Archive for the ‘Natural Hair Growth’ Category
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
An herb is any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers that is valued for flavor, scent, medicinal, or other qualities other than its food value. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes. Botanical simply means a substance is obtained from a plant and used as an additive.
Botanical herbs, or herbaceous plants, by definition cannot be woody plants such as trees or shrubs. A herbaceous plant, or simply called a herb, is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground, and a herbaceous plant may be annual, biennial or perennial. Annuals will geminate, grow and/or flower, and die in one season or year. A biennial plant takes two years to complete its lifecycle with the first year seeing the plant grow leaves, stems, and roots at which time it goes dormant over the cold months. Then in spring or summer, the stem elongates greatly, and the plant flowers, producing fruits and seeds before it finally dies. A perennial lives for more than two years, and are sturdy enough to live through winter.
Plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body. Throughout history, from the Bible, Koran, Siddhar poems of Tamils, Vedas and other old texts, the medicinal benefits of herbs are quoted. Phytochemicals are chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants, such as beta-carotene. The term is generally used to refer to those chemicals that may affect health. They have been used as drugs for thousands of year. For example, Hippocrates (ancient Greek physician from several hundred years before Christ) may have prescribed a particular willow tree leaf to help reduce fever. Salicin was originally extracted from the bark of the white willow tree which was later synthetically produced to become the over-the-counter drug Aspirin. An important cancer drug called Taxol is a phytochemical initially extracted and purified from the Pacific yew tree. Phytochemicals as natural herbal remedies have been helping humans for thousands of years, and our modern technology is finding new uses and health benefits – from fighting cancer and disease, to their known preventative and regenerative qualities.
Phytochemicals often are destroyed, or rendered less potent, in processed foods. Botanical supplements from reliable sources guarantee the full potency and benefits of natural herbal ingredients. Carefully blending all-natural herbs into a nutritional supplement can remedy specific problems or areas of health. For instance Burdock, Cayenne, and Nettle work together to remove toxins from the body and stimulate hair growth. Other herbs have nutritional value, such as Rosemary, Sage, Oat Straw, Sarsaparilla, Spirulina, and Kelp. Others help with digestion and assist our bodies to absorb vitamins and minerals. Though nutritional supplements can be very beneficial, supplements should not replace proper nutrition. Nutritional supplements are still supplements, they work by complementing a proper and well balanced diet. Herbal remedies and supplements help to overcome nutritional deficiencies, and help to make sure we have all the nutrients in the proper amounts for optimum health.
Tags: Botanical herbs, botanical supplements, herbal remedies, home remedies, Natural Hair Growth, natural herbal ingredients, natural remedies, nutrients, stimulate hair growth
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Sunday, July 11th, 2010
What exactly is a hair follicle? This is what produces our hair, and when something goes wrong, it doesn’t. A healthy hair follicle will produce, on average, a hair growth rate of half an inch of hair per month. There are many factors that keep hair follicles healthy, as well as damage – or kill – them.
The hair follicle is actually a part of the skin which grows hair by packing old cells together. Attached to each follicle under the skin are sebaceous glands, and the more sebaceous glands there are, the thicker the density of hair. The sebaceous glands secrete an oily/waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate the skin and hair – our natural conditioner. The glands deposit sebum on the hairs, and bring it to the skin surface along the hair shaft. At the base of the follicle is a large structure that is called the dermal papilla, and around the papilla is the hair matrix. Cell division in the hair matrix is responsible for the cells that will form the major structures of the hair fiber and the inner root sheath. This is one of the fastest growing cell populations in the human body, which is why some forms of chemotherapy that kill dividing cells may lead to temporary hair loss. The dermal papilla nourishes all hair follicles, and plays a pivotal role in hair formation, growth, and cycling.
Keeping the hair follicles healthy and supplied with the proper nutrients helps to prevent hair thinning and hair loss. For instance, androgens can adversely affect the dermal papilla and hair matrix’s ability to help grow hair — but it has been found that certain enzymes can lessen the adverse effect of androgens and promote hair growth. Hair needs a balanced diet to stay healthy with proper levels of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. Hormonal imbalance can cause hair loss as well.
Each follicle normally goes through a five-year cycle of growth and rest, with about 90% of the follicles growing hair at any one time. These healthy hair follicles should last a life time, but there are several major causes of hair loss: genetics, aging, poor diet, and unhealthy lifestyle. We cannot control the aging process and genetics, but we can help keep our hair follicles, and bodies, healthy — and we can even stimulate hair growth where healthy hair follicles are present. Taking good care of your hair follicles and hair, with proper nutrition, supplements, and hair care products, can help maintain or increase hair growth.
