Repairing Damaged Hair at Home

Home Remedies and Treatments to Repair Damaged Hair

Dry, damaged hair is one of life's little horrors: it won't ruin you, but it won't do you any good. Maybe your hair was caught in a freak, hot roller accident; perhaps chemical straighteners or perms have tortured it into a permanent, frizzy fright wig. You may seek treatment from a local salon, but the stylist might recommend a crew cut. So, what can you do to repair extremely damaged hair that doesn't require a period of enforced baldness? Or what if you're darned close to bald already from chlorine, hair color, blow drying and other hair related emergencies?

People most likely to have damaged hair include those with fine hair and African Americans who use straighteners or keep their hair in cornrows (this tightness can damage the hair follicles and cause hair loss) . African American's hair is very delicate –usually drier than Caucasian hair, and can be easily ruined by chemicals and heat.

Lock In to Ways to Repair Damaged Hair

Anyone who has dry, damaged hair knows just how hard it can be to find effective and affordable products to fix the problem. With the popularity of hair colors, perms, extensions, and other harsh chemical treatments, as well as the current hair styles that call for using flat irons or hot rollers to perfect a certain look, having damaged hair is a problem that plagues so many women and yet there are still no perfect solutions. Avoiding damaging hair care practices, like having chemical treatments or using hot rollers, curling irons, and blow dryers in the first place is the best way to keep your hair healthy, but once the damage is done there are still products that can help you repair and restore your hair. Whether you need a deep conditioner, an oil treatment, a defrizzer, or a hair mask, help is on the way.

Start repairing your damaged hair right away!

How to Grow Out Your Damaged Hair

If your hair has been truly wrecked, sometimes the best thing to do is have professional advice and then cut off as much damaged hair and split ends as possible so you can start fresh. You know when to cut off your hair: it's when you'd rather be bald than look the way you do now! A super-short haircut can be appealing if you go to someone who will shape the cut to your face. Understanding face shape is the difference between a ten dollar, ten minute hair cut and an admittedly more expensive, hopefully much nicer one.

Remedies for Dry, Damaged Hair

Home remedies for "hair gone wrong" include restoration of moisture to hair not too severely damaged and making way for regrowth. In the case of hair ruined by hot rollers or straightening, you may have a few inches of relatively undamaged hair on the scalp. Get a medium-severe haircut to get rid of the frizzled hair tips, or leave the damage right where it is and concentrate on protecting the good hair. Leave off the chemicals, avoid the blow dryer and other heated hair appliances, and use gentle shampoo as infrequently as you dare. Shampoo strips oils from your hair, making it more brittle, so if you don't really need to shampoo, cut it down to once a week or so. And forget vitamins in shampoo: they don't work. You can try taking vitamins internally to keep your hair strong as a side effect of your increased health, but there aren't any vitamins that help when applied externally.

Home Deep Conditioning: Over the Counter & Natural Products

Buy deep conditioner hot oil products at the drugstore, or go the homemade route for less money. Hot oil treatments (actually, the oil is warm, not hot), work by starting with dampened hair, softening the cuticle and locking in the water by sealing the outside of the hair with a coating of oil. You can make your hair drier by using hot oil if you then go and wash it all out with a harsh shampoo. When you give yourself a moisturizing hair treatment, leave it on overnight and then wash it with a gentle shampoo the next day.

Deep conditioning home remedies and recipes for fried hair include mayonnaise, avocado and egg, but some of us prefer to eat our salads, not wear them. You can get the job done using any cooking oil (but peanut oil will make you smell peanutty!) Coconut suntan oil is a favorite, and it smells terrific, too. Rinse your hair with warm water, apply the oil from the palm of your hand, working it into your hair. Now comes the warm part: wrap your head in a towel or a plastic hair bag that comes with hair color kits, or in some cling wrap, and sit around in it as long as you can. Cover your pillow with a safety-pinned towel and sleep on it overnight. Next day, use a moisturizing or baby shampoo to wash out the greasiness.

If your hair has been ruined from color treatments, consider switching to a repairing henna, which has been used for centuries to keep hair shiny and bright. Unlike permanent colors, henna has no ammonia to strip your hair; the henna sits on the outside of the hair shaft, so it can't do any damage. But test it first; some people are allergic to this all-natural herb!

