Strong Beautiful Hair

Hair is a symbol of our overall health and vitality. The body will use a variety of nutrients to maintain healthy skin and hair. The way our hair looks is so important to us that the saying "getting out of the wrong side of the bed," has been replaced by "having a bad hair day." And, no one needs to ask us what we mean by that, because everyone has experienced a bad hair day. However, our hair does more than frame our face. It conserves body heat, protects our scalp, and serves as a sensory device.

Each hair follicle is surrounded by sensory nerves that react whenever a hair shaft is touched. We have about 100,000 hair follicles on our scalp. Each has a hair root at its center, is nourished by the papilla (connective tissue containing capillaries and nerve fibers), and is associated with one or several sebaceous glands. These tiny glands secrete an oily substance called sebum which softens and protects the hair and scalp. Tiny muscles attached to the follicles tense, causing us to get goose bumps. The hair above the skin is called the shaft. Each hair shaft has a touch outside layer, the cuticle. This protects the inner sections of the hair, and has a lot to do with its looks and manageability. Many people think that hair care starts with shampooing. Not So! It starts with what you eat. In general, a healthy diet of fresh foods, whole grains, sufficient protein, and lots of water is needed. Hair contains all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients the body needs for health, and is about 97 percent protein. Because of this, an inadequate diet will not only affect the way you feel, but also the condition of your hair as well. In fact, prematurely graying hair can be caused by a lack of the amino acid phenylalanine which translates enzymatically into melanin, the hair color pigment. There are no hair products that can be applied on the outside of the hair that will compensate for inadequate nutrition. Unlike skin, hair cannot repair itself - but you can get new, healthier hair to grow from the "inside out" We want our hair to look and feel its best at all times. So we use lotions, creams, sprays, and harsh chemicals (such as perms and dyes), just so our hair will look fuller, thicker, lustrous, shiny, with extra bounce and body. But we forget that all of these important features have to come from the "inside out." Healthy hair depends on a constant supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients to grow and maintain a healthy look and feel. Without any one of these important ingredients our hair will be negatively affected.

Three basic types of hair problem:

Type 1 - UNHEALTHY LOOKING HAIR: Symptoms of unhealthy hair are: dullness, dryness, hair breakage, brittleness, slowed or altered hair growth. Unhealthy hair feels dry, brittle and straw-like at the ends. It is dull, and may be flyaway with many split ends. It may also look bushy and frizzy. There are many reasons why ones hair can become unhealthy. The most common reason is poor nutrition. A diet high in sugar, salt, and animal fat are all bad for the hair because they create additional stress on the body, resulting in a greater need for nutrients, especially the B vitamins. Without essential oils from vitamins A, D, E, and fatty acids, the hair can become dry, dull, with split ends. Woman, especially are affected with unhealthy hair. Oral contraceptives and pregnancy can rob our hair of its nutrients along with the wind and sun. Blow drying, hair sprays, mousse, hot curling iron, coloring, and hair perms can also affect our hair.

Type 2 - THINNING and/or FALLING OUT HAIR: Hair loss is becoming increasingly common today, even among women. Every year, millions of dollars are spend on chemical creams and shampoos that promise to grow hair. People also undergo a variety of unnatural procedures, including hair transplants, in order to restore lost hair. However, as we will see, diet and lifestyle plays a primary role in the development of baldness. Baldness is a preventable condition, regardless of the prevalence of it in one's family. A primary reason why baldness tends to occur within families is because of similar dietary and lifestyle patterns that members of families share. One of the cause of hair thinning, falling out, and balding is unhealthy of hair follicles. The hair embedded in a "pocket" in the skin called the hair follicle. The follicle is in a constant need of nutrients, oxygen, and moisture to stay healthy and to stimulate new hair growth. Vitamin C, PABA, Biotin and amino acids L-cysteine and glutathion. These nutrients can assist in the prevention of peroxidation of oil formation on the scalp, which left unchecked, can clog hair follicles and cause hair loss.

Type 3 - WEAK and LIFELESS HAIR: A deficiency of protein in the hair can result in a temporary change of hair color and texture, resulting in brittle, thin, lusterless, kinky, easily tangled, weak and hair breakage below the surface of the skin. Hair is made of protein and proteins are used as the building blocks of strong hair. Protein deficiency can result from poor diet, aging, illness, drugs, hair coloring, bleaching, and hair perms. When the collagen protein deficiency is corrected, the hair will return to its normal strong, shiny, full-of-body and bouncy condition.