Tags: hair follicles, hair growth, hair loss, hair thinning, promote hair growth, stimulate hair growth
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
As we get older, both men and women experience some hair loss. It is a normal part of the aging process. The rate at which our hair follicles replenish themselves starts to dwindle. This follows the natural course of your body – which with age also begins to reduce its ability to regenerate itself.
Hair is made of a protein called keratin (KER-uh-tin), which also makes up the finger and toe nails, as well as the outer layer of skin. The part of the protein strand of hair that we see is the hair shaft, and it is actually dead tissue. This hair strand grows through an opening, or follicle, in the skin.
A single hair has a normal life span of about 4 or 5 years. That hair then falls out and is replaced with a new hair. Hair usually grows about half an inch per month, and this process slows with age. The average head has about 100,000 hairs, and it is normal to shed hair every day. Everyone loses between 40-125 hairs per day, depending on how much hair there is to begin with – and age. At the end of a growth cycle the hair shaft falls out. At any given time 10% of our hair is in what is called a “resting phase” where it is no longer growing, and after 2-3 months resting, hair falls out and new hair grows in its place. The follicle replaces the hair in about six months.
With age, the follicles shrink, atrophy, and start to die off with the hair strands themselves becoming smaller and thinner. About a quarter of men begin to show signs of baldness by the time they are 30 years old, and about two-thirds of men have significant baldness by age 60. A frequent cause of hair loss is low thyroid function, which is common among menopausal women.
There are several factors that contribute to the demise of the hair follicles as we age, but it is possible to help strengthen and revitalize the follicles in our scalps. Certain dietary supplements can help improve the follicle’s ability to produce hair, and promote healthy hair growth. Even though the aging process begins to diminish the body’s ability to regenerate, it is still possible to actively slow down the aging process and help our bodies, and hair follicles, stay healthy and younger. Conversely, it is possible to hasten the aging process and harm our body’s ability to regenerate. Poor diet, alcohol, stress, and tobacco are factors that exaggerate the aging process, and which are directly under our control. It’s up to us to prevent unwanted hair loss, and we have the ability to do so. It is possible to stimulate hair growth where hair follicles are present.
Tags: aging hair loss, female hormones hair, hair thinning, male pattern baldness, women hair loss
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 1 Comment »
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
Baldness stalks us from the beginning of life to the end. Sure, your mom told you that you should never make fun of anyone’s new bald baby. It’s bad manners and worse, you have no way of knowing (when the time comes) if your baby will be the butt of snide remarks and snickers. Of course, there’s the bad karma thing to worry about, as well.
The same thing is true about the misfortune of hair loss victims. Go with the golden rule – don’t laugh, at least not out loud. Taking a tour of hair loss through history will prepare you for the day when hair loss hits home.
Flickr doesn’t have any photos online of the 2008 Vice Presidential candidate that show his before and after hair loss and hair replacement treatment. Although Vice President Biden’s hair has been thinning for the last 10 to 20 years, a few people just missed the whole story about his attempt to do something about his thinning hair.
Many people who have seen Biden’s hair replacement treatment are shaking their heads in disbelief. Quite a few are even laughing out loud, in spite of what their mom taught them. One online magazine that follows Washington politicos even went so far as to call it Biden’s Helmet.
Hair transplants don’t regrow hair. Furthermore, like comb-overs, they attract even more attention to your head. If you’re Joe Biden, on a mission to create world peace or restore economic growth, that could be quite a distraction.
One problem with his hair transplant is that while his hair was thinning over several decades, it also changed colors. Finally, his full head of hair is an attractive silver gray. However, the transplanted hair doesn’t quite match the hair that’s still growing. Professional hair stylists have suggested that he dye all his transplanted hair a darker color.
Too bad that he’ll have to join the ranks of millions of women who dye their hair, to hide their gray. He looks great with gray hair, plugs and all.
Tags: baldness, combovers, hair loss, hair plugs, hair replacement treatment, hair transplants, regrow hair, Vice President Biden
Posted in Hair Loss Products, Natural Hair Growth | 2 Comments »
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
Travel to the tropics – the Caribbean, Latin American, along with most of Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands means taking anti-malaria medications. Chances are, you’ll suffer some hair loss when you do. Frequent travelers who must rely on these medications often complain about their side effects. If you or your loved ones are traveling or working in the tropics, and take anti-malarial drugs, be forewarned about malaria drugs and unexplained hair loss.
