Health, Wellness, Lifestyle, Food, Fashion & Family
BEAUTY
How I Keep My Hair Long & Strong.....
by Tammy-Lynn
Maintaining my hair health is probably the number one most important part of my beauty regime. In the day and age of extensions, I can't tell you how many times women younger than me has been brave enough to tug on the back of my hair to see if it's real! Compliment? I guess so. I've had this hair a LOOOONG time and keeping it healthy is key. Here are a couple of key steps in keeping it strong, healthy and happy!
Diet is key! And it's so true. If you aren't eating the proper nutrients your hair won't have healthy longevity. Think of it this way. Your hair is DEAD. The only "living" portion of your hair is found in the follicle. The hair that is visible is the hair shaft, which exhibits no biochemical activity and is considered "dead". This means that you must give your hair a fighting chance by making sure that when it grows, it grows strong. Let's talk about food for hair health. One of the best foods that you can consume are NUTS, SEEDS & HEALTHY OILS. Here's why:
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Hair is primarily made up of keratin, a protein produced in hair follicles. The daily allowance of protein (0.8 to 1 gm/kg body weight) is a must to enable growth of new hair in place of one that is shed.
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Many minerals & vitamins play an important role in protein metabolism to help absorb it better and utilize it for new cell generation. More often than not, lack of adequate proteins, minerals & vitamins in our daily diet topped with pollution and stress makes your hair unhealthy.
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The walnut is a good hair food too. This is because walnuts contain biotin (vitamin B7) that helps strengthen hair, reduce hair fall out and improve hair growth.
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Among all the dietary plants and nuts, walnuts contain the highest amount of antioxidants. Around 100g of walnuts will give more than 20 mmol antioxidants, this is good for scalp health.
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Dandruff can give you a dry itchy scalp and those grey or white flakes of skin that shed from your hair onto your clothes can be more than a little embarrassing. But walnut oil might be able to help. Diluted walnut oil is commonly used to treat dandruff and, by all accounts, it works!
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Nuts promote hair growth. It is thought that it works because it contains essential minerals like iron, zinc, and copper which help in the growth of healthy hair.
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Consuming ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil is great for your hair (and skin). Flax is considered a hair superfood. In my morning shakes, I add about 1 tbsp of flaxseed oil. For me, this is the easiest way to get in my daily omega-3s. During the drier winter months, I rub a tablespoon of flax oil into my scalp and let it sit for about 30 minutes before jumping in the shower to wash it out.
Aside from using quality hair products to wash and condition my hair (I only wash my hair 1x a week & use dry shampoo if I need to), I always use good hair oils from midway down. My favourites are coconut oil, argan oil, and jojoba oil. Here's a great site for more information on natural oils and your hair - HAIR OILS. For good products that are natural, I prefer Avalon Organics.
So remember, put good food in your body and the benefits go beyond great health. You're feeding your skin, hair and nails too!
