Hair Loss Center

Nutritionists say you can improve your hair’s health by feeding hair what it needs to be healthier from the inside out.  While the quality, quantity, and distribution of your hair is genetically pre-determined and cannot be changed, solving hair malnutrition problems can make a big difference in the health and appearance of your hair.  

•    Is your hair breaking more easily?
•    Is your hair duller than normal?
•    Is your hair more limp than usual?
•    Are you noticing more hair fall-out than normal?

Since your hair is often a barometer of your body’s health, if you notice hair thinning and fall-out, consult a board-certified dermatologist for an accurate diagnoses of your hair loss and consult your primary care physician in case hair loss is a symptom of a larger systemic health issue. In addition, evaluate your own diet and keep a food diary for about seven days to identify if you are falling into any of these bad hair diet traps.

Also, beware of ‘vitamin-enriched’ masks and conditioners that sit on top of hair because they can’t improve hair’s health. Stylists and doctors alike agree that applying proteins like collagen to your hair won’t change hair’s structure because hair is composed of dead cells, like fingernails, that don’t absorb and can’t ‘use’ the nutrients. You need to “feed” your hair what it needs to be healthy from the inside out!

•    Appetizers:  Steer clear of sugary, fatty foods. “Junk food is the worst offender,” advises dietitian Joanne Larsen, M.S, R.D. of askthedietitan.com. “Junk food fills you up with empty calories that have no nutritional value and your body can’t use the calories for building and maintaining healthy tissue, like skin and hair, let alone overall health.”

•    Main Course:    According to Larsen, hair is made of keratin protein and a diet deficient in protein will show up in hair thinning and loss along with dulling and breakage. The United States Recommended Daily Allowance (USRDA) Food Guide Pyramid advises that at least 15% of daily calories should come from high-quality protein-rich foods like lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, soy, nuts, grains and seeds.  According to the USRDA, Depending on weight, age, and physical activity level, adult men aged 25-51+ need 63 grams of protein (around six ounces of protein per day). Women aged 25-51+ need 50 grams (around five ounces).

•    Side dishes: Be sure all eight essential amino acids which are included in ‘complete proteins’ are eaten every day. Some complete proteins include milk, egg whites, and a variety of legumes like beans, peas and nuts. If a person eats a variety of legumes, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and grains, they will get all eight essential amino acids an adult needs, as directed by the USRDA. In addition ‘essential fatty acids’ are not produced within the human body and must be taken from your daily diet are essential to shiny, vibrant, healthy hair and the cellular function necessary for hair growth. The use of cold-pressed nut and seed oils, such as flax seed oil, daily on salads and in any dishes that do not require heating contain the essential omega-6 fatty acids while omega-3 fatty acids are contained in fish.

•    Drinks anyone?  Avoid caffeine and carbonated drinks because they leach important vitamins and minerals from your body. These poor drink choices also take the place of healthier choices like water, green or black teas or fresh, all-natural fruit juices.  In addition the human body needs about 64 ounces of water (eight, 8-oz. glasses) to maintain health. Are you getting enough? After urinating the first time after waking up, your urine should be colorless and odorless for the remainder of the day. If it is a concentrated yellow, or has a strong odor, increase your water intake, explains Larsen.

•    Desserts: Don’t crash diet because a diet very low in calories (less than 600 calories per day) also deprives hair, as well as the rest of your body, of the necessary nutrients for health.

If you want more information on serving sizes of actual food choices, portions, and menu plans, go to mypyramid.gov to view a great chart that makes the information clear and easy to use in your daily diet, as recommended by the USRDA. Also, a good, whole food multi-vitamin and mineral supplement can help when your diet is out of balance.  Larsen says beware hair analysis services that have not yet been determined appropriate for general nutritional evaluation. “Even though businesses in hair analysis operate, they are a waste of money,” she says.

Naomi Mannino is a freelance writer who writes about health, beauty, and fashion, with a specialty in writing about hair, hair loss and Alopecia. She is a contributing writer for HairLoss.Com who writes about hair loss condition and hair loss solutions.

Hair care is an overall term for parts of hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair on the human head. Some basic hair care can use to improve the health and look of your hair. Diet and lifestyle are two major factors that influence the health of the hair. Poor diet, illness and deficiencies of any particular vitamin and mineral affects the quality of hair and problems like dandruff, thinning hair, balding, premature graying etc. spoil the hair. To speed up the drying process, pat your hair dry with a towell and let the remaining moisture in your hair dry naturally. Gently use your fingers or a pick to untangle any knots while your hair is drying. Coloring your hair is another hair treatment option. It is a nice change from the way you normally look. Cut your hair in layers, this will make you look a lot younger. Hot air can be damaging to your hair so when using a hair dryer use the cool setting. Don’t leave the blowdryer in one spot for more than a few seconds, keep it moving and at a good distance away from your hair. Squirt your dry hair with styling spray and then use a medium curling iron to curl 2-inch sections of hair before rolling hair in Velcro rollers.

Color your hair regularly. Color your hair every 28 days by doing this you may actually prevent your hair from getting damaged. Apply besan in the hair and wash it with water drained from the cooked rice. Soak a handful of gooseberry in a cup of milk for two hours. Make it as a paste and apply in the hair. Apply the mixture of an egg white, 2 spoon of castor oil, 1 spoon glycerin, in the scalp and hair. Massage hair with warm coconut oil an hour before washing. Cover your head with a hot towel and wash your hair after an hour or so. Boil a few hibiscus flowers in coconut oil. Filter and use this hair oil to control hair loss and thinning. Graying of hair is a natural process that happens with increasing age, but if the hair starts graying before the age of 35, it is termed as premature graying that occurs due to the aggravation of Pitta dosha. Excessive intake of tea, coffee, alcohol, meat, fried, oily, greasy, spicy, sour, and acidic foods increases pitta and leads to graying prematurely. Take a cup of coconut and mustard oils. Soak half a cup of curry leaves in the oil mixture and keep it for a night.

1. Avoid shampoos that contain sodium laurel sulfate, or sodium laureth sulfate.

2. A hot oil treatment to deep condition your hair. Warm oil penetrates the hair shaft making the hair more flexible and giving it shine.

3. Eat right and consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements to encourage healthy hair.

4. Use a wide toothed comb, or your fingers to work with your hair. Brushes can destroy African American or extra curly hair by shearing it out of the scalp.

5. Avoid sleeping in hair accessories such as barrettes, scrunchies, head bands, etc. This can lead to hair damage.

6. Massage your scalp to help stimulate hair growth. Massaging helps stimulate hair growth by increasing the blood flow to the scalp.

7. If your hair ends are damaged, give yourself a trim every so often to remove damage.

8. Hot air can be damaging to your hair so when using a hair dryer use the cool setting.

9. Apply the mixture of an egg white, 2 spoon of castor oil, 1 spoon glycerin, in the scalp and hair.

10. Coloring your hair is another hair treatment option. Color your hair regularly.

Juliet Cohen is an expert in Hair Styles . Information on Hair Care Tips and Hair Care