HAIR CARE · DIET & HEALTHY HAIR

Eat your way to beautiful, healthy hair. Just like your body, your hair also needs a balanced diet to stay healthy.

Diet solution for dry and brittle hair:

If your hair is dry and breaks easily, it is probably a lack of essential fatty acids. By including plenty of good sources of essential fatty acids in your diet you can give your hair back its strength and lustre.

You can find these essential fatty acids in oily fish such as tuna, sardines, trout, salmon, herrings and mackeral. Also in seeds, nuts, olives and avocados. You should try to eat four servings of oily fish a week.

Sprinkling flaxseed oil and pumpkin seeds over your morning cereal is another great way to get these much needed essential fatty acids in your diet.

To keep your hair well hydrated, be sure to drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water ever day!

Another nutrient important for hair strength and growth is trace mineral silica. Silica is vital to the strength of hair, and can stop hair breakage, unfortunately many of the foods we eat in the western world lack this mineral. Through food processing and chemical soil treatments, trace minerals are rare in our diets.

When possible, always choose organic produce. Foods that a rich in silica are rice, oats, lettuce, parsnips, asparagus, onion, strawberry, cabbage, cucumber, leek, sunflower seeds, celery, rhubarb, cauliflower and green, leafy vegetables.

Diet solution for greasy and lanky hair:

A lack of vitamin B in ones diet can lead to oily, greasy hair. To fight off greasy hair, be sure to eat lots of whole grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, eggs, wheatgrem, legumes and green, leafy vegetables. These are all great sources of B-complex vitamins.

Also steer clear of oily foods where possible.

Diet solution for hair starting to turn grey:

Although the link between premature greying and diet hasn't been established, evidence does suggest the amino acid tyrosine - which acts as a precursor to color producing pigments in the hair and skin - can help!

Diet solution for hair that is starting to thin and fall out:

Thinning hair or hair loss may be a sign of iron deficiency. Be sure to eat plenty of iron rich foods, such as red meat, eggs, legumes, wholegrain cereals, dried fruits and green, leafy vegetables.

Since hair is composed mostly of protein, your hair will most likely respond well to the addition of high protein foods such as meats, eggs, cheese, seeds and nuts. These protein-rich foods can help reinforce the hair follicles and prevents the hair from falling out.

There is some evidence suggesting soya protein helps stimulate growth, so switch to soy milk and include some tofu, miso and soy beans in your diet.

Vitamin E is found in green, leafy vegetables, nuts and grains and can also help hair loss. Hair loss can also be a sign of thyroid dysfunction. To stimulate the thyroid gland, eat foods rich in iodine such as seafood and kelp.

Also including iron and B vitamins in your diet will help. Stick to a diet rich in antioxidants - fruit, vegetables and tea - to help slow the ageing process in general.

Foods, Vitamins and supplements to help hair growth

Hair is mostly protein, so nutritionists advise those wanting healthy hair to eat well balanced diets that include healthy proteins, along with foods high in vitamin B, C, E, A and K.

Your hair will most likely respond well to the addition of high protein foods such as meats, eggs, cheese, seeds and nuts. Fish has good protein as well as essential fatty acids and natural oils.

Vitamin B - Green vegetables, beans, sunflower seeds, nuts and peas.

Vitamin C - Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, melons and berries.

Vitamin E - Avocados, rice bran, nuts, dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains.

Vitamin A - Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, cantaloupe and apricots.

Vitamin K - Seafood, dairy, figs, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, brussel sprouts, cabbage, dark green leafy vegetables, oatmeal, soybeans, wheat, yoghurt, egg yolks and liver.

HAIR CARE · CAUSES OF HAIR DAMAGE

As it grows out of our scalp, our hair is no longer alive. Once the hair is damaged, the hair has no way of repairing itself because its already dead.

So many things can damage our hair, and although natural wear and tear can't be avoided, you CAN protect your hair from many damaging elements.

