Posts filed under 'Articles'
t’s pretty easy to end up with damaged hair thanks to all of the products, coloring processes, hot rollers, blow dryers, and curling irons that we subject our hair to on a regular basis.
Although damaged hair can affect your appearance, it’s not the end of the world and it certainly isn’t permanent. You can avoid many of these problems and in some cases even repair the damage.
Symptoms And Cause
The symptoms of damage vary depending upon the event or events that caused the damage. The most common symptoms are “breakage” hair that breaks easily, a bad case of the “frizzies”, split ends, hair that has lost its shine or luster, and hair that has rough spots or feels rough all over.
Wind, rain, pool and saltwater, sun, pollution, harsh chemicals, excessive perms, bleaching or coloring your hair, and even teasing it too much can result in damaged hair.
Regardless of the cause, you can usually do something to make it look at least better than it does at the moment.
Treatments And Solutions for Damaged Hair
There are products and intensive treatments that can help you repairing damaged hair to some extend. The repair products contains silicon based polymers that can glue those small cracks on your hair fiber and cover your hair with some protective films and bring your hair back in shine - at least from cosmetic point of view.
These products provide you with some temporary solution and is quite useful specially when you are away for long business trips or holidays and have no access to your stylist.
Treatment for damaged hair and repairing products includes moisturizing and intensive conditioning. There are two types of treatments - one for overheated and dry hair and the other is designed for damages caused by chemically treated hairs.
See also the benefit of hemp shampoo for chemically treated damaged hairs.
These products also offer additional protection and will help preventing(reducing) future damage while cleansing and conditioning hair fibers.
Products rich in antioxidants can also help repair cellular damage caused by pollutants and product build-up.
Learn how solve damaged hair problems with cranberry oil.
Hair Split Ends
Split ends are the easiest type of hair damage to control. Split ends are the result of normal hair wear and tear, but can also by toweling your hair too vigorously when it is wet, over blow drying, and excessive coloring, bleaching, or perms. Anothe factor that can lead to split-ends is sun exposure. Fine hair is especially prone to splitting.
There is no real cure for split-ends. All you can do is have the ends trimmed and be more careful in the future. However like damaged hair split-ends can also be repaired by special serums (lotion-type products) containing polymers that help mending the damaged area and provide a temporary solution.
If you suffer from chronic split ends then resign yourself to having a regular trim every six weeks, or so, as the damage reappears.
While there are no “real cures” for other types of damage, you can keep your hair looking at least acceptable by using a deep conditioner once per week and shampooing with a mild shampoo. Be careful not to scrub your hair too vigorously as this may intensify the damage.
In case of hair damage, hair coloring and other chemical treatment should be avoided until your hair gets a chance to stabilized and get its natural condition.
Continue with the conditioning treatments until your healthy hair has grown back in.
May 12th, 2008
The Lost Art Of Hair Repair
While there are certainly a number of medical treatments that offer great results, experts say that natural hair loss treatment can yield some of the best benefits for anyone concerned about the health of their hair.
Most people choose to treat their hair loss with medications or surgery, such as Minoxidil or hair transplantation. However many people fail to realize that medication and surgery are costly and may carry some harmful side effects and risks.
By Marvin Perry
The safest and most cost efficient form of hair loss therapy is natural hair loss treatment, which includes healthy dieting, herbal remedies, exercise and proper hair care techniques. Natural hair loss treatment has become the “Lost Art” of hair repair and is often neglected as a form of treatment among the very pricey alternatives.
Lack of Proper Nutrition
A fundamental principal in natural hair loss treatment is that the same foods that are good for your health, are good for your hair. Although hair loss can be caused by many other variables, lack of proper nutrition will cause hair loss in most people.
Foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and have reduced fat content can help in maintaining healthier hair and preventing hair loss. For example, essential fatty acids, found in spinach, walnuts, soy, tuna, sardines, sunflower seeds and canola oil, are important dietary essentials useful in keeping hair healthy.
The omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids contain anti-inflammatory properties that are useful in maintaining healthy hair. Insufficient levels of these essential fatty acids could lead to quicker hair loss.
