Friday, November 21, 2008

The Battle for Thickness

The average woman spends hundreds of hours washing, drying, and styling her hair each year, yet many are not always happy with their results. If you have thin and fine hair, then how to thicken hair is a constant search. As we grow older, there is a tendency for our hair fibers to become finer and shorter over time, but years may elapse before any obvious difference is seen. Because “fine” is not necessarily thin, you should understand what fine hair really is."Fine" refers to the diameter of a single strand. So, you can have fine hair that's abundant, because you can have many individual strands per square inch. You can also have fine and thin or thinning hair, which means you've got strands that are small in diameter and on top if it, you don't have a lot of them.
So, exactly what is the prescription for getting rid of dry brittle hair and growing shiny, thick, bouncy hair? Let’s look at some factors of hair health. Healthy hair starts from the inside, at the root of each follicle, the blood supply that feeds it and the nutrients we consume play an important part of the process. The consumption of nutrients and the blood supply to the roots of the hair affect the hair growth. Vitamin B in all its forms is a key player to thicker hair and the prevention of hair loss. It is also reported that an iron deficiency can cause a woman’s body to stop producing hair until the iron is replaced. Foods high in iron are liver, lean red meat, chicken, pork, salmon, egg yolk, pumpkin seeds, dried peas and beans, bran, blackstrap molasses, prune juice, raisons, peanut butter, apricots, green beans, walnuts, cashews, pecans and almonds. Iron absorption is increased by Vitamin C, so it seems we also need to make sure we get the recommended amount of that nutrient by eating oranges, grapefruit, potatoes, broccoli and brussel sprouts, red and green peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and collard greens. Nutritionists say that too little protein in a diet can cause dull hair and a loss of luster. We can get the protein that is recommended daily from meat, chicken and fish as well as soy and milk products and even stinging nettles (boiled).
Apart from having a balanced diet, essential oils can also be used to promote thicker hair. Having your veggies, nuts, and eggs in the recommended quantities will be very beneficial for the health and beauty of your hair.
In short, our nutrition has the most noticeable and consistent impact on the health of our hair. So eat healthy and grow healthy!

1 comment:

Peta-Gay Murray said...

I can totally attest to the vitamin B and protien contributing to hair thickness, growth and health!! I've also heard about castor oil but I really hate the smell so I tend to stay away from it.