Healthy looking hair has a smooth, tightly closed cuticle layer that protects the inner cortex from drying out. The cuticle layer allows hair to maintain its moisture balance, and gives hair its elasticity, strength and shine.

Hair damage can range from uplifted cuticle scales resulting in dullness and decreased shine to bubbled and brittle cuticles to complete removal of the cuticle layer. Damaged hair is dry, porous, weak and hard to manage.

Some of the signs of damaged hair are:

• Hair looks dull and lack-luster
• Hair feels dry and brittle to the touch
• Hair is difficult to comb because it is always tangled
• Hair is flyaway and has split ends
• Hair is hard to manage and may be difficult to style

Some of the causes of hair damage are:

Excessive brushing and tearing of the hair. Excessive brushing or combing, especially when your hair is wet can seriously damage your hair. Hair is most vulnerable to breaks and tears when wet. Be gentle and use a wide-toothed comb (not metal though!) or a brush with natural fibres.

Hair pins, clips. These types of accessories clip onto the hair so tightly to stay in place, and often the tightness will cause hair to break. Never use rubber bands to tie the hair back. Use a fabric scrunchie or loose fitting comb or clip with rubber padding.

Too much heat. The best advice is to allow hair to dry naturally and not to use any type of heating tool. However, in reality this is hard to do. If you can't live without your hairdryer or flat iron, try to use it on the lowest setting possible.

Sun damage. Skin isn't the only part of your body that needs protection from UV rays. Summer sun worshipers are especially at risk for hair damage, but UV rays damage your hair every time you step outside into daylight-even in the winter. No, you don't need to wear a hat everywhere you go, but definitely be conscious of the sun's rays and cover up if you're going to be out in the sun for a while.

Chlorine and Salt Water. When swimming in chlorine water or in salt water, always wash hair afterwards with a clarifying shampoo. There are specially formulated shampoos for swimmers. The chlorine and the salt in the water can dry hair and make it very brittle. By washing the salt and chemicals out of the hair immediately after a swim may prevent this from occurring.

Over-perming. You should never re-perm hair until the original perm has grown all the way out. A normal perm damages hair, so a perm on top of a perm is a double whammy.

Over-washing. Yes, washing your hair too much can dry out your scalp, cause flakes, and lessen the natural oils on your head that protect your hair's roots.

Cold weather. Cold weather dries out hair more quickly because there is less humidity in the air. This dryness, combined with the cold makes hair brittle and susceptible to breakage. Weekly deep treatments can help to protect hair from being dried out.

HAIR CARE · HOME HAIR CARE TIPS

Keeping your hair healthy and beautiful does not have to cost a fortune.
In fact, with just a few common household ingredients, you can give your hair a deep moisturising treatment, give yourself subtle highlights or prevent dandruff.

Here is a list of homemade hair treatments and hair care products.

HOME-MADE HAIR RINSES

Protect your hair with a hair rinse. These hair rinses correct the hair's pH and remove residue from shampoo and other hair products, leaving the hair healthy and shiny.

Why Vinegar? Vinegar removes build-up and residue from the hair shaft and closes the cuticles. Vinegar restore natural pH and prevents an itchy scalp. Although plain white vinegar works fine, apple cider vinegar seems to be the preferred vinegar. As your hair is drying you will smell vinegar but once your hair dries there will be no smell.

Apple Cider Softening Hair Rinse

Mix 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar with 3 cups distilled water.
Directions: Pour over your hair as the final rinse. It will leave your hair feeling soft. Good for all hair types.

Shiny Hair Rinse

Mix the juice from 1/2 lemon, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of water.
Directions: Shampoo and rinse hair as usual, then pour the mixture on your hair and massage into the scalp. Rinse with cool water.

HAIR COLOR · HAIR COLOR DISASTERS

What do you do when your hair color ends up a disaster? Can it be fixed at home?
Should I save a few dollars by dying my hair at home by myself?

