Thursday 15 September 2011

Hair Glorious Hair






There is something special about shiny healthy hair. You can understand why hair is called ' our crowning glory'. We women pay a fortune at hair dressers having it primped and preened and we spend just as much on hair products.

The men are coming on board as well and taking their hair styling and products quite seriously nowadays.

Our hair takes quite a beating when you think about it - blow drying, straighteners, curling irons, hair colours, hair products of all description and of course the elements such as sun and wind.Then to top it all off, we often lead stressful lives and don't eat as well as we should. This all negatively affects the health of our hair.

Your hair can tell the story of your health . I had some tests done on a hair sample to find out what my allergies were. Quite remarkable when you think about it.

I have always been proud of my thick shiny hair and was horrified a couple of years ago, when I started losing it in large amounts. It fell out everywhere and became quite sparse. You could almost see my scalp through the hair. After a blood test, I found out I was severely deficient in Vitamin D as a side effect of my Chrons Disease.


Thank goodness it is almost back to its former healthy state thanks to taking a holistic approach to addressing the condition. I now have a ‘halo’ of new hair growth. I have waist length hair and the ‘halo’ gives my hair a ‘shocked’ appearance that I have to slick down  and 'tame' with some coconut oil LOL.

I used a combination of diet, vitamins and minerals and some natural hair remedies to restore the health of my scalp and hair. My scalp had become dry and very sensitive. I actually went off to a Naturopath and had some allergy tests done and found out that I was allergic to the shampoo and conditioner I was using at the time. Little wonder when I read the ingredient list with the sneaky chemicals in the so called ‘natural’ hair care products. Grrrrrr!


By Special Request

Charlene is a wonderful lady I share similar natural health and lifestyle philosophies with and she asked me if I would write something about dry and sensitive scalp conditions and how it can be addressed naturally. It is quite a common problem. With the personal experience of my own hair dramas I feel I have something positive to share.

I have included some scalp moisturizing tips for you as well Char, so next time you are using your wrap to firm, tighten and tone, give your scalp and hair a treat while you are waiting for the wrap to do its magic.

I have done quite a bit of research about hair and it has been quite an interesting journey. It became apparent to me that having healthy hair and scalp entailed addressing both internal and external factors. For example, changing your shampoo to something that suits your hair will make a difference whereas feeding your hair and skin from the inside as well as addressing what products you use will significantly improve the outcome.

Vitamins and Nutrition for Healthy Hair

Our hair and our skins love healthy essential fatty acids such as flaxseed oil, salmon oil and evening primrose oil . I like to take Krill oil which not only helps my hair and skin but also seems to have reduced the inflammatory pain I was getting. No yucky fishy after- taste either.

The B group vitamins are extremely important for healthy hair, including B5 (Panthothenic acid), B3 (Niacin),  B6 (Pyridoxine),B7 (Biotin) B8, (Inositol) and B12 .

You can find the above in a Vitamin B complex supplement form or you can chose food sources such as eggs,milk, whole grains,beans, carrots, cauliflower, brazil nuts, oats, bananas, avocadoes, tuna, beef, liver, potatoes, wheatgerm, chicken,oats, turkey, green peas, lentils, sunflower seeds, walnuts,citrus fruits, brown rice and legumes.

A fantastic source of Vitamin B can be found in Brewer’s yeast which is rich in minerals (including GTF, or glucose tolerance factor, a biologically active form of chromium) and B-complex vitamins, as well as in protein, and provides all of the essential amino acids.


Brewer's Yeast can have quite a strong flavour in powder form, but I have found a very tasty way to have it every day. I have provided a recipe for a delicious green smoothie that is fabulous for hair a bit further down in the blog. Of course, you can always take it in tablet form. It does incredible things for your hair and skin.


Strong healthy hair and scalp also benefits from Vitamin A -but not too much or it can actually cause hair loss. Around 5,000 IU is adequate. Vitamin A particularly benefits the scalp because it helps to produce healthy sebum which is an oily substance that keeps the hair and skin moisturized.  

Vitamin C is another important antioxidant that is beneficial to hair and skin, so make sure you eat plenty of strawberries, kiwi fruit, pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers, rockmelons (cantaloupe) and dark leafy vegetables such as spinach. Make delicious tropical fruit smoothies to get a good variety of fruit into your diet.

Vitamin E is excellent for improving circulation to the scalp. If you are on medication for high blood pressure you should consult with your Doctor first to make sure it is safe to take the supplement. Try to include raw seeds, wheat germ oil, nuts, cold pressed vegetable oils and dark leafy vegetables in your diet. 

Minerals such as magnesium, zinc and sulfur as well as folic acid are also important for strong healthy hair growth.

My Fabulous Smoothie Recipe for Great Hair

  • Big handful of baby spinach leaves
  • Tablespoon of flaxseed oil                          
  • Tablespoon of Brewer's Yeast
  • Teaspoon of wheatgerm oil
  • 1 Cup of filtered water
  • Handful (about a dozen) dark red seedless grapes
  • Teaspoon of cinnamon powder
Pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Very tasty as well as healthy.

Spray Leave- In Conditioner for Sensitive Scalp

If you have a dry or itchy scalp, dandruff, want to reduce hair breakage and hair loss, promote hair growth and have shiny hair, this is the conditioner for you.

  • 2 cups of mint tea (use either fresh mint leaves or mint tea bags) cooled
  • 1 tablespoon warmed coconut oil (so that it is fluid)
  • 15 drops of Tea Tree essential oil
  • 2 teaspoons wheatgerm oil
  • 15 drops Thyme essential oil
  • 1/2  cup aloe vera juice
  • 2 Tablespoons glycerin
  • 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
Mix well and pour into a spray bottle. Label it and keep it in the fridge.  Don't forget to shake the bottle well before each use. You can use this everyday if you wish.

Now if all of this seems like too much work I can highly recommend some natural hand made products of the highest quality and purest of ingredients to enhance the health and beauty of your hair. No, I am not an affiliate - I just know the products are excellent and that the distributor is a reputable passionate natural health advocate like myself, so am confident in recommending them.

Robin Adler is the founder of Toxic Beauty and she has some wonderful speciality treatment shampoos and conditioners for sensitive scalp available. Robin also has a great product called Infuse Hair Strengthener & Thickener which actually feeds the hair follicles, invigorates the scalp and restores it to good health, reduces hair loss and restores natural hair growth.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the blog. Please feel free to comment and share. I love to hear what you think.

Good health to you.
Sonja













 

15 comments:

  1. WOW Sonja, what a fabulously informative blog... not only have you provided us with a great treatment but you have also provided us with a list of foods which will benefit our health

    Thank you for the wonderful information contained within, i simply can not wait to try these recipes and let you know how we go

    Thank you SO much

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  2. Thanks Charlene. You were the inspiration for the blog! I would love to hear what results you get - what worked and what didn't. I hope people take the time to check out your great sites as well. :)

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  3. Karen ...Cant wait to try the leave in Spray conditioner :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Let me know how it goes. Thanks for commenting

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  5. Great post, Sonja! I absolutely love your recipe for a leave in conditioner because that is something I MUST use every day and I never thought of making it myself. I've also been supplementing with biotin and I find that my hair is softer and thicker! Also, much gratitute to you for the mention.

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  6. You are most welcome Robin! When one finds people with passion and integrity like yourself it is only right to share you with others!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sonja a wonderful information rich blog, thank you! That smoothie looks amazing and I can't wait to give it a try...I'm always looking for new healthy recipes. I'm impressed!

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