Dandruff Prevention: Causes and Best Natural Treatments

Dandruff & Itchy, Dry Scalp: Treatment Shampoos, Natural Remedies and Prevention

If you suffer from a scalp that’s dry, itchy or irritated you may have dandruff. Dandruff is also known as scurf or seborrheic dermatitis. In addition, psoriasis on the scalp can cause dander in the hair. While dandruff can be quite embarrassing, the good news is it’s easy to control. With natural products and shampoo (like Head and Shoulders or Nizoral) you can get dandruff managed. If your dander is severe, you may want to visit a doctor for medicine or other treatment. However, most often you can use home remedy ideas for the best dandruff care and prevention!

Causes of Dry, Itchy Scalp

Learning how to control flakes is not rocket science, although it may seem like a tough challenge at first. First, you should understand what causes dandruff. The main cause of dandruff is the fungus Malassezia. This fungus feeds on oils and cholesterol already present in your scalp’s skin cells. Often the fungus can be caused by toxins in commercial shampoos. Dandruff shampoo and conditioner often works because they contain tar (which burns the flakes off of the scalp).

Natural Treatment of Flakes

You can naturally (and safely) control and cure your dandruff with homemade scalp mixtures. Using items in your kitchen you can quickly manage your scalp in a natural and effective way!

Vinegar can be used for the treatment of dandruff. Sufferers can mix 3 teaspoons of vinegar with 7 teaspoons of water, apply it to their scalp at bed time and wrap the head with a shower cap or towel. In the morning, the hair should be washed with gentle shampoo and conditioner.

Another home remedy includes mixing 1 teaspoon of lemon juice with several teaspoons of vinegar. After rubbing this mixture into the scalp, mix several eggs in a bowl and pour them onto your hair. Rinse with gentle shampoo and conditioner, as normal.

Olive oil and almond oil are also known to help control dandruff. You can mix the two together, apply it to your scalp and leave it for several minutes. Then wash and condition your hair for shiny and dandruff-free results.

While dandruff shampoos may be effective, they are often only quick fixes to the problem of dandruff. Natural solutions and homemade rinses are often more effective for the treatment of dandruff. However, if you notice your condition worsening you should see your doctor immediately.

Beauty Care Tips and Advice

Beauty in Your Forties: Makeup, Skin and Style Tips For Women In Their 40’s

So, you’re partying days of your 20’s are over, your stressful days of your 30’s are fading and you feel like you finally know exactly who you are. But, as you look in the mirror you may worry and start to have trouble recognizing the woman starting back at you. As you are leaving 30s behind, instead of going forward with fear be sure to embrace your new age with an updated skin care and makeup outlook. The best things about your 40s is the fact you can still have fun without worrying about every little “crisis” life throws your way. So, embrace your new life joys and age!

Age Appropriate Makeup Advice: Women In Their Early To Late Forties

Maybe you spent too much time in the sun when you were younger or maybe you just didn’t think about skin care before now, but chances are you are now noticing the sun damage and signs of aging from your past. You might have blotchiness, red spots and fine lines appearing. As you’re aging and turning fourty years old, your skin is changing too. It’s losing collagen and elasticity so it will retain much less moisture. This ultimately means you’ll not only start noticing more wrinkles but also lose some of your natural glow. You need to continue to preserve, maintain and repair your skin.

Skin Care: Women In Their 40’s

By your 40th birthday, you should already be in a great skin care and beauty routine. However, it needs to change a bit as you enter this new decade of life and celebrate. Things you should know already about skin care should only be modified a bit. Start using a creamy cleanser both day and night (skip the gel) and follow with a broad-spectrum moisturizer with SPF 15 or 20. Find a moisturizer with at least two kinds of antioxidants such as green tea, soy or lycopene. Different antioxidants target different things in the skin. You can also find a formula with peptides to help collagen strength. If you have dry skin problems, try something with shea butter, petrolatum or hyaluronic acid. Always use a nighttime treatment to help reduce brown spots, soften your lines and thicken your epidermis (prescription retinoid is recommended). Words of wisdom: if the prescription retinoid bothers your skin, try it every other night.

Age Appropriate Makeup and Cosmetics: Women In Their 40’s

Much like your hair has changed over the years to fit your age and style, so should your make up style. While facts may tell you that you should go with the “mom makeup” you may find yourself curious with thoughts about new makeup trends. As long as the trends don’t involve neon colored eye shadow or glitter, go for them!