Vitamin Deficiency
A deficiency in vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 can also lead to excessive hair loss. Foods containing B vitamins, like liver, chicken, fish and soybean are important to healthy hair growth and natural hair loss treatment. Both vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 are found in protein rich foods, which are needed to maintain natural hair growth.
B vitamins are very essential to one’s diet in order to prevent excessive hair loss. Certain vitamins and nutritional supplements are often necessary to restore protein levels which in turn, are useful in preventing hair loss. Increasing vitamin B intake in one’s diet is a successful way to prevent or treat your hair loss naturally.
Herbal Remedies as Natural Hair Loss Treatment
Alongside the concept of healthy eating of vitamins, minerals and nutrients are also the use of herbal remedies that are effective in preventing hair loss as a natural hair loss treatment. Among the herbs making medical headlines is Saw Palmetto.
Although most studies of Saw Palmetto have been for the treatment of prostatic disease, more recent studies have been conducted on its effectiveness in treating hair loss. The herb has been found to work in fighting benign prostatic disease by lowering levels of DHT, which is a known cause of androgenic alopecia, the medical term for male or female pattern hair loss.
While there are no clinical trials supporting this herb’s usefulness as a natural hair loss treatment, there is some reliable research proving that it can slow down androgen activity within the hair follicle.
Nettles, usually taken in the form of Nettle Root Extract, has shown itself to be effective in preventing hair loss as well. Nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, that are beneficial in inhibiting DHT production and promoting hair growth as a natural hair loss treatment. Other traditional herbs that are useful as natural hair loss treatments are green tea, licorice extract, horsetail, ginger, psoralea seeds, apple cider vinegar, rosemary and sage tea.
Research is constantly discovering modern forms of natural hair loss treatments. The list of treatments summarized in this article are only a fraction of the available natural therapies for hair loss. Everyone has some hair loss from day to day. In fact, it is normal to lose up to 100 strands of hair a day. However, some people lose a lot more hair than expected, due to genetic reasons, disease, medications, stress, injury, or an unhealthy diet.
Regardless of the cause of hair loss, natural hair loss treatment, involving changes in diet and lifestyle, is the safest form of preventive hair treatment around. Catching your hair loss in its early stages and treating it naturally is among the best lines of defense in preventing excessive hair loss and the safest method for treating it.
May 9th, 2008
Who would have thought you could get antioxidants, Omega-3, Omega-6, and Vitamin E all in one fruit oil?
Cranberry seed oil is the latest natural hair product on the market. It provides a nutrient-rich formula that contributes to a healthy and strong head of hair.
Without Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, hair is dry and lifeless. A lack of fatty-acid balance in the scalp can lead to unmanageable hair and frequent bad hair days.
Nature’s Perfect Moisturizer
The rich cranberry omega oils help to reduce dandruff, itching, as well as eczema and psoriasis, a skin disease characterized by recurring reddish patches covered with silvery scales.
Approximately 2% of the population, about 120 million people worldwide, suffer from psoriasis. They experience a temporary thinning of the hair, which could be due to insufficient omega nutrition of the hair and scalp… a deficiency that can be rebalanced with cranberry oil.
One more benefit of using omega-rich cranberry oil directly on your hair – it suits vegans, vegetarians and others who wish to avoid animal-derived products such as fish oil, which can leave your hair with an unpleasant odour.
Loaded With Nutrients
You could spend a lot of money on products such as wheat germ oil and cold-pressed vegetables oils, which only contain one source of Vitamin E and will leave your hair greasy and unhealthy over the long run. Whereas cranberry oil contains natural, rich antioxidants (that repair cellular damage caused by pollutants) and a variety of elements including organic acids like benzoic acid to enhance scalp circulation and promote healthy hair.
Your hair needs Vitamin E for shine and strength; you can get this important vitamin by applying cranberry oil every time you wash your hair.
Cranberry oil also contains minerals that are beneficial to your hair such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.
If you were to consume cranberry oil orally, it would gradually be distributed by your digestive system to various parts of your body, including your hair. But for a more direct effect, the nutritional benefits of cranberry oil can be delivered right to the scalp and absorbed by the roots if packed properly into an agent (delivery system) that can penetrate the skin to reach the blood vessels beneath the scalp.