If you have a hair color disaster, it is from one of two possible scenarios:

1. You went to a professional stylist or colorist and came out with a hair color disaster.
2. You were suckered in by advertising and took the risk of coloring your hair by yourself, in your own home.

A common mistake people make is thinking that hair color is foolproof and will turn out like the picture on the box. NO NO NO! Do not believe this!

Hair color is not like paint that can just be removed with paint remover. Nor can it always be painted over.... Like a white wall, sometimes you cannot paint over the mistake with corrective white paint. First, you have to remove the wrong color, which can take a few sessions.

If you want to fix your hair color disaster, prompt action is necessary! Most experts believe you have a 48-72 hour window before the color has a chance to lock into the cuticle. Contact a professional colorist immediately.

Try not to panic and rush to find a solution that might cause even more harm. Many people try to fix their color problems themselves at home and often makes the problem a lot worse and can potentially damage your hair beyond repair.

Avoid the temptation to add more color or try to remove the color at home with bleach or other harsh chemicals.

• Hair color is a reflection of light off the colored pigment of the hair shaft. Different colors add or subtract from the hair color giving it various hues and shades.
• Hair dye is not like paint. It doesn't just "paint" the color onto the hair. Permanent hair color permanently changes the color pigment in the hair shaft - it does not wash out although certain colors may fade over time.
• If you end up with a horrible hair color, it cannot wash out or be reversed. It can, however, be correctively colored back to a color similar to the original color. This should be left to the professionals only and can take a couple of visits!
• IMPORTANT - Always do a strand test on a few strands of uncolored hair to get an idea of the color you are ultimately going to obtain. You can do a little bit of mathematical juggling by adding more or less of a particular color to get the desired color. For drastic changes in hair color do get professional help.
• Apply the hair color on small, thin sections of hair, bit by bit, 1/2 to 1/4 of an inch in width. This may be awkward to do alone, so get a friend to help.
• The ends of long hair are usually more porous than the rest, so apply the color to the middle section of your hair first, about one inch from the scalp down to about two inches from the ends. We do this because the body heat from the scalp causes bleach and hair dyes to develop quicker.

Some temporary fixes for your hair color disaster:

Colored shampoos which can sometimes help soften the bad coloring.

Cut your hair short to minimise the effect of the bad color.

Try to accelerate color fading - hot water is known to fade chemically colored hair, some volume shampoos and gels may help fade color (they are designed to open the hair cuticle which speeds up color loss)

Try using a shampoo mix of 2 oz. of 20 volume peroxide, 1 oz. shampoo and 1 oz. warm water. Stir well and apply starting where your hair color is the darkest. Speed things up by wrapping your head in plastic wrap and sit under a hair dryer. Check the color every 5 minutes til satisfied then shampoo and condition hair as per usual.

HAIR CARE · HAIR GROWING TIPS

The most common question I get here at HairStyle.com, is how to make hair grow faster.

Unfortunately the truth is there is no instant way to grow long hair. Long hair is a committment and something that takes alot of time and care.

If you want long hair for a specific event, such as a wedding or prom, then hair extensions, clip on ponytails or long wigs are the only solution for instant hair growth.

Not everyone can grow a head of waist length hair. If you have fine, thin or severely damaged hair, you may have a difficult time growing your hair past a medium length.

Your hair grows up to 6 inches a year. The weather can also affect the your hair growth - hair tends to grow more rapidly in the summer, while growing more slowly during winter.

If you're ready for the commitment of growing long hair, make sure you continue to have regular trims to keep your hair looking and feeling healthy. It might seem like the quickest way to grow your hair is not to cut it at all, but that is not the case. Regular trims, every 8-10 weeks, will keep your hair looking good while you go through many stages of growing it out.

Wear and Tear

Once your hair emerges from your scalp, it is considered dead and has no way to renew itself. So by the time your hair is past your shoulders it is a couple of years old.

Even if we look after our hair, it is still a long time to face the daily wear and tear we inflict on our hair - brushing, washing, blow drying, dying and more! This daily damage plus your bodies health can all impact on your hair growing abilities.

