On Healthy Living

Shiny and healthy hair isn’t just a beauty asset, but can be an indication of overall health. Poor health of your hair can be brought about by many factors. Too much attention to hair, a poor diet, air pollution, heat and air-conditioning can have adverse affects on your hair.

There are many types of hair from frizzy and out of control, heavy and coarse, , thin, oily or dry and in-between types. There are also problems that can affect hair such as dandruff, split ends, hair product build-up, itchy scalp and even lice.

Start from the inside:

It’s important to drink plenty of fluids, especially water since moisture makes the hair supple. For best results, drink 8 - 10 glasses of water per day.

The building block of hair is protein. Protein is what strengthens your hair and helps reduce split ends or breakage. Protein comes from foods such as meat, milk, cheese, fish.

It’s also important to have enough minerals in your diet. Without iron, hair and its follicles are deprived of oxygen. You can get iron from foods such as red meat, dark green vegetables or iron supplements. Zinc helps to prevent hair loss. Seafood and meats offer a good source of zinc. Vitamins are also important for healthy hair, especially vitamins, A, B, C and E. You can get these vitamins from fruit, vegetables, cereals, eggs, milk and bread.

Hair care:

It’s important to use the appropriate products for your type of hair. This helps to manage your hair much more effectively.

Start with a hairstyle that makes the most of your hair type and is easy to manage.

Look carefully at product labels and choose what works best for your hair. Don’t overuse products. Some have a drying effect, which can also lead to breakage.

Avoid overexposure to sun, heat, air conditioning or pollution.

Deal with problems as they happen. Take care of dandruff, itchy scalp or anything that will have an adverse affect on your hair.

With the proper steps, your hair will look healthier, but it will probably take a couple of months before visible results can be seen. The effort is worth your while because healthy hair is a beautiful asset.

Kathy Dove wrote this on April 29th, 2008 and filed it under Healthy Living, Healthy Eating, Women's Health, Men's Health, Children's Health |