Cranberry Oil Products
Look for shampoos, conditioners, hair moisturizers, styling cremes, hair sprays, and other products that contain cranberry seed oil. You’ll also find the oil increasingly being used in lip balms and skin creams because of its exceptional, non-greasy moisturizing properties.
May 8th, 2008
Darmstadt, Germany – The new subline Color Touch Plus by Wella Professionals introduces a new generation of intensive toning products. Color Touch Plus creates natural, intense color results with high opacity and up to 70 percent of maximum protection and care of the hair’s structure.
Due to the high demand for color services by women, Wella Professionals is committed to develop new, original and salon exclusive color services and innovations. With the new Color Touch Plus Wella Professionals manages to close a gap between the ordinary intense toning and a permanent color.
The new Color Touch Plus is an innovative extension of the shine-intensive toning series Color Touch and offers richer, more intense nuances, an improved coverage of grey hair and gleaming shine with a formula that is at the same time gentle and nourishing. Conventional semi permanent colors offer a grey coverage of up to 50percent. Color Touch Plus reaches 70 percent with richer, more intense and at the same time very natural results. At the same time the new line is just as gentle as the conventional semi-permanent products. Due to the intense pigmentation, higher opacity and lasting coverage Color Touch Plus is classified as a “demi-permanent intensive toning”. Color Touch Plus resists up to 24 washes.
May 7th, 2008
Restore the vitality and life to your hair with a few simple steps, and enjoy a lifetime of gorgeous, glorious, shiny hair!
Think only your skin suffers from the effects of aging? Unfortunately, hair also succumbs to age and environmental damage as well, causing hair to become brittle, frayed, and thin. Read on for a bevy of tips on how to battle the signs of aging and attain, and retain, younger-looking tresses.
The hairy side of aging
Hormonal changes, sluggish cell regeneration, and certain medications used to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol can all contribute to dry, coarse hair. Also, with age, hair loses protein and melanin, leading to the inevitable appearance of gray or silver hair. And this condition doesn’t discriminate. Anyone, male or female, may begin to notice hair has become thinner, less shiny and more prone to breaking or damage with age, especially over the age of 40. Additionally, many post-menopausal women may experience female-pattern hair loss, a condition that causes thinning hair around the crown. As hair ages, elasticity is lost, hair follicles shrink, growth slows and sebum and keratin production diminishes, resulting in brittle, lifeless hair. What can be done?
Changing your hair habits
How to combat these change? To start, a brilliant haircut, or new boost to your color will work wonders on aging hair. But don’t be deceived: these superficial camouflages don’t reverse the effects of aging. To keep your locks looking young, think young! Avoid over-exposure to harsh chemical treatments, and use snag-free ponytail elastics or smooth clip barrettes to hold hair off the face. In addition, be cautious with hot tools, such as blow dryers, rollers, curling irons or flat irons. If used improperly, or too frequently, these appliances will seriously damage and weaken the hair shaft. Towel dry the hair carefully before blow-drying, use a protective styling cream and the lowest heat setting for the safest blow-out. Also, invest in a natural bristle brush, designed to gently detangle and smooth the hair while massaging the scalp. Finally, a deep-conditioning hair mask, used once weekly will replenish lost moisture and help protect the cuticle: Philip B White Truffle Nourishing Hair Conditioning Crème.
Start in the shower
Hair can also suffer damage in the shower. For shiny tresses, seek out shampoos and conditioners containing shea butter, panthenol, hydrolyzed yeast extract or sweet almond oil, which will respect the hair’s natural moisture balance. Also, consider cutting back on the amount of times per week you wash your hair, opting for once every 2 to 3 days, rather than everyday, which can over-dry the hair, making it appear parched and dull. For the shiniest hair ever, try Alterna Hemp with Organics Shine Shampoo, followed with Alterna Hemp with Organics Shine Conditioner. And for even more hair repair, reach for targeted anti-aging hair treatments, which feature antioxidants and protein. DS Laboratories Revita Hair Growth Stimulating Shampoo enlarges the diameter of each hair strand and invigorates follicles to improve scalp vitality while Jan Marini Age Intervention Hair Revitalizing Conditioner promises to reveal fuller, thicker hair after two weeks.
