Your hair is quite the important feature of the body. The primary function of human hair is to insulate the human body. Hair does this in two ways: it serves as a physical barrier between external cold air and the skin. It also traps warm air in between the skin and the hair, keeping the body warmer. Further functions include general protection, heat retention (as mentioned), facial expression, sensory reception, visual identification, and chemical sensory dispersal. Hair is made of a tough protein called keratin. A hair follicle anchors each hair into the skin. The hair bulb forms the base of the hair follicle. In the hair bulb, living cells divide and grow to build the hair shaft. Once your hair is grown out, it’s essentially dead cells growing from your head. (The 10 amazing ways to keep your hair healthy)
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The body has hair all around it, and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You have your body hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and the hair on your head. While the focus may be applied to your head hair, all of the following can be applied to all of your hair. Part of this is about keeping your hair healthy while you have it. In many cases, you want to look good, but it’s not only about that. If you take care of your hair, at least in most ways on this list, you can keep your hair longer. This is especially true if you simply avoid getting scalped or burning your hair off with fire. These are the 10 ways to keep your hair healthy.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
1. Wash Your Hair
Washing your hair is important, especially if you want to look good. Experts suggest that many people over-shampoo or shampoo incorrectly. The standard rules of thumb are: don’t wash your hair more than once a day. Also, use only enough of the product to cover your hair, and avoid using very hot or very cold water. Treat hair gently when it’s wet — it’s three times more vulnerable to breakage. Don’t rub wet hair excessively with a towel. Use a wide-tooth comb to untangle, but don’t comb too much or brush wet hair. Doing it too hard can rip your hair out and leave spots in need of growth. Although, it’s important to brush your hair for means of keeping it untangled and able to grow and look good.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
2. Wash Your Hair Less Often
As mentioned above, it’s best to avoid washing your hair too often. While it may be more recommended to wash your hair once every other day or three days, that’s not all. It’s best to at least avoid washing your hair more than once a day. This can end up damaging the hair, and it certainly is overdoing it for no good reason. This is why you, if you have to, should put on a shower cap or find ways to hide greasy or sweaty hair. It can also include gelling your hair or making sure your hairdo is up to snuff for it. The best thing you can do is find the best part in your day to shower or bathe and change your schedule a bit if required.
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Shampoo is designed to clean the scalp and remove excess oil. But if it’s overused or if you work it all the way down the length of your hair, shampoo can damage your hair. Shampoo strips the important oils the scalp produces and can leave the hair and scalp too dry. If you absolutely need to wash your hair, try to use less or no shampoo. Your hair and scalp help produce oil that is healthy for you hair. This can help strengthen as opposed to thinning or breaking it because your hair it is brittle.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
3. Have a Good Diet
A well-rounded diet is an important factor in hair and scalp health. Hair is primarily made up of protein, so be sure to eat at least 45 grams of protein daily. Good sources include: lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, low-fat dairy products, and eggs. Diets with inadequate protein can result in weak, brittle hair and loss of hair color, as well as loss of hair itself. These are important factors in keeping your hair nice and healthy.
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A zinc deficiency can cause hair to shed as well. Incorporate nuts like Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews, and almonds into your diet to combat shedding. Be sure to eat and drink an abundance of vegetables, fruits, leafy green salads, and plenty of clean and filtered water. The idea is to also avoid getting overweight, because this can affect your hair as well. Lacking zinc can cause weight problems, and being overweight can cause zinc problems. Becoming overweight is an issue no matter what, so try to avoid it.
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Also, increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids may stimulate your hair follicles and sebaceous glands. While this won’t cause your hair to grow, it may improve scalp health. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish, such as salmon, sardines, and herring. Other good sources include: flax seed, yogurt, cottage cheese, salad, and cereal. There are plenty of other things omega-3 fatty acids are good for, too.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
4. Intermittent Fast
As mentioned before, fasting is one of the finest ways to keep yourself and the rest of your body feeling good. It helps you stay healthy is essentially a form of hardcore detox that gives the body a chance to heal. Be it intermittent fasting or prolonged fasting, either will help. However, just be aware that a mix of the two is important. It’s also important to be aware that getting nutrients is important when it comes to prolonged fasts. If you’re not getting any vitamins and minerals through supplementation, it can cause dehydration, starvation, and hair loss.
