Archive for September, 2009

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Natural Hair Tips for Strong Hair Growth | Hair Care Nutrients

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Hair Tips for Strong Hair

Hair is constituted of a natural protein called keratin. Thus, the strength of hair depends to a large extent on the consumption of natural proteins through food. Your diet should consist of a healthy amount of milk and dairy products, nuts, eggs, whole grains and pulses, beans and soy products. These are rich natural sources of protein that help make hair grow stronger. You should regularly eat green, leafy vegetables, preferably as raw salads, as they contain essential vitamins and iron that stimulate the production of sebum and thereby make hair strong and flexible. It is also advisable to include oysters and salmon in your diet for supplying nutrients like zinc and omega-3 fatty acids, which play a crucial role in maintaining hair in good health. Besides these dietary measures, you may also follow a few simple tips at home to make your hair grow stronger. One of the simplest means of achieving this is to beat an egg thoroughly and apply it all over your hair and leave it on for 15-20 minutes before shampooing. This gives your hair a natural glow and makes your hair look stronger.

Remedies to Make Hair Grow Strong

Alternatively, you may also soak your hair with a cup of coconut milk half an hour before washing it with water and a mild shampoo. This lends your hair a natural bounce and makes it more flexible. Always take care that the water you use to wash your hair is not too hot, as this might cause damage to the hair and make it dry and brittle. Another effective remedy for making hair grow stronger is to mix an egg white with two tablespoons of castor oil and one tablespoon of glycerin and apply this solution on your scalp. Leave it on for half an hour before washing your hair. This nourishes the scalp and increases the strength of your hair. It also helps to add the juices of hibiscus flowers, basil leaves, curry leaves and gooseberries to some mildly heated coconut oil and apply this mixture all over your scalp and hair.

In addition to these remedial measures, you should also take care to protect your hair from excessive heat. Thus, use an umbrella or a hat whenever you step out into the sun. Also, avoid using blow driers and hot irons on your hair on a regular basis, as excessive heat or pressure on hair tends to weaken its roots and leads to split ends, frizziness and hair loss.

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What Are the Causes of Scalp Folliculitis and How to Cure It

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Causes of Scalp Folliculitis

Folliculitis is a condition in which the hair follicles become infected and inflamed. Sometimes, there might be pus formation inside the follicles, which may lead to painful lesions on the skin. Bacteria, fungi and viruses that invade the skin are the chief causes of such infections. These microbes mostly come into contact with the skin through contaminated water. Exposure to certain harmful chemical substances like tar may also cause folliculitis. The chances of such infections are also higher if the person’s naturally immunity is already weakened due to chronic illnesses like cancer and AIDS, or after major surgeries. There infections first manifests itself as painful, red swellings on the thighs, buttocks and scalp, which may turn tender and get filled with pus if left untreated.

Scalp Folliculitis Cure

There are a few simple measures that you may follow at home to treat this condition. Wash the affected area with antibacterial soap solution at regular intervals throughout the day. You should pat the area dry with a soft towel after washing and dab some antibacterial talcum powder on the spot. This ensures infection causing microbes are destroyed and that excessive perspiration is soaked up, thereby preventing further microbial growth. You should also wear loose-fitting clothes so that the affected areas of the skin experience minimum friction with the fabric of your garments and air is able to pass through them freely. You should also wash used clothes daily in order to kill any germs that might have been transferred onto them from the surface of the skin.

Regular application of warm compresses also helps relieve pain and swelling and expels the accumulated pus quickly, thereby reducing the chances of the spread of the infection. You may soak a piece of cotton cloth in hot water and spread it across the affected portion of the skin for this purpose. You should avoid shaving the area, as the friction and pressure caused through contact with the blade may irritate the hair follicles further and worsen the condition. You should also stop using any oil-based skin care or cosmetic products on the affected portions of the skin. Drink plenty of water and natural fruit juices to flush out toxins from the body and boost your natural immunity against infections. Eat a small piece of raw garlic during every meal. The juices of garlic have strong antibacterial properties that help counter infections and boost the system’s natural defenses.

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Hair care for Swimmers | Remedy for Dry Hair after Swimming

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Take Care of Hair after Swimming

Prolonged and excessive exposure to water can rob the scalp of its natural oil content and render hair dry and frizzy. Contact with harsh chemicals can also make hair dry. Since most swimming pools contain water treated with chlorine, swimmers often have trouble with dry hair. The simplest way of avoiding this is to wear a swimming cap before plunging into the pool.However, there are several easy ways of preventing your hair from becoming too dry even if you swim regularly. Add an egg into your regular bottle of shampoo and shake it well so that the contents get mixed properly. Store this bottle in a refrigerator and use it for washing your hair. This will help prevent excessive dryness of hair. You could also apply some mayonnaise on your hair after shampooing and leave it on for 5 minutes before finally rinsing your hair with water. Alternatively, you may also soak your hair in some apple cider vinegar after shampooing and then rinse your hair with water. This will give your hair a natural shine and bounce without making it dry and frizzy.

