How Healthy is Your Hair?
By Lisa Testa
Everyone loves the commercial when the model turns to face you with her luscious head of shiny, silky hair falling all over her shoulders. Have you longed for hair like that? Do you go through phases when your hair feels brittle and dry, or do you seem to lose clumps of hair at a time in the shower or when brushing? Part of this phenomenon can be due to the season and weather, but oftentimes it is due to various forms of hair damage that has occurred.
Hair damage can occur in five main ways:
1) Heat – hairdryers, hotcombs, hot curlers, straightening irons
2) UV Rays – over-exposure to sunlight and tanning salons
3) Mechanical Devices – overuse of combs, brushes, curling irons, etc
4) Chemicals – hair coloring, perms, relaxers, swimming pool, air pollution
5) Poor Diet – Lack of protein and essential fatty acids
These elements all contribute in different ways to the amount of damage in your hair. There are many things that we can do to lessen the damage, and also help our hair to rebuild and be strong and healthy again.
One thing that you can do is to search out a salon that uses an organic hair coloring/treating system before your next appointment (Check the website for a Shear Miracles Salon near you!). This will ensure that your hair will not be laden with harmful chemicals (This is especially important if you are pregnant or nursing!) like ammonia. Ammonia is one of the most dangerous chemicals we can be exposed to, yet it is found in nearly all conventional hair colors and dyes.
The second thing you can do is make sure that your diet is fortified with essential fatty acids (EFAs). Deficiencies of EFAs are surprisingly very common in affluent countries, due to the typical diet of processed foods, refined sugars and flours, and refined fats. Our bodies need plant sources of essential fats likes Omega-3s and Omega-6s in order to function properly. These fats can be found in foods like flaxseeds, hemp seeds, leafy greens, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, raw walnuts, olives, sprouts, and all cold-pressed vegetable oils. Including more of these foods will allow your hair to receive all the healthy nutrients it needs to shine with health.
Finally, using a shampoo and conditioner that is protein fortified will result in great improvement to damaged hair. 88% of our hair is proteins, so it stands to reason that a protein-rich shampoo/conditioner would help rebuild a lack of proper protein in our hair. A wonderful product is Shear Miracles Tuff'N Up Organic Protein Boost shampoo and conditioner. These products are fortified with silk and hemp proteins which help with hair that has been damaged from color and perms. They also build up thinning hair and help to prevent hair loss. Hemp protein is a great source of complete plant protein, and one that is easily absorbed and used by our bodies. From the moment our Tuff'N Up products hit the scalp, they begin to revitalize, rebuild, and restore dry, brittle, and damaged hair, putting you directly on the path towards hair that is vibrant, shiny, and smooth.
Taking good care of our hair requires us to make healthy choices on the inside AND the outside. What we eat shines through in our hair and skin, what we expose ourselves to shows results in the way in which we look, and the products we use either damage our hair or strengthen it. Make healthier choices for the inside and outside of your body... and your hair will surely thank you for it with a lustrous glow!
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