Posts Tagged ‘Better’

Prevention is better than cure ? your hair will automatically replicate the feeling

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Hair Loss Prevention

The problem of hair loss has become a worldwide epidemic. As the body ages, the risk of hair loss becomes greater due to hormonal changes and a substantial decrease in active hair follicles. Although, about 95% of all hair loss can be said to be genetic, other factors like nutrition, overall health, hormone deficiencies, harsh chemical hair treatment and emotional stress also trigger hair loss. But there are effective ways that will help prevent hair loss in both men and women:

Eat a balanced diet containing adequate proteins and iron. Fruits, vegetables and healthy oils also prevent hair loss. Mega-doses of vitamins A and E can cause hair loss.

Keep your body hydrated because dehydration can make the hair look limp.

Exercise regularly as exercise increases blood circulation throughout the body, creates healthy body cells. Hair follicles are made up of cells and exercising keeps hair healthy. Cells reproduce when they are provided with increased energy and this directly affects the hair.

Reduce anxiety and stress through meditation and yoga or through other forms of relaxation techniques. Negative charges in the body have a negative effect on the hair.

Avoid harsh hairstyles like tight pigtails and cornrows. In addition, you must avoid the use of curling iron, hair blowers and hot rollers; these put pressure and stress on the hair as well as the scalp.

Harsh chemicals like permanent hair colour, hair sprays and gels are best kept away from the hair because they have the potential to damage the hair. Colouring and treating the hair also spoils the texture of the hair.

Use gentle shampoos and conditioners and wash the hair regularly with warm water to keep the hair healthy. The lathering ingredient in most commercial shampoos, called surfactant, can irritate the scalp and cause itching which results in damaged hair and thus increased hair loss.

Massage the scalp with essential oils like lavender and rosemary oil in an olive oil base to stimulate blood circulation to the scalp and promote hair growth.

Use herbal extract supplements such as saw palmetto, licorice root or nettle root extracts that block the formation of DHT or the hormone that causes hair loss. These supplements dramatically slow down and also prevent future hair loss naturally.

Keep hair safe from fungal infections by keeping the hair clean at all times. It is also essential that you do not share hats, brushes or hair care products to help prevent fungal infections of the scalp. Preventing hair loss due to fungal infections will require oral medication or special shampoos.

Pattern baldness can be prevented by using certain medications including topical medicines. Replacement surgery is also an option.

Drug or treatment side effect may also enhance hair loss. However, more often than not, once the treatment or medication is stopped, hair loss automatically ceases.

Smoking and alcohol also damage the blood supply to the hair follicles. Studies reveal that alcohol can indirectly influence baldness.

Prevent sun exposure as the UVA and UVB rays from the sun can damage the texture of the hair, making it easier to fall or break. Therefore, it is essential to prevent the hair from direct sunlight and covering the head is a good of achieving this.

Handle your hair with care because it is both delicate and fragile. It is as important to retain the hair strands as it is useful and important to curb its loss when it comes to having healthy hair.

Helping Hand for Hair Loss

Most hair loss is genetic and can therefore not be prevented in any way. However, other factors also influence hair loss and these causes can be prevented from resulting in hair loss. If you take some simple precautions and good care of your hair, you can delay and even prevent hair loss.

Hair can be lost to improper care and damage. If the hair is over-coloured, over-styled, or ill-treated with irons and blow dryers too often, it can result in hair loss. It is advisable to colour your hair once every two months or less. Colouring can damage the hair and you can have healthier hair if you don’t colour it. Furthermore, stretching your hair into styles that require pulling and braiding can also damage your hair. Care must be taken to desist from these hairstyles. Moreover, remember that brushing adds body to your hair and however essential it is, it should never strain your hair.

Proper nutrition and rest are both essential for healthy hair. Eating well, drinking plenty of water and getting enough calcium, will works wonders for our hair, keeping it healthy and enhancing its tensile strength. Getting eight hours of sleep is also important. This regulates all our body functions and facilities, keeping it in optimum working condition. Illness can also result in hair loss but when we keep our body healthy we are less likely to fall ill and thus have a better chance against hair loss.

Using a good shampoo and conditioner and keeping the split ends trimmed will also aid hair health. Instead of using hair dryers, it is better to let your hair dry naturally. Retain hair styles that set on their own and do not require a lot of styling on a daily basis, as this can irrevocably harm the hair. In addition, avoid wearing hats that rub on the scalp causing bald patches.

Taking good care of our hair and providing a helping hand to prevent hair loss will reap its own rewards in the long-term. Hair must be treated gently if we want it to stick around throughout our lifetimes.