Quinine was the most widely used anti-malaria medication for most of the 20th century. It has been replaced by chloroquine (Aralen), mefloquinine (Lariam, Mephaquine, Melfiam), and Daraprim (pyrimethamine). In 1963, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research initiated a search for more effective anti-malarial drugs, due to Vietnam War fighting conditions. The FDA approved mefloquinine in 1989. Now it is widely prescribed for thousands of Peace Corps volunteers, Foreign Service employees, and military personnel. Many take Lariam, because of its convenient weekly dosing.
These anti-malarial medications cause telogen effluvium, sudden hair loss. It’s easy to detect. It is usually occurs near the front of the head or hairline. Hairs in the resting (telogen) phase develop small white nodules on the end of the shaft, while the scalp prepares to shed them. However, it can take up to three months for your scalp to eject the dead hair. You may not experience this side effect until your trip is long over.
The medications can cause up to 30 percent of your hair to switch from the normal growth phase into a resting phase. Since 10 percent of your hair is usually in a resting phase at all times, your total hair loss suddenly jumps to 40 percent.
Malaria kills up to one million unprotected people every year. If you don’t die, you’re sick enough to want to die. So, it’s a good idea to take the pills. Research has been underway since 2004 for malaria medications to replace mefloquinine, because of some other disturbing side effects. Some promising alternatives may be available soon. However, ask your physician if sudden hair loss is a known side effect of any new malaria medications.
Tags: anti-malarial, Aralen, chloroquine, Daraprim, dead hair, Lariam, malaria medications, Melfiam, Mephaquine, pyrimethamine, quinine, sudden hair loss, Telogen effluvium
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Hair loss is a major cause of concern for millions of men around the world. While times are changing and a bald head is no longer frowned upon as much as it was a decade back, having a hair full of lustrous, wavy hair is still considered by many to be a sign of health and good looks.
Changing lifestyles, stressed out lives, and less time to take care of our bodies have resulted in a situation where every man today faces hair loss to a certain extent. If this hair loss is within the normal growth cycle of hair, there is little to worry about. However, for most men, this is not the case.
For such men, hair loss treatments are the only way out to avoid embarrassment. Yes, hair loss can be a cause of embarrassment for many men, especially if the hair loss is heavy enough to result in bald patches on the head. However, lot of men are not sure whether they should go in for hair loss treatments or not, and for good reason.
Hair loss treatments are a recent development and not all reviews about such treatments are positive. In such a scenario it is very tough to take a decision about receiving hair loss treatment. Like every other beauty treatment, hair loss treatments also have their own pros and cons that call for proper consideration before taking a final decision.
Let us look at some of these and compare our options.
Pros of Hair Loss Treatments
- Hair is an important part of the personality of a man. There is a difference in the respect given to a man with good hair and that given to a man with little or no hair. More hair often means more respect. Hair loss treatments can help you earn this respect by restoring the thickness of your hair.
- Losing hair quickly and at a young age can severely affect a man’s self-confidence and tarnish his self-image. By getting proper hair loss treatment, this loss of self-confidence can be reversed and avoided.
- Women find men with a full head of hair more attractive then bald ones. Of course there are women who prefer bald men, but these are a minority. Most women love running their fingers through the hair of their partners. With hair loss treatment, men can make sure they always remain attractive to the opposite sex.
Cons of Hair Loss Treatments
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With the exception of surgery and follicular hair transplants, no other hair loss treatments provide a permanent solution to hair falling out. Most treatments can only help you control hair fall and not replace the hair already lost. Moreover, any hair growth benefits gained during treatment are quickly lost once treatment is stopped.
- Almost all hair loss treatments are really heavy on the pocket. Permanent solutions such as surgery and hair transplants can burn a hole in your wallet, while other treatments are just as expensive as they call for long term usage.
- No hair loss treatment currently available in the market is free of side effects. Many drug-based treatments are known to carry severe side effects. Other treatments also have some or the other unwanted effect, which just cannot be avoided.On the whole, hair loss treatments are balanced between pros and cons and the decision to take hair loss treatment differs from individual to individual. It should be taken entirely on the urgency of need for hair loss treatment and the overall positive benefits to be gained from such a treatment.
On the whole, hair loss treatments are balanced between pros and cons and the decision to take hair loss treatment differs from individual to individual. It should be taken entirely on the urgency of need for hair loss treatment and the overall positive benefits to be gained from such a treatment.