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Intermittent fasting does not necessarily have any proven benefits for causing hair growth; however, if the diet is undertaken properly it can over time cause hair to become stronger and healthier. In many cases, those who start intermittent fasting can actually experience temporary hair loss. This is why it’s important to start slow and be persistent, because the health benefits are numerous. Although, a recent report showed that autophagy is active during hair growth in an organ culture of human scalp hair follicles. This means that the inhibition of autophagy promotes hair follicle regression. A decline in hair growth and progressive loss of active terminal hair follicles are characteristic for aging.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
5. Supplements
There a numerous products and supplements out there that can help with your hair health. Biotin comes to mind for the number one hair supplement, and it’s part of the B-vitamin complex. It helps hair thickness in particular, and keeps it strong and healthy. The supplement also helps with skin and nail health, and is a great way to keep your hair from going away. A multivitamin or zinc supplements can enhance your diet when necessary, too. As you can see, there are various supplements listed on this article, so be sure to check them out. Other vitamins and minerals that you should get (from food or supplement) include, vitamins A-K, and iron, etc. They will help your hair grow and maintain health.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
6. Get Some Sun
Ensuring your scalp will keep producing thick, durable, and-style ready hair strands, it’s important to get enough sun. Current science says 5 to 10 minutes of sun on your skin, about 2-3 times a week, should produce the vitamin D your body (and your hair) need. However, if your hair has prolonged exposure to the sun, UVA and UVB rays can damage the outside cover of the hair strand, called the cuticle. Sun damage can come in the forms of discoloration, dry and brittle strands, broken or split ends, thinning and frizziness.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
7. Massage Your Scalp and Brush Hair
According to research, scalp massages increases hair thickness by stretching the cells of hair follicles. This, in turn, stimulates the follicles to produce thicker hair. It’s also thought that a scalp massage may help dilate blood vessels beneath the skin, thereby encouraging hair growth. It’s important to be sure that you’re not overdoing it though. If you scratch or pick at your hair, it can cause hair to thin by pulling on the hair follicle. This is why not being rough and pulling the hair is important to avoid. If you end up breaking your hair, it can cause it to not only look ugly, but weaken the hair all together.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
8. Don’t Screw it Up
You may need to keep some important tips in mind for healthy locks. Start off on the lowest heat setting while blow drying and gradually increase heat as needed. Allow your hair to air dry whenever possible. Change up where you place pins and clips so that breakage isn’t localized. If you dye your hair, choose a shade that’s within three shades of your natural color. Massage your scalp often to promote hair growth and increase blood circulation. Beyond that, be sure not to get any chemical burns or do any physical damage to the hair or skin. This is important if you want to keep the hair follicles alive and healthy to avoid lack of growth, etc. So, be sure to avoid smoking cigarettes when your hair is in the way … just quit smoking. The point is to avoid screwing anything up, at least too much.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
9. Apply The Right Shampoo and Conditioner
There are conflicting opinions about how often to shampoo your hair. It all comes down to personal preference and individual needs. This depend on: your hair type and texture, how often you use hair products, your activity level. For example, people with oily hair may need to shampoo every day. While people with dry hair may need to shampoo less frequently. Using the wrong shampoo and styling agent can cause significant hair damage. Look for products that are right for your hair type — oily, normal, or dry — and target any problems you have, such as dandruff. Try to avoid shampoos with harsh ingredients, such as ammonium lauryl sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate. And remember, cost doesn’t necessarily indicate the quality of a product.
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Conditioning after shampooing is an important step in keeping your hair soft, shiny, and manageable. You can choose a separate conditioner or a shampoo with built-in conditioner. Comb conditioner through for even distribution. Leave it in your hair for two to three minutes before rinsing out. Just like hair washing, not everyone needs to condition every time they wash their hair. Experiment to find what works best for you, and try to include protein related shampoos and conditioners.
The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
10. Cut it Occasionally and Avoid Stress and Drugs
Harsh shampoo, hair treatments, styling products, and excessive brushing contribute the most to poor hair health. However, other culprits include: overconsumption of alcohol, low-calorie and crash diets, and decreased thyroid hormone. Beyond that, excessive stress, blood thinners, some prescription drugs for heart problems, depression, high blood pressure, and arthritis are bad. If you have a condition, it’s important to take care of it, but just realize that it may affect your hair. Lastly, get your hair cut regularly — every 10 to 12 weeks — to keep hair healthy and prevent split ends. Even if it’s simply a small cut or trim because you want to keep it growing, it can help potentiate the growth.
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Drugs are bad because of negligence, and chemo drugs can cause direct hair loss. If you’re dieting too much, this can cause a problem where hair does not grow properly and can thin. This is why people with anorexia nervosa have problems with thinning hair. Thankfully, a diet that returns from malnutrition can reverse this hair loss, including with chemo drugs. There are also conditions where people pick their hair, and this can cause hair to come out in patches. Alcohol is known for hair loss because of the hormones affected.
Final Thoughts: The 10 Amazing Ways to Keep Your Hair Healthy
There you have it. Those are the 10 amazing ways to keep your hair healthy. It’s not really all that hard to do or figure out. All you really have to do is make a habit out of treating your hair like it matters. While genetics play a key role, your diet, the weather, pollution, and your overall approach to hair care are all critical. These considerations are almost necessary to maintaining your crowning glory. Find out how a healthy diet and proper care can keep your mane a head above the rest.
