HAIR CLEANING HABITS
Different shampoos have different features and benefits, so in order to maintain the most vitality and luster, it's important for you to identify your hair type and utilize the most appropriate shampoos and conditioners.
- Dry Hair: Use shampoos with intensive moisture replenishment. Coconut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, and argan oil are excellent natural oils that can by absorbed by hair.
- Oily Hair: Stay away from moisturizing or conditioning shampoos. You don’t want to add more moisture to oily hair. Simply use a shampoo specifically formulated for oily hair.
- Fine Hair: Wash your hair with a quality volumizing shampoo to add body to fine hair.
- Curly Hair: Use a shampoo specifically for dry or chemically treated hair to tame flyaway hair and prevent dry, damaged-looking tresses.
- Color-Treated Hair: Choose a color-preserving shampoo so you don’t strip out your hair highlights.
Eating a balanced diet that contains protein, fruits, vegetables, fat, and carbohydrates is essential for healthy hair. Any nutritional deficiency will typically show first in your hair. The B group of vitamins in particular is crucial for hair health. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) gives hair flexibility, strength and shine and helps prevent hair loss and graying. Vitamin B6 (found in cereals, egg yolk and liver) helps prevent dandruff. Vitamin B12 (found in fish, eggs, chicken and milk) can help prevent hair loss.
The essential omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin B12, and iron, found in fish sources, prevent a dry scalp and dull hair color. Dark green vegetables contain high amounts of vitamins A and C, which can help with production of sebum and provide a natural hair conditioner. Legumes provide excellent protein to promote hair growth and also contain iron, zinc, and biotin. Nuts contain high sources of selenium and therefore are important for a healthy scalp. Alpha-linolenic acid and zinc are also found in some nuts and help condition the hair and prevent hair shedding that can be caused by a lack of zinc. Protein deficiencies or low-quality protein can produce weak and brittle hair, and can eventually result in loss of hair color.
GENETICS & GENERAL HEALTH
Genetics and general health are also important factors in healthy hair. Stress, trauma, medications of various sorts, chronic medical conditions, heavy metals in waters and food, and smoking can all affect your hair, its growth, and its appearance. When your body is under strain, it re-prioritizes its processes. The living part of hair is under the scalp skin where the hair root is housed in the hair follicle. A vein feeds the entire follicle and root, and blood carries nutrients to the follicle/root. If the body re-prioritizes its processes, then the vital organs will be attended to first, meaning that healthy, oxygenated blood may not feed into the hair follicle, resulting in less healthy hair or a decline in hair growth rate.
Healthy hair can be achieved and maintained by following these nutrition and cleaning guidelines. Our hair stylists in Boca Raton will be happy to share more secrets of the trade during your appointment at Victoria London Salon.