Hair fare
Since we regulate our diet for glowing skin and a good figure, why not also nourish the hair through our diet, as well? One of the best ways to nourish and prevent the appearance of aging hair is a high-protein, low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet, rich in essential fatty acids, leafy, deep green vegetables and biotin, a B vitamin. Stock your kitchen with non-citrus fruits, fresh leafy vegetables, yogurt with live cultures, tofu, legumes, whole grains, and oily fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, and sardines. Drizzle cold pressed olive, sesame or flaxseed oil over salads; flaxseed oil in particular encourages the growth of healthy hair. Snack on sunflower or pumpkin seeds, almonds, figs, dates, and soy products such as soy nuts or soy milk. Because iron deficiency is often responsible for hair loss in women, consult your physician to assess iron levels. If you’re not getting adequate iron in your nutrition, you may want to consider taking a supplement.
A diet with nutritional deficiencies can cause sudden hair loss or thinning. Instead, strive to maintain a regular exercise routine and eat well-balanced meals to maintain a full, healthy, vibrant head of hair. If exercising outside, wear a leave-in conditioner to diminish breakage and a hat to shield hair from the sun. UV rays can also damage hair, destroying precious moisture and reducing shine.
Although gray or damaged hair is often regarded as one of the most noticeable signs of aging, there are alternatives. Make a few simple skincare changes to your daily routine now, and strip the years away to achieve younger, healthier hair!
May 5th, 2008
A person’s hair and scalp should be taken care of properly.
When they are left uncared for, hair and scalp conditions will certainly occur. It is best that a person is aware of the conditions of his or her hair and scalp to know the proper ways and methods of taking care of it.
There are numerous hair conditions that could happen to anyone with different causes as well. Hair loss, dry hair, normal hair, split ends and many more hair conditions. These are just some of the several hair conditions a person should be aware of. To be able to know how to treat and take care of these hair conditions one must also be aware of its causes.
Hair loss can happen to anyone, male or female. There are also different factors that can cause hair loss. In most cases, hair loss experienced by both males and females is caused by inherited factors. Although in other cases of hair loss, stress is the common reason. Emotional stress has a lot do with the gradual loss of hair.
Stress on the hair itself can cause hair loss.
Dry hair is a very common hair condition. It is a condition wherein the hair lacks moisture and oil to make it soft and shiny. There are also a lot of factors causing this particular hair condition. The use of strong hair products are likely the reasons of dry hair. Using shampoos with strong and harsh ingredients can harm a person’s hair and cause it to dry.
Constant blow drying and excessive washing is also a factor that can damage the hair. Climate changes can also cause your hair to dry as well as places with little humidity, lots of sun and dry heat. People with lack of nutrition can also lead your hair to dry.
People with normal hair are fortunate. All they have to do is take proper care of their hair. Avoid harsh shampoos.
Also make sure that you apply the proper amount of shampoo on your hair to avoid dryness. One must also be aware of the proper ways to apply shampoo. The ends of the hair shouldn’t be rubbed too much and apply shampoo through the tips of your finger in a gentle manner. Also be sure to apply shampoo not too often to keep the natural oils of your hair.
Scalp conditions can also be a serious condition. These scalp conditions are problems that occur on the top of the head.
Scalp problems such as acne, dandruff, eczema, psoriasis and many more are effects of various factors. These factors can be from shampoos with harsh ingredients that can irritate your scalp, changes of one’s hormones, psychological problems, skin infections caused by fungus and a lot more. A person should be aware of the products he or she is using to prevent from suffering these scalp conditions. Another thing to remember is to watch his or her diet and be healthy both physically and mentally. Avoid being stressed and live a healthy life.
May 2nd, 2008
Doesn’t it seem like the person with shiny hair is so beautiful? Don’t you feel like that should be you? Now, it can be.
Hair is coated with natural oil called sebum, which allows it to shine and retain its moisture. Sebum is produced by a gland called sebaceous and is found near every hair follicle in the scalp.
