Do you frequently subject your hair to straightening, hot rollers, curling irons, permanents or hair dyes? Any of the above can damage your hair and split hair shafts. Likewise, dry hair is often caused by overly zealous shampooing and made worse by blow-drying.
Sometimes, dry hair can be a sign of poor nutrition, such as vitamin, mineral, or protein deficiency.
TIPS FOR CARING FOR BRITTLE HAIR
- Try a shampoo or conditioner with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5
- After shampooing, rinse your hair thoroughly. Soap residue is drying and can coat your hair and dull its natural lush. Furthermore, the residue can flake, making you look like you have dandruff even if you don't.
- If you blow-dry, apply conditioner first to put a thin protective film between your hair and the device's dry heat. Use a moderate heat setting and don't dry your hair completely; stop while it's still damp and let it air-dry the rest of the way.
- If your hair tends to be fine and limp, try avoiding body-building shampoo conditioners. These products contain thickening agents that are supposed to increase the diameter of the hair shaft and boost volume. Ironically, extra coating weighs your fine hair down, instead. Wash your hair frequently with a mild shampoo to make sure it isn't flattened by excess oil.
Use this treatment once a week to nourish the scalp:
- 1 Tbsp jojoba oil
- 5 drops carrot seed essential oil
Mix these 2 ingredients together. Gently massage your scalp and the roots of hair. Wrap your head in a towel and wait 1 hour, then remove the towel and shampoo as usual.
Variation: For dry, brittle hair, substitute 3 drops rosemary essential oil for the carrot seed essential oil. Follow the above directions for use.
Customized Shampoo: This recipe will serve you as well as some other more expensive shampoos on the market.
- 1 Tbsp high quality baby shampoo
- 4 drops essential oil for dry hair: lavender, carrot seed, sandalwood or cedarwood.
SCALP MASKS Avoid overconditioning fragile easily breakable hair. The added weight of the conditioner can cause hair to break off, compounding the problem. D-panthenol is the only vitamin that hair seems to absorb. It strengthens the hair shaft from within and gives your hair a nice shiny look.
- 1 Tbsp high quality baby shampoo
- 1/4 tsp d-panthenol
- Add 4 drops of essential oil suitable for dry hair (see above) for added benefit.
Moistureizing Hair Mask
- 1/2 cup avocado puree
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp castor oil
- 1 tsp rum
Nourishing Hair Mask
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp powdered kelp
Mix the ingredients together, then massage any of these into dry scalp & hair, cover with a shower cap, and allow to permeate for 30-45 minutes. To speed up the process, wrap hot, moist towels around your head. Then shampoo as usual.
Hair care products can't help hair grow because the hair on your head is dead. The only way nurients can affect hair growth is if they make it to the scalp, where hair is produced. You can put whatever you like on there, but if it doesn't penetrate about 1/4 inch or deeper into the scalp to reach the hair follicle—and it never will—it doesn't work. Vitamins, minerals, protein, DNA, RNA, eggs or even beer can't be absorbed in the hair shaft and make it healthier. Most of those fancy additives like oatmeal, strawberries and avocados will be rinsed with the dirt and the suds away. "These really aren't helpful," says Dr. Bergfeld. "They can help hair have the appearance of body and fullness by temporarily swelling the hair shafts, but that's about it." Nutrition must come from the inside.
The big question is: Is there any connection between what you put in your mouth and keeping a full head of hair? For men, the answer to this question is a resounding no, except in case of extreme malnutrition. No amount of vitamins or minerals will regrow hair. But for some women who have experienced hair loss related to physical trauma, crash dieting or heavy menstrual flow, the answer is yes.
Researchers have found that certain nutrients often seem to be determining factors in hair regrowth in women.
IRON & HAIR When a woman loses iron because of something such as trauma, poor diet or heavy menstruation, several things happen. Among them: Her body literally stops producing hair until she gets more iron.
The Recommended Daily Value for iron is 18 milligrams. But getting enough iron is only part of the picture. Because iron absorption is boosted by vitamin C, says Alexander Zemtzov, M.D., associate professor of bio-chemistry and molecular biology at Indiana University School of Medicine, he recommends talking to your doctor about taking iron supplements. Be careful: high daily intake of iron can cause iron overload in some people. For this reason, doses exceeding the Daily Value of 18 milligrams should be taken only under medical supervision.
BIOTIN & HAIR Biotin is a popular supplement to enhance hair growth, thicken fiber and diminish shedding. The beneficial effects of biotin on the health of hair possibly reflects an ability to improve the metabolism of scalp oils, much like it works in seborrheic dermatitis
HAIR & CRASH DIETS Trimming pounds gradually not only is healthier than crash dieting but also keeps your hair on your head. "Any woman who has lost 20 pounds or more in a period of three months is going to have a problem of hair loss," says Wilma Bergfeld, M.D., a dermatologist and director of the Section of Dermathopathology and Dermatological Research at the Cleveland Clinic. The safe and effective way to lose weight: trimming no more than a pound a week.
Alternative Therapy for Hair Loss
- Diet: Whole foods diet high in silicon, (green and red peppers, sprouts and cucumbers); foods high in iron (lean meats and raisins); sea vegetables (kelp); goat milk.
- Supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (flaxseed oil; amino-acid cysteine (supplies sulphur0; inosito, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B complex, vitamin B5, zinc.
- For dull, lifeless hair, use evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil, and vitamin E.
- Juice Therapy: Carrot, beet, spinach, nettle, alfalfa. Add a little onion juice to the vegetable juices.