It seems like everyone is telling us to exercise, have a balanced diet and relax! Maybe they're on to something, according to professional hair stylist Dorothe Charles, who specializes in ethnic hair.
"People come to me saying, 'I'm stressed, I work two jobs, have a marriage that's breaking up, and I have children who are driving me crazy.' They never believe that this will have an impact on their hair. It does!"
Your physical and mental health have an impact on the quality of your hair. If for vanity's sake alone, make an effort to detox and de-stress your life.
Exercising, eating a balanced diet and/or taking multi-vitamins are all essential to helping your body to grow healthier hair.
How to Prevent Hair Breakage
"If you're stressed or malnourished, as it grows the hair produced is more delicate, brittle and dry. That's from your insides; that's from what you're eating, you're not getting enough nutrients, so your body is not producing healthy, fortified hair. If you eat better, you'll produce better hair. If you aren't stressed, your hair won't break in patches."
How Fast Does Hair Grow?
"Human hair seems to grow at an average rate of about half a millimeter or so per day, or about half an inch every month.
"Your hair will grow at the same rate, which varies for everyone, since genetically everyone is different. Some people produce growth, but it ends up breaking, so it seems like their hair is not growing at all. In terms of patch breakage, most of the time I see it in the back of the scalp, the temples, the center, or even at the hairline. That's from producing poor quality growth due to stress and a lack of nourishment in your body."
In terms of general styling care, people with relaxed hair should avoid tying their hair back in an oh-so-easy ponytail, as the tension and stress induces breakage. Wrapping shorter styles at night keeps hair smooth and straight, thus reducing the amount of heat styling necessary, while also lessening the likelihood of tangles and other wear and tear.
Exercise & Scalp Stimulation Promote Hair Growth
As with the rest of our bodies, our scalps also need a good workout. This can be achieved along with regular forms of exercise which increase your overall blood circulation, thus delivering extra blood and nourishment to the scalp as well.
"Stimulation is the key to adding a bit more to your natural rate of growth. Stimulating your scalp by brushing very often, massaging and rotating your scalp in circular motions." While Dorothe admits the increased growth rate will not be drastic, it adds up over time.
Diet, Nutrition & Vitamins for Strong Hair
In addition to other recently discovered health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and B-vitamins, Dorothe suggests that people should eat foods rich in these nutrients to grow fortified hair. Specifically, she advises people to a healthy dose of nuts, fish, and green vegetables.
"I find a lot of people don't eat enough fish or nuts. They have misconceptions about nuts and avocadoes being too fatty - those are the good fats that we need!"
Also, she prescribes whole wheat and other foods rich in fiber because they help the body flush out toxins, which can manifest themselves in unhealthy hair.
Keeping Your Hair Trimmed Trims Stress
Ever feel as though your hair dresser just loves the sound of his or her scissors snipping away at your hair? They're just trying to rid you of excess stress - really!
"The constant, ongoing battle I have with clients is about trimming. I am really doing it for the clients; there's really no self-interest involved. I'm trying to do something positive for them.
"As far as trims are concerned, this is how it works: Once it gets to a certain age, our hair seems like it gets brittle and dry, and starts to split. If you have four year-old hair on your head that's never been trimmed, at least six months of that has to go. The older the hair, the more tarnished it is."
People should place emphasis on moisturizing and protecting their ends from damage. Dorothe advises putting moisture on the ends, and trimming away dead, straggly ends.
"That's why your diet and health are so important, because if four years ago you had a traumatic experience, it's all up in your hair!"
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