However, this natural oil is heavily affected by our hormones, the things we use to style or wash our hair and by dry windy weather. This then leaves our hair feeling and looking dry and boring.
But you can control the destiny of your hair. Several products have been created specifically for enhancement of shiny hair. Hair shampoo has the purpose of cleaning the dirt and buildup your hair encounters with every day life.
But its harsh chemicals can leave your hair dry, and that is when hair conditioner comes into play. Hair conditioner works like a lotion for your hair. It allows it to recondition its follicles and get back to its normal self. But these two items are made for cleaning your hair in the shower.
Oils have also been a great tool to get your hair to shine. Hair shine and oils allow you to protect your hair when you are outside. They can block the dry wind and harsh rays of the sun from stripping away the sebum. In many cases of really dry hair, it is recommended that you try a hot oil treatment. In less than 30 minutes, you can retain your natural oil, relieve your hair from the stress and reduce split ends.
If you use products hair dye, make sure you also collaborate products created for color treated hair. A hairdryer or curling iron works wonders for creating style, but using these appliances can cause great damage and dryness. If you are fond of your hairdryer or hair iron, you should look out for heat activated conditioner or shampoo. This way, you will not be causing harm to your precious locks and will not only make your hair in good condition but also make your hair shine.
When styling your hair, do not pull your hair back too tight. This will not only cause stress to your hair, but it will dry your scalp as well.
Hard brushing can result to unwanted hair loss or irritation to your scalp.
Brushing your hair gently is another for of massaging your hair and it also produces shiny hair.
There are many ways for you to make your hair shine. With simply daily routines, you can maintain having beautiful, shiny hair.
April 30th, 2008
Hair is made of strong elastic strands of protein called keratin and in chemical terms is composed of oxygen, iron, nitrogen, hydrogen, sulphur, carbon and phosphorus.
The exact proportions of these chemical elements vary with sex, age, type and colour of hair.
The sources of hair are very small tiny pockets in our skin and scalp known as follicles. These follicles are not evenly spread on the scalp but are found together in groups of two to five each. Every follicle follows a life cycle of its own producing six inches of hair a year for as long as four years before it falls out then starts all over again after a short period.
The basal tip of the hair in the scalp is known as papilla which is a small out-growth of the skin shaped like a doorknob and lying at the tip of the follicle.
The papilla contains the blood vessels to supply nourishment to the hair.
During the active period the new cell growth pushes the older part of the hair away from the papilla until the hair falls out. It is the pattern of cell growth at the papilla which determines whether hair grow straight wavy or curly.
The growth pattern usually becomes uneven during the adolescence when the hair growth is at its peak.
It declines as we grow older. The cell growth pattern can change otherwise also due to illness, drugs, pregnancy, etc.
Though hair strands look as singular fibres, each hair is constructed in three different layers: the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla.
The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair which provides protection to the inner cortex layer.
It is made up of flattened, hard, horny cells. When the cuticle breaks and dislodges at the end of the hair, the result is split ends. Improper care and frequent use of harsh chemicals on hair damage the cuticle.
The cortex is the second layer.
The qualitative properties of strength, elasticity, pliability, direction and growth pattern, width and the texture of hair depend on the composition of the cortex. The cortex is composed of fibres twisted together like a rope.
It is the cortex which gives the hair its colour. The presence of the four natural pigments black, brown, yellow and red are logged in the cortex in varying proportions, and the air spaces in the cortex determine the colour and shade of hair.
The excess black and deep brown pigment is what gives oriental women the dark hair they possess.
Lastly, the medulla is the unimportant innermost layer which is composed of soft keratin. Medulla is often not present in some hair. Hair that lacks medulla is no worse than hair that has medulla.
April 29th, 2008
People who care for their hair are not necessarily vain or pompous.
Hair care is important for anybody. So in order to administer the proper hair care, a person must know the ins and outs when it comes to hair characteristics. There are four major categories when it comes to hair characteristics and these are porosity, elasticity, density, and texture.
Porosity. The hair has the ability to take in moisture or to absorb it. This absorption is determined through the amount each of your cuticle is raised.
