Healthy Things for Hair
There are many things that can be done, and many things that can be used to make hair healthy. These include taking care of the body by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, lowering stress, taking vitamins and minerals designed to promote healthy hair and taking proper care of hair. Does this Spark an idea?
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A Healthy Lifestyle
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How hair looks and feels is a clue to one's lifestyle. When the body is healthy, hair will be too.
Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and stress are all things that not only prevent one from living a healthy lifestyle, but also prevent one from having healthy hair. Smoking actually changes the DNA of the hair follicle, which is where hair grows, and affects the tissue that is located at the end of the hair root, which helps carry nutrients to the hair.
In addition, smoking can cause hair to fall out and can actually speed up the onset of pattern baldness in those people who are genetically predisposed to this.
Quitting smoking will reverse all adverse effects and result in overall improvement of one's general health, which includes the hair.
Overconsumption of alcohol or alcohol abuse can cause a number of health problems, including damage to the skin and hair. In addition, because heavy drinking tends to make one neglect proper nutrition, this can also affect hair health. Limiting alcohol consumption to only one to three drinks per day or quitting completely will reverse the effects of alcohol on the hair.
Stress causes the flight-or-fight reaction in the body. A little stress is fine, but too much leaches nutrients from the body, which in turn---causes the hair to lose nutrition.
A Healthy Diet
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Certain foods can help one achieve healthy hair. These include beef, eggs or egg whites, brown rice, cottage cheese, bacon and salmon.
Eating 3.5 ounces of lean beef twice a week provides protein, as well as some of the vitamins and minerals that promote healthy hair. Vegetarians or those who cannot eat meat because of health issues can gain this same benefit by eating a large egg. Those watching their cholesterol can eat the egg whites from a large egg and still get the nutrients that promote healthy hair.
Salmon is also a good source of protein as it contains fish oils that promote healthy hair.
One-fourth cup of brown rice is a good source of complex carbohydrates, which release energy throughout the day, rather than in a short time, while a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese will provide extra calcium, and can replace a serving of eggs when necessary.
Three-and-a-half ounces of bacon provides fat, which is needed for healthy hair. If weight loss or other health issues do not preclude eating this amount of bacon, which is considered a normal serving, then do so with enjoyment, knowing that hair is benefiting. -
Enough Liquid
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The body must remain hydrated for it to function properly. Unfortunately, most people do not drink enough fluids to maintain proper hydration.
The 8x8 rule is a good formula for determining how much liquid is needed for proper hydration. Eight ounces of fluid should be consumed eight times a day in order to replace those lost by the body. Water is the best, but any liquid that does affect overall good health is fine too.
Vitamins and Minerals
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Vitamins A, C and E are all essential to healthy hair. Vitamin A produces sebum, which maintains hair moisture, Vitamin C prevents hair loss and Vitamin E promotes healthy circulation, which increases blood flow to the scalp, promoting a healthy scalp. If the scalp is healthy, hair will be healthy.
Hair Care
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Proper hair care does not only mean using the right shampoo and conditioner, because what is right for one person may not be for another. However, scalp massage and allowing the hair to rest are beneficial to everyone's hair.
Massage promotes good circulation throughout all areas of the scalp, and down onto the neck where hair grows. Taking a few extra minutes to massage the hair when applying shampoo, using the pads of the fingers, not the fingernails, will provide a good massage. Massaging dry hair at night before bedtime will also help.
Hair should be given a break from hair-care products such as mousse, gel and spray. When it is not absolutely necessary to use them, they should be left off. Also, periodically allowing hair to dry naturally will promote healthy hair.
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