Tags: hair growth benefits, hair loss embarassment, hair loss treatments, hair self confidence, hairloss side effects
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Celebrities throughout the world have their own hair stylists. This plum spot can lead to increased demand, additional upscale clientele and higher fees. A few stylists to the stars and glitterati have landed book deals, network interviews and media contracts, including reality shows.
Of course, Michelle Obama, the first lady, has a personal hair stylist, Johnny Wright. She found him quite by accident while she was living in Chicago. During the campaign, she called on him several times to dress her tresses and he became a regular. Her previous stylist, Rahni Flowers, of Chicago had kept Michelle’s hair beautiful for 26 years. He declined the invitation to accompany the first family to DC. However, Wright moved to DC to take up the challenge and open a new salon in the area.
Inquiring minds want to know more about Michelle’s hair care regime, but Wright is mum about the products he uses on her hair. Since the first lady is perimenopausal, does she have thinning hair? Rumors abound that she is actually bald. The persistent rumor that she may be pregnant also leads searchers to speculate that she is experiencing pregnancy related hair loss. Some searchers are trying to find out if her hairstyle is based on a weave!
Although her hairstyle is unremarkable, it is elegant and simple enough to let her manage the long hours on the campaign trail and now to represent the nation with flying colors. Her most recent haircut, in July set the blog universe abuzz. Everyone from the Huffington Post and Anderson Cooper to the Michelle Obama Watch has an opinion about her hairdos.
Almost as an afterthought, some people do want to know who cuts President Obama’s hair. And his haircut is popular with all ages. Since he just gets haircuts (and he’s a man), this doesn’t get as much search volume or website blog action as does the first lady’s hair styling and stylist. There are over 400,000 plus websites at this point where discussions are taking place about Michelle’s hair. There are also over 100,000 blog posts, 10,000 in the last month alone.
It appears that Hairdresser to the Stars is not a bad job when you consider fame and the opportunity to catapult your career into a higher gear, during and after this sojourn. Folks who have shunned this “pedestrian career” might want to take a second look.
Tags: hair care, hair loss, haircut, Johnny Wright, Michelle Obama, pregnancy, President Obama, Rahni Flowers, thinning hair, womens hair loss
Posted in Female Hair Loss, Natural Hair Growth | 4 Comments »
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
If you’re pregnant, you can expect to lose some of your hair during and after pregnancy. Search your family tree. If either of your parents or your grandparents had significant hair loss by middle age, keep your fingers crossed. You may have inherited the baldness gene. Are you a female Baby Boomer? Congratulations – you’re menopausal or perimenopausal and so is your hair. If you work in certain occupations, engage in water sports that involve swimming pools and seawater, or live with certain diseases like lupus and diabetes, expect hair issues. The brutal facts are that heredity, lifestyle and life’s events can cause thinning hair, excessive hair loss or baldness.
It’s hard to escape all of the potential factors that could contribute to your hair loss. Meanwhile, back at the fort. The best defense is a good offense. You can help your hair stay healthy longer by adopting a kinder, gentler approach to hair grooming. At least you won’t unwittingly contribute to the factors that could rob your of your hair.
Your hair does NOT need many of the ingredients that you find on the label of your shampoo and conditioner. Many of the indecipherable ingredients have no real purpose in hair care; most are preservatives, binders, waxes or coloring agents. They give you a temporary hair fix. Unfortunately, you will soon find that you need another fix soon after, if you are to keep your bad hair days to a minimum. Even a few organic and natural shampoos use some suspect ingredients.
Grab a shampoo bottle; any bottle from a major cosmetics manufacturer will do. Take out your reading glasses and fire up your browser. Get ready for some interesting reading. In addition to the usual suspects mentioned here previously (DEA, Phalates, Parabens, Propylene and Polyethylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl and Sodium Laureth Sulfate), some other common ingredients that you DON’T need for healthy hair are:
1. Fragrance
2. Imidazolidinyl Urea
3. DMDM Hydantoin
4. Isopropyl Alcohol
5. Mineral Oil and Petrolatum
These ingredients can lead to skin irritation and dryness, hormone disruptions, cancer and worse. A good rule of thumb for hair care ingredients is if you can’t eat it, you shouldn’t be putting it on your skin and hair!
Visit the Skin Deep website to find shampoos and conditioners with the fewest unnecessary chemicals. Give the hair you’ve got a better chance of staying on your head.