This is what is known as porosity. So why be concerned about your hair’s porosity? For example, you wanted to get some hair treatment. Naturally this would involve the administering of chemicals to your hair. Less of these chemicals could lead to the ineffectiveness of that treatment while more of these chemicals can thoroughly damage your hair.
It is then for the goal of a healthy shiny hair that the right chemical service is rendered.
And to determine that rightness, knowing the porosity of your hair can benefit you a lot. Porosity of hair can be divided into three categories—high porosity, normal porosity, and low porosity. Low porosity means your hair is rather resistant to hair treatments, normal porosity means the hair is receptive, while high porosity means administering of chemicals to your hair should be done with great caution.
The next important hair characteristic is elasticity. This refers to the degree in which your hair can be stretched. That degree wherein the hair can be stretched without damaging it and spring back to the length it originally had, that is elasticity.
This characteristic of the hair is important because it can indicate the condition of your hair. You will know whether your hair is still strong or already weak. Once you are aware of that, you can then proceed to finding the right hair care treatment or product to use. Take note that when your hair is wet it can be stretched at one and one-fourth more than its original length. When dry, stretching capability is only at a quarter of the original length.
Elasticity can be affected by chemical services, heat, brushing, and combing.
Another hair characteristic is density. This is the number of your hairs per square inch that are on your scalp. Knowing the thickness or thinness of your hair is done by measuring its density. Studies show that the average head area is 120 sq. in.
and the hairs on a person’s head is numbering at an average of 100,000 to 150,000. Daily, the head is said to normally shed hair of about 50 to 80 strands.
Finally, there is texture. This is measured by determining how much diameter an individual hair strand has. There are three categories covering this characteristic—coarse, medium, and fine. The larger the diameter, the coarser the hair becomes and of course, if the diameter is small, your hair is fine. Fine hair may be sensitive to chemical processes while coarse hair can be resistant. So no matter what hair care you do, natural hair care or otherwise, take note of these hair characteristics.
April 28th, 2008
Gray hair is an inevitable sign of aging. There are many who are quite gracious in accepting the fact that their hair are turning gray. There are others, however, who are doing everything humanly possible to somehow curtail their aging process. It is imperative for these people to realize though, that it is possible for them to still look gorgeously great even with their silvery manes. All it takes is becoming more aware of the causes of graying hair as well as knowing ways of better gray hair care.
The Whys and Hows of Gray Hair
Your hair does not really change in color but it does lose its natural color pigmentation. As you age, your hair follicles grow old with you and as every strand undergo changes at diverse rates, different shades of gray are attained. The depletion of the color pigments will result in the gradual lightening of these strands until such time that the gray will turn into white. There is no treatment for gray hair, except if getting them is a result of other circumstances.
Generally, gray hairs start appearing during the forties at varying degrees for a group of people. People with dark hair will see gray hairs earlier than those with blond hairs. Men, generally will get gray hairs sooner than women. However, there are also factors other than age that could cause graying hair. Among these factors are change in hormonal levels caused by stress or trauma, smoking, malnutrition and even, Werner Syndrome, which is a disease that speeds up aging.
Gray Hair Care
Even if the causes of getting gray hairs prematurely are not known exactly, there are ways on taking care of gray hair that you could do. You could still look fabulous even with your gray hair. Just remember that as you age, you will also get hair that is more coarse and dry, as compared to youthful hair. To cushion these age effects on your hair, you should take care in using hair products that will moisturize your hair deeply. There are also other hair products that could add volume to your hair, as you will also tend to fall victim to hair loss when you age.
Take note to stay away from heat treatments like blow dryers and curling irons, as they will take away the moisture from your hair. Stay away from hair products that have harsh ingredients, as your hair will also tend to more delicate when you age. As much as possible, use treatments or products that have more natural ingredients, so that your graying hair will still be as healthy as it can be.
If you must dye your hair, do this is soon as you notice any gray hairs and be regular about doing touch-ups. Be sure to choose a shade that’s lighter than your hair color by at most two shades. This makes it easy for the color to blend with your complexion, which also changes as you age.
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April 25th, 2008
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