Reasons for slow hair growth

A healthy diet also plays a major role in your hair's condition and growth rate. Nutritional deficiencies can lead to thinning hair - ultimately your hair reflects the condition of your body.

Your hair may stop growing if you have any health problems or are suffering from any nutritional deficiencies.

Since hair is protein, a low protein diet may sometimes be the cause of a slow hair growth cycle. If you eat a protein-rich diet, it will often result in improved hair growth.

Excessive stress is known to slow down hair growth, and can even lead to hair falling out. If your life is particularly stressful, try to set aside some time for meditation or relaxation. It has also been discovered that regular sleep can help your hair grow faster (7-9 hours a night is suggested).

Foods, Vitamins and supplements to help hair growth

Hair is mostly protein, so nutritionists advise those wanting healthy hair to eat well balanced diets that include healthy proteins, along with foods high in vitamin B, C, E, A and K.

Your hair will most likely respond well to the addition of high protein foods such as meats, eggs, cheese, seeds and nuts. Fish has good protein as well as essential fatty acids and natural oils.

Vitamin B - Green vegetables, beans, sunflower seeds, nuts and peas.

Vitamin C - Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, melons and berries.

Vitamin E - Avocados, rice bran, nuts, dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains.

Vitamin A - Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, cantaloupe and apricots.

Vitamin K - Seafood, dairy, figs, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, brussel sprouts, cabbage, dark green leafy vegetables, oatmeal, soybeans, wheat, yoghurt, egg yolks and liver.

Hair Growing Tips

• Eating a healthy diet. Avoid or cut back on smoking, drinking alcohol, caffeine and foods that are high in sugar or fat. These are all bad for your body, and will affect the condition of your hair.
• Allow your body to grow hair by giving yourself plenty of sleep and rest. Give yourself time to relax when you're feeling very stressed.
• Buy a good quality brush or comb - avoid cheap plastic brushes.
• Treat your hair carefully by avoiding any unnecessary brushing.
• Limit the use of styling tools such as straighteners, hair dryers and hot rollers - these all cause stress to your hair.
• Have regular trims to get rid of split ends and to keep your hair looking and feeling healthy.
• Weekly scalp massages provide stimulation to the hair follicles.
• Also do a weekly hair treatment to protect the hair's shaft.
• Avoid chlorine and saltwater. If you go swimming, shampoo your hair as soon as possible afterwards. If you spend alot of time in the sun, use a conditioner that provides SPF protection.
• Do not brush your hair when wet. Use a wide tooth comb and be gentle with your hair when it is wet. Do not rub it vigorously with a towel
  

HAIR STYLES · WHAT IS MY FACE SHAPE?

It's hard to be objective about your own face shape, but here's a sure fire way to be sure your not biasing your own analysis. Hair designers are the ultimate judges of your face shape, but if you need a little help try this experiment.

There are lots of suggestions on how to figure out your shape, from outlining your face shape on a mirror with lipstick to draping it with a towel and asking others to help you guess the shape. But, there is actually a scientific way to determine your face shape once and for all.

To find out the shape of your face, measure it with a tape measure or ruler. You will take the following measurements.

1. Measure your face across the top of your cheekbones. Write down the measurement on a piece of paper.
2. Measure across your jaw line from the widest point to the widest point. Write down the measurement.
3. Measure across your forehead at the widest point. Generally the widest point will be somewhere about halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline. Write down the measurement.
4. Measure from the tip of your hairline to the bottom of your chin.

Oval Face Length equal to one and a half times width. Forehead is wider than the chin. Prominent Cheekbones. Face gracefully tapers to a narrow oval chin.
Round Face Your face is as wide as it is long. This may vary a little but generally the measurement is close. Face is widest at the cheeks.
Oblong Longer than it is wide. Forehead, cheekbones and jawline are all about the same width. Can tend to have a prominent chin. Has an elongated appearance.
Heart Narrow at jaw line, wide at cheekbones/and or forehead. Similar to oval, but the chin tapers to a point.
Square Your face is about as wide as it is long. Forehead, cheekbones and jawline all about the same width. Squared jawline is the most obvious feature.
Diamond Widest at cheekbones, narrow forehead and jaw line of approximately equal widths.
Triangle Reverse of the heart-shape. A dominant jaw line with narrowing at the cheek bone, temples and forehead.