Tags: baldness, binders, conditioner, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, grooming, hair loss, Imidazolidinyl Urea, ingredients, irritation, Isopropyl Alcohol, menopausal, Mineral Oil, natural, organic, Petrolatum, pregnancy, preservatives, shampoo, thinning hair, waxes, womens hair loss
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
A quick search of the Internet shows that hair care is an immensely popular business. People engaged in this business include the manufacturers of shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes, styling gels and mousses, along with hair appliances. This category of hair care businesses alone accounts for billions (not millions) of dollars annually of our national economy.
The various stylists who wash, curl, condition, color and cut our hair make up the next largest segment of this business. This side of the industry has many independent operators who set up shop after completing vocational school courses that they need to obtain a cosmetology license. In addition, we have beauty and barber shop franchises. This type of hair care business comes with a proven business plan and a trademark that can catapult sales well above those that independent shops can garner.
Wigs for vanity, along with toupees for hair loss victims, are yet another large segment of the hair care industry. In addition to full wigs, the current mania with hair as adornment spurs the hair enhancement segment. This includes production of synthetic hair and processing of human hair, packaged and sold for braids, weaves and temporary applications, like buns and ponytails.
Drugstores, grocers, beauty supply stores and websites devote a sizable amount of shelf-space and inventory stock to hair care products. In addition to the cleaning, styling and conditioning products, consumers need easy access to combs, brushes, hair appliances, scruncis, hair rollers, hair bands and barrettes. Whether you plop down your money at the store or online, this segment of the hair care industry gets a fair share of the economic pie too.
As the population ages and more adults begin to experience hair loss and thinning hair, the customer base for hair loss treatments and hair replacement therapies will increase dramatically. New products, appliances and appear almost daily.
More than ever before in history, the hair care industry, along with its suppliers, is responsible for millions of jobs. When we take stock, we see that hair or the lack of it is fueling a thriving segment of the economy. Even during a recession or a full-scale depression, hair care is big business for many. How on earth did the economy grow before the first commercially bottled shampoo and the first hair salon appeared?
Tags: baldness, business, conditioners, economy, franchise, hair care, hair care industry, hair enhancement, hair loss, hair replacement, shampoos, stylists, synthetic hair, thinning hair, toupees, treatment, vanity, wigs
Posted in Natural Hair Growth | 2 Comments »
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
During the Holocaust, those fortunate enough to be incarcerated immediately had their heads shaven. The reason – robbing a person of their hair immediately reduces self-esteem. All too often, regardless of culture, hair defines our identity.
Throughout history, hair has been the subject of many musings, pontifications and quotes that range from the silly and hilarious to the most sublime and somber. These quotes cover every hair issue from beauty to baldness.
Beauty & Adoration
“Hair brings one’s self-image into focus; it is vanity’s proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.” – Shana Alexander
“Hair is vitally personal to children. They weep vigorously when it is cut for the first time; no matter how it grows, bushy, straight or curly, they feel they are being shorn of a part of their personality.” – Charles Chaplin
“The hair is the richest ornament of women.” – Martin Luther
“I’m a big woman. I need big hair.” – Aretha Franklin
“I’m undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair.” – Hillary Clinton
“Long on hair, short on brains” – French Proverb
“I’m not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I’m not dumb. I also know I’m not blonde.” – Dolly Parton
Gray Hair
“Gray hair is a sign of age, not of wisdom.” – Greek proverb
“Gray hair is God’s graffiti” – Bill Cosby
“Gray hair is a blessing - ask any bald man.” – Unknown
“By common consent gray hairs are a crown of glory; the only object of respect that can never excite envy.” – George Bancroft
“There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.” – P. G. Wodehouse
Baldness
“A hair in the head is worth two in the brush.” – Oliver Herford
“I am not the archetypal leading man. This is mainly for one reason: as you may have noticed, I have no hair.” – Patrick Stewart
“It is foolish to tear one’s hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness.” – Cicero
“I don’t care if they call me “baldie” or “chrome dome.” God took an eraser and brushed my head clean. I’d rather be bald on top than bald inside.” – Joe Garagiola
” >Babies haven’t any hair:
Old men’s heads are just as bare;
From the cradle to the grave
Lies a haircut and a shave.”
– Samuel Goodman Hoffenstein
Tags: baldness, beauty, gray hair, hair, hair loss, hair quotes, history, identity, inspirations, quotes, self-esteem
Posted in Natural Hair Growth, Vitamins | 5 Comments »
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