When choosing a foundation in your 40s, think about spending a little more to get one with a built in SPF 15 or 20 and peptides. This will help you get the coverage you need and build in extra skin care benefits at the same time. Always opt to use a concealer to help cover up that redness and blotchiness you’re likely seeing from past sun damage. Apply the foundation first and then the concealer, blending both together to get a seamless look. Dealing with a foundation and concealer from the same brand can be helpful, as blending two brands together can bring great difficulty if you want natural results.

Keep the blush light and focused on the apples of your cheeks, looking for natural glowing colors to help you gain back some of the natural glow time is taking away from your skin.

Instead of using heavy lipstick and liner, think about getting a tinted gloss or cream lipstick that will allow you to have a youthful look on your lips. When doing this, try to stay away from dark colors and opt for melon colors, pink colors, peach colors or chic nude colors.

Eye shadow colors of brown, gray, silver or purple are often great for those in their 40’s. Be sure not to overdo it with the eyeshadow and unless you don’t have very many eye area wrinkles be sure to steer clear of frosty formulas and only use them for highlighting purposes. Also, remember to keep your eyebrows perfectly plucked or waxed and use a soft eyebrow powder to fill in any sparse areas instead of a heavy eyebrow pencil.

Lack Of Vitamin D Hurts

More, and more research is showing that lack of vitamin D is detrimental to your health. 70% of people reading this articles are vitamin D deficient; and they probably do not even realize it. Are you one of them?

Recent documented discoveries have shown multiple health benefits of Vitamin D. As a matter of fact, 30 scientists have agreed that the US RDA needs to be increased from 60 I.U.’s to 2000 I’U’s every day.

The bottom line is you don’t want to have a lack of vitamin D in your blood stream. So why is 70% of the U.S. population, and over 1 billion people worldwide deficient? Simple! They don’t get enough of the vitamin in the foods they eat, and their sun exposure isn’t sufficient enough especially in the colder climates of the world.

Vitamin D deficiency all starts with people being ultra careful not to stay in the sun too long for fear of skin cancer. We are all taught to soak ourselves with sunscreen in order to protect our skin from cancer. Yes, it is important to not stay in the sun too long. However, are we exposing ourselves to UV rays long enough to stimulate sufficient vitamin D production . Not apparently so, especially in colder climates. I believe there needs to be a happy medium between getting sufficient UV rays to help create the optimal level of vitamin D, and preventing skin cancer.

By the way, people with lack of vitamin D don’t have to sun bath for hours. Just 10 minutes a day in the sun, without sunscreen, will help. If that is not possible, you can look into foods fortified with Vitamin D, or supplementation. Please be aware that it is difficult to get up to 2000 I.U.’s from our food alone. However, it is possible to help your cause by keeping an eye on the vitamin D levels in the foods you eat. If you are not close to 2000 I.U’s, then supplement your diet, and subject yourself to a very small amount of sunshine.

If you are a light skinned person in a sunny, warm climate year round, you are at less of a risk of being vitamin D deficient. Individuals who have darker skin, and are not exposed to daily sunlight, have a greater chance of showing a lack of vitamin D.

So what happens if you don’t get enough Vitamin D in your diet?

You are more susceptible to 24 cancers, diabetes, M.S., heart disease, falls, fractures, psoriasis, and many more health complications.

This is not me just talking, but studies to back it. Therefore, take this information very seriously!

A recent study looked at 28,000 people over 50 years of age for 1 year long. The individuals with very low levels of Vitamin D compared to normal blood levels of D showed a 77% increase in risk of death, a 45% great chance of developing coronary artery disease, and a 78% greater likelihood of a stroke.

Being vitamin D deficient is not good, and hopefully, I have given you enough reason to keep an eye on the amount you are getting. Strive to get around 2000 I.U’s each day.

Ladies, please note that raising vitamin D levels to 200 nMol/L will decrease breast cancer by 77%, according to studies. Ask your doctor to do a blood test to check your vitamin D level.

Optimal levels of “D” have also shown to have a contribution in reducing inflammation, blood pressure, and help protect against heart disease.

For those interested in your blood lab results, Vitamin D3 blood levels should be 100-150 nmol/L (40-60 ng/ml); the existing recommendation is 30-50 nmol/L.

As you know, health and fitness go hand in hand. Therefore, to increase performance, and aid in exercise recovery, make sure you are getting up to 2000 I.U’s of “D” each day. Trust me, their is overwhelming evidence to support the fact that lack of vitamin D is detrimental to your health.