HAIR STYLES · WHAT HAIR SUITS MY FACE?

Even though you may love the latest celebrity hair style, it might not be the right hair style for your face. The shape of your face and the proportions of your features will help tell you what hairstyle is best suited to you.

• Oval-shaped face
  You're lucky - this is the kind of face shape that suits just about any hairstyle. Both long and short hair cuts look great on you, as your face shape is well balanced. The chin and forehead of an oval face shape are in even proportion.

  Avoid covering up your perfect face shape with heavy bangs or wearing your hair on your face. You'll lose your face shape and it may add weight to your face.

• Round face
  Hairstyles with fullness and height at the crown will give the impression of a narrower face. Try a cut with layers while keeping the sides close to your face to make your face appear longer. Round faces suit either short hairstyles swept back from your forehead, or hairstyles that are longer than chin length. Wispy fringes and side parts are also good.

  Avoid chin length hair, center parts, fullness at the sides of ears, straight "chopped bangs - these wll all emphasise the shape of your face.

• Heart-shaped face
  The heart shaped face is widest at the temples and narrowest at the chin, which can appear pointy. Short hair and chin length hair often looks great on this face shape, as the fullness can even out the jaw and chin lines. Chin length bobs, short shags, swept forward layers and wispy bangs all work well.

  Avoid full styles that emphasise the upper face without balancing out your narrow chin. Too much height at the crown and tapered necklines will make you look top heavy.

• Rectangular, Long face
  If your face is long and slender, with your forehead and below cheeks about the same width, hairstyles that balance out the length of your face work best for you. These include short to medium lengths with fullness at the sides and soft wispy bangs. This will shorten the length and add width to your face. Layered styles work well and add softness to the straight lines of your face.

  Avoid too much length, it will only make your face look longer. Too much height will also lengthen your face.

• Square face
  If your face is square, with a strong, square jaw line and often an equally square hairline, the right hairstyles for you are ones that soften the square look of your face. Short to medium length hair cuts, with soft wispy bangs and a wave or curl will compliment and balance out your straight face shape. If you hair is straight, maybe consider a body wave. Side parts and fullness/height at the crown can add length to your square face shape.

  Avoid straight styles - long straight hair, blunt bangs, straight bobs and center parts, as they will emphasise your square jawline.

• Triangle face
  If you face is triangle, with a wider chin that narrows at the forehead, you want to stick to styles that narrow your chin and widen the forehead. This will balance out your features. Shorter hair can often balance our your prominent jaw line, as well as styles that are full at the temples that taper at the jaw. Off center parts, wedges and shags are also good styles for you. Lots of layers will give you the fullness through the upper part of your face.

  Avoid Styles that are full at the jawline and center parts.

• Full forehead, long chin
  If your forehead is large and your chin long, it can help to add volume below the chin line to balance it out. A thick layered cut or mid-length bob will add fullness where it's needed. Bangs can also reduce the look of a full forehead.

• Large features
  Full hair can help downplay a large nose or other feature and can help balance out large features. Straight hair, parted down the middle or a long, heavy fringe will make a larger nose seem even more prominent. Subtle highlights in your hair can help by drawing the eye towards the hair and away from the face.

• Long or short neck
  A long, graceful neck is a beautiful and desireable feature and should be shown off and considered when choosing a hairstyle. Short hair can really show off your neck, however long hair can also add to your already graceful neck when worn in an elegant style, like a twist or updo.

  If you want a short hairstyle and your neck is short, create the appearance of length by tapering your hair at the base of the neck and fuller on top.