom line is, as you grow bald, it is fair to say that you may no longer feel as up-to-it as you did during your high school days.

But it’s important for you to know that women do find bald sexy – Bruce Willis anyone? So it’s also imperative that you understand the connection between hair loss and your, well, your mojo.

The connection between baldness and virility is not direct – but it is both related to the same hormone. Baldness is caused by levels of sensitivity to a testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to be exact, which limits blood flow to the hair follicles. The body naturally converts testosterone to DHT, but not all testosterone is converted to DHT. Levels of free testosterone are strongly linked to libido, but unless the levels of free testosterone are virtually non-existent, levels have not been shown to affect virility.

Basically, the increased levels of DHT in your system as you grow older is a blessing in a (bald) disguise. As levels go up, your hair falls out – but so does your increased desire.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site:www.tojilife.com.

*Image courtesy of Maegan

Oops, you did it again – you got caught up in a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” marathon and now you are getting picked up for your date in just a few minutes, but you are still soaking wet from your shower. How do you expect to have your hair looking, well, non-ape-like and still look fabulous just in time for Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet?

If you want to build a better hair style, it’s best to think about it like a construction site – you gotta build from the ground, up – that is to say, from the roots throughout the length of your hair. You see, when you blow dry your roots first, you set a foundation for the rest of your hair, giving you more control for the shape of your style. As an added bonus, this technique also sets you up for fuller and more voluminous hair.

Once your roots are done, you can go ahead and style your hair in whichever way you prefer – now that your foundation has been set, the rest of your locks should follow. When using hot tools to style your hair, make sure that your hair is completely dry before even thinking about touching that hot iron to your mane – this can potentially fry your hair by damaging the cuticle, and you have spent way too much time looking that good to have hair that smells like burnt toast.

But hurry! He’ll be there in 15 minutes, just enough time to apply some makeup and choose an outfit — now that your roots are dry, there is no need for you to stress your hair!

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site:www.tojilife.com.

It’s time for a confession: I only cut my hair about once a year. Why? Well, back in 2009, I fell hard for the Beckham-bob, going as far as cutting my curly and thin hair to look more “posh” – and I still regret it. As you may know, growing your hair long is not an easy task, and I definitely have had bumps on the road to mermaid hair – like, for instance, putting my hair in a braid or ponytail while still wet.

You’ve been there too, I’m sure. You don’t have time to blow-dry, spray, and damage your hair into straight submission, so you just put it in a bun and go on with your day. Well, ladies, if you’re trying to grow your hair out, this is not the way to go about it.

Instead, when you get out of the shower, you should comb your hair with a wide-toothed comb while it’s still wet – you can even go as far as doing this while you are still rub-a-dub-dubbing in the tub. Now here comes the hard part: while getting ready, avoid putting your hair up at all costs.

Why? Well, wet hair is extremely prone to breakage, so if you put your hair up tight, it will more than likely cause some damage to your delicate strands by causing breakage or worse – pulling out your hair. Blow drying and ironing also stunts growth by causing even more follicle follies on your precious mane.

Your best bet? Go au natural, baby! Splash some leave-in conditioner in and air dry your locks. Although it’s best to avoid using too many products, go ahead and dab some on to keep the frizz away.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site:www.tojilife.com.

*Image courtesy of Maegan Tintari

You’re blowing out (yet another) set of candles signifying that (yet another) year has passed, and although your kids are great and your wife is still hot, you can’t help but worry about what the future may bring. Yep, you’re 50 now, and how long is this full head of lustrous hair going to last?

Rest assured, because growing old is not a death sentence for your dense tresses. In fact, according to the Balding Blog, most men that may show aggressive hair loss patterns later on in life begin to lose their hair at age 20 – proof that despite the grandeur of Mother Nature, she’s still kind of a cruel bitch.

Balding can occur at any time in a person’s life. Don’t believe that? Here are some stone cold facts from the Modern Medical Library:

25% of men begin balding by 30
50% of men are affected by male-patterned balding by age 60
66% of men at age 60 are showing signs of balding

Hair loss affects many men worldwide, but just because your forehead may be growing, by no means are you getting old. Whatever your age may be, if you find that your hair no longer is resilient, there are still various measures you can take to keep you looking as young as you feel.

Over-the-counter topical applications, like Rogaine’s 5% solution, show an average of 45% re-growth two months after starting treatment. If you are in the market for something more potent, prescription-strength Propecia is the only medication available to male-patterned baldness. For more drastic measures, go for a hair transplant for near-instant results.

If you’re still bumming about growing bald, just remember that you are in good company – can you get think of a more interesting bunch of people than Ron Howard, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bruce Willis, Samuel Jackson, or James Carville? That’s a group that even the most full-headed of us would want to join.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site:www.tojilife.com.

*Image courtesy of Pedro Ribeiro Simões

Your bathroom counter is littered with various hair styling products, brushes, and your blow dryer and straightening iron – obviously. You are fabulous, and anyone that says otherwise clearly hasn’t noticed your flawless follicles. But will all this primping take its toll later on in life?

Luckily, if you take the necessary preventative measures, it will not. The average blow drying session can damage your hair by burning and stripping your strands of its natural oils, which cause it to fall; however, this may not be permanent. In more extreme cases, though, blow drying can weaken hair shafts, thereby causing – gasp – permanent hair damage.

Fortunately, the right hair care, including beauty products and styling, can prevent damage from blasting your hair into straight submission.

Before You Blow
After showering, blot hair gently to remove excess water – remember, your hair is weakest and most vulnerable when wet. Apply a leave-in conditioner to lube up your locks, and run a hair pick or wide-tooth comb to let out any tangles or knots. Brush your teeth, apply some make-up, let your hair air dry for a few minutes before actually picking up your handy-dandy blow dryer.

Blow Me, Baby
Alternate between the warm and cool settings on your blow dryer, making sure to not stay in the same spot for too long as this will cause the water in your hair cuticles to heat up, therefore damaging your hair. Make sure to blow dry hair by going with the growth grain to prevent damage to your fragile and precious cuticles.

Last but definitely not least, make sure to keep your hair looking flawless by brushing with a boar-hair bristle brush to evenly distribute oils along your follicles. Now, admire your work. Damn, that full head of hair is looking fierce, and if you keep taking these steps when blow drying your hair, it will be for a very, very long time.

Our blog entries are for your information only and are not intended as medical advice. Because everyone is different, we recommend you work with your medical professional to determine what’s best for you. Toji: Pure Density is designed to support healthy hair growth, and comes with a 3-bottle guarantee. Yes – this means you can try it for 3 months, and if you don’t grow faster, thicker, longer hair we will gladly provide you a complete, 100% money back, refund . For more info, check out our site:www.tojilife.com.

*photo courtesy of T.J. Lentz

healthy hair central

Tag Archives: lifestyle

Smoking and Hair Loss

The science behind smoking and hair loss

Smoking and hair loss

Smoking can cause hair loss in the following three ways:

The reality of smoking

Hair Brush Choice: Is Boar or Plastic Better?

Hair brush choices got you confused?

What is this boar bristle hype all about?

Don’t worry, you can keep a brush for every occasion

Bald Baby Blues: The Meaning of Being Born Bald

Chill Out, Smarty Pants: The Link Between Intellectuals and Hair Loss

Lose the Booze: Alcohol and Hair Growth

Bald in Bed – Does Baldness Effect Virility?

Know Your Roots: Quick and Simple Trick for a Flawless Hairstyle

Braids, Ponytails, and the Pursuit of Mermaid Hair

Does Growing Old Mean Growing Bald?

Blow Me, Baldie (Does Blow Drying Cause Hair Loss?)