More help for naturally beautiful hair

Last week’s article on how to help with thinning and problem hair certainly provoked some interest, and no matter what the state of your hair you owe it to yourself to use the best, preferably natural and organic, products you can find. The reason for this is simple; to maintain really healthy hair you want products with no harsh chemicals and totally paraben-free. One of the benefits of my ‘other’ job as a ghostwriter is that I get to learn a lot of stuff about areas I am not that familiar with and I am currently working with a client who is trying out lots of different organic hair care products and sends them to me for my comments. Nice job, and like all things some are great and some are not so great, but one thing is clear – if you care about your hair then treat it to the sort of natural ingredients that will most nourish it and not deplete it of its natural oils.

I was very impressed with a new range by US hairdresser John Masters, whose Organics Hair Reconstructor was listed as one of top 10 products beauty editors could not live without. It apparently works miracles on healing dry hair and split ends and as long ago as 2004, he was awarded the coveted Soil Association Award for Best Organic Product Line in Europe. Oh, and if you want your dog’s hair to look as wonderful as your own, he also produces Eucalyptus & Tea tree Dogpoo shampoo – originally for his own dog – and it is said to ward off ticks and fleas with added essential oils of neem and citronella, and formulated to be the correct pH for a dog’s coat. Remember, it’s for the dog, not you. There are a number of good organic ranges around if you want to experiement so have a look at these websites, and don’t be surprised if it tempts you into the alternative shampoo market with natural ingredients like Apple, Lemon, Almond, Orange, Mango & Rose! Useful sites to visit include:

www.johnmasters.co.uk
www.simply-nature.co.uk
www.GreenPeople.co.uk
www.natural-and-organic-toiletries.co.uk

Natural help for healthy hair

No matter what your age, your hair reflects your state of health and particularly as we get older it is more prone to weakness and thinning. You don’t have to accept poor or lacklustre hair as a given, because there are plenty of things you can do naturally to help improve its condition. These suggestions might help:

Thinning hair: The hormone natural progesterone has been used by several trichologists to help people with thinning hair, in particular Ailsa Bosworth of Hair Tomorrow has had good success. The ‘recipe’ for healthy hair is to have a good intake of iron, zinc, vitamin C and B vitamins. All of those can be got from a good healthy diet but if you have a serious hair loss problem then it will be worth while taking them as supplements. A natural way to stimulate hair growth is to go out in the countryside and pick some nettles or get dried nettle from any good herbalist, or online from people like Neal’s Yard. This old-established method is easy to follow, because instead of using shampoo, you take a handful of loose nettle tea and boil in water. Strain the tea, let it cool and then use it to ‘wash’ your hair.

If you can’t bear not to use shampoo, then please pick one that is organic, mild, natural and PEG free. That excludes most commercial, major brand shampoos no matter how ‘herbal’ or natural they claim to be. Not sure what to look for? Avoid these:

* sodium lauryl sulphate
* sodium laureth sulphate
* diethanolamine
* isopropyl alcohol
* propylene glycol
* anything ending in ‘parabens’.

Always read the label, and if you have trouble finding such a shampoo locally, then Simply Nature have a very effective natural one and you will find it on their website at www.simply-nature.co.uk. Your scalp matters if we are not happy with your hair, it’s tempting to hide it away under a hat or scarf, but please don’t. Your scalp has to be healthy to allow new hair growth to come through, and in order to do that you need to keep your pores and hair follicles free of dead skin cells. One of the best ways to do that is to massage your scalp every night before you go to bed.

Here’s a great two fold process: first using a metal comb tap all over your head with it for about a minute. It has to be metal, not plastic, because tapping with metal will create tiny electromagnetic currents on the scalp that stimulate the cells in the hair follicles. Next, you massage your scalp gently with a few drops of jojoba oil. It will naturally and gently help cleanse your scalp and contains lots of great hair nutrients like Vitamins C and B and the hair health mineral Zinc.