Remedy for Dry Hair

You may also blend two eggs, a tablespoon of olive oil and a little vinegar thoroughly and apply this mixture over your scalp and hair at least half an hour before shampooing. You may also mash a ripe avocado and a banana together and apply the pulp on your hair an hour before washing it. Both banana and avocado have high moisture content and help treat dry scalp and hair naturally. You may also mix a teaspoon of honey with your regular shampoo by rubbing them together between your palms and then rinse your hair with this mixture.

Honey has the capacity to trap water, but you must take care that you wash your hair thoroughly after applying this mixture. You may also use a tablespoon of wheat germ oil instead of your regular conditioner while washing your hair. This is very effective in conditioning the hair naturally, especially during summer season. You should also take care to oil your hair regularly, as this helps nourish the scalp and prevents hair from becoming excessively dry. Application of mildly heated coconut oil or olive oil every alternate night before going to bed is recommended. You should use your fingertips to massage the roots of your hair while applying oil on your scalp, as this stimulates the sebaceous glands and prevents dryness of hair.

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homemade deep hair conditioning | hair conditioner recipe

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Deep Conditioning for Hair

Conditioning is an integral part of any hair care regime. Depending on whether your hair is naturally dry or oily or somewhere between the two, you should condition your hair after shampooing it. There are quite a few natural ways of doing so at home. One of the best sources of natural hair conditioning is the pulp of a ripe avocado. You should apply this pulp all over your hair at least half an hour before shampooing it. This makes your hair feel naturally soft and silky without leaving it excessively oily and limp. You could also use the pulp of a ripe banana in the same fashion for similar results. This is especially beneficial for dry and damaged hair.

Deep Hair Conditioning Treatments

Another effective way of naturally conditioning your hair is to apply mayonnaise all over it and leave it on for 15-20 minutes before washing it off with lukewarm water. A very useful remedy from the kitchen is egg yolk. You should beat the yolk of an egg till it is frothy and add a little baby oil to it. Beat it for a couple of minutes once more. Once you are done shampooing your hair, apply this yolk and oil mixture all over your scalp and work your way down to the tips of your hair. Leave it on for 5 minutes before washing your hair with a little shampoo and lukewarm water. You could also try heating half a cup of olive oil indirectly by pouring the oil in a can and placing it in a tub of hot water for 10 minutes. Add 20-30 drops of rosemary oil to this and use the solution as a conditioner.

A simple remedy from the garden is to collect the petals of hibiscus flowers and a few fresh leaves of this plant, blend them to pulp in a grinder by adding enough water, and apply this paste all over the scalp after shampooing. You should wait for 20-30 minutes before washing it away with water. This will leave your hair feeling soft and light. For conditioning oily hair - mix an egg white, two tablespoons of gram flour, a few drops and a cup of yogurt and apply this paste on your hair after shampooing. Rinse it off with lukewarm water after 5 minutes. Alternatively, you could also squeeze out the juice of fresh lemon into a cup of unsweetened black tea and use this solution to condition your hair.

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What Causes Alopecia in Children and How to Cure Alopecia

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Causes of Alopecia in Children

Hair loss in children is primarily caused by a kind of alopecia called alopecia areata, which is an auto-immune disorder. Hair grows in a cycle comprising three stages: anagen, in which the hair fiber grows actively in the hair follicle; catagen, in which the growth of hair follicle gradually comes to a halt; and telogen, in which the hair simply rests and then falls off. In children suffering from alopecia, the hair growth is impeded in the hair fails to enter the second stage of growth and falls of prematurely. This causes round or oval bald patches on the head of the child. In a majority of cases, this is only a temporary problem and as the child grows older, hair growth becomes normal again without medical or cosmetic intervention. Yet, complete recovery of hair lost during this condition can be ensured by following a few simple tips at home.

Natural Cures for Alopecia

You must remember that the child’s scalp is very delicate and becomes especially sensitive if s/he is suffering from alopecia. Thus, care should be taken to maintain good personal hygiene and a healthy care routine to ensure that the loss of hair is restricted and that fungal infections do not occur at the sites of hair loss. Use a mild baby shampoo and conditioner to wash the child’s hair. Never comb the child’s hair while it is still wet as this might cause damage to the roots of the hair and increase the rate of hair loss. You should also avoid tying up the child’s hair into tight ponytails as this creates excessive pressure on the roots of the hair and causes them to break easily.

Besides these general measures, you should also try a few natural remedies to boost hair growth. Massage the child’s scalp gently with mildly heated castor oil at bedtime every alternate night and wash it away with shampoo the next morning. Rubbing the bald patches with the juice of an onion also helps stimulate the hair follicles and sebaceous glands beneath the scalp and promotes faster hair growth. This also has the added advantage of destroying microbes that might infect the sensitized scalp and lead to further hair loss. You should also apply coconut milk on the child’s scalp and hair and leave it on for at least an hour before rinsing it off with lukewarm water. Follow this remedy thrice a week for a significant reduction in hair loss.

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