If you have suffered hair loss and wish to alter that you can use various methods that help with hair restoration and growth. However this is not an overnight process and takes time regardless of the method chosen. Even the most effective hair loss product must be given a time period of at least 3 months before it can show any signs of improvement.

Hair is very much a part of our bodies and abusing the body can directly hamper hair growth and health, leading to most common hair loss. Being physically and mentally healthy can not only prevent but also restore hair loss.

Alternative Medicines and Treatments for Hair Loss

Complementary therapies if natural rarely have any side effects that are otherwise noted with prescription drugs. Two goals must be achieved when dealing with hair loss. They are:

Stop thinning and balding of existing hair Promote healthy and natural growth of hair

Natural ingredients do work to enhance hair health. What’s more, even if these products are not effective, they will not result in any untoward side effects. These products include:

Jojoba Oil, chemically similar to human sebum, is used as a vital ingredient in cosmetics and personal care products, especially skin care and hair care. When it is massaged into the scalp, it slows down the thinning and balding effect and effectively stimulates new hair growth.

Saw Palmetto, a well-known herbal treatment for hair loss, it has the capacity to slow down hair loss and stimulate new hair growth. In addition, it can block the build-up of DHT, the primary reason behind most hair loss. Working in a similar manner to Finasteride, saw palmetto is a natural yet effective hair loss treatment, without the side effects associated with prescription hair loss treatments.

Stinging Nettle, another well-known natural hair loss remedy, it has been used for ages now as a natural remedy for hair loss. Like Saw Palmetto, this also prevents the testosterone from producing DHT. It works best in combination with saw palmetto and Pygeum, effectively promoting hair growth and stopping further hair loss.

Pygeum, an herbal remedy for hair los, it works to impedes the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase that is responsible for the production of DHT. It prevents the production of DHT from testosterone. When used in combination with saw palmetto and stinging nettle, it stops hair loss in its tracks.

Green Tea has a remarkable ability to inhibit 5-alpha-reductase, which in turn hinders and blocks the production of the hair loss causing hormone, DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Hair loss can be embarrassing and frustrating and dip one’s self confidence. However, there are no miracle cures for hair loss and every treatment is time consuming. We can also investigate other therapies that are in use to remedy hair loss. However, these therapies may or may not work for every individual. These therapies include:

Exercise is both preventive and therapeutic as it improves blood circulation to all parts of the body, including the scalp. Increased blood supply to the follicular cells will stimulate hair production. Although exercise cannot be counted on as a hair loss treatment, it does have a beneficial affect on the body.

Hormone therapy is prescribed for certain types of hair loss. Nonetheless it does come with its share of risks. Corticosteroids applied topically or injected into the scalp can be painful and may cause permanent scarring in the scalp. Hormone therapy in the form of birth-control pills may however reverse baldness due to hormonal imbalances in young women.

Cortisone when taken orally can stimulate new hair growth but that is likely to be temporary. Though Prednisone, another orally administered steroid, has been proven to be effective in some cases of alopecia areata, it does have its share of side effects which include weight gain, metabolic abnormalities, acne, and menstrual problems.

Hair transplantation is another technique used to combat baldness. This involves the relocation of skin from parts of the scalp that have active hair follicles to the bald areas. Several hundred plugs may be implanted before any hair growth can be noticed. Moreover, the transplanted hair may drop out, but then new hair usually grows from the transplanted follicles within a few months. This process is however both painful and expensive and does not retard genetic or age-related hair loss.

calp reduction is more a form of cosmetic surgery that involves tightening the scalp so that hair-bearing skin from the back and sides of the head is pulled towards the crown. Hair is then transplanted to the remaining bald areas. This process is also painful and expensive and does not halt genetic or age-related hair loss.

Why Natural Perfumes are Better for You and Smell Better Than Their Synthetic Counterparts

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Perfumes have been around for hundreds of years. Dating back to the Ancient Egyptians, beautiful, natural scents have been harvested in the form of essential oils and florals to produce fragrant scents that are appealing to the senses. Scents like sandalwood, jasmine, and citrus were popular natural fragrances.

In the beginning, natural perfumes were just for the rich. Over time, it became more popular for other segments of society to wear perfume. The only problem with mass producing perfume was that it was expensive, and the profit margins weren’t as big as they could be. Since it was so expensive to produce, perfume makers started to seek out alternative sources for scent. Thanks to the miracle of science, perfumes became easier to produce for big companies as they invented synthetic scents. These synthetic scents were much cheaper than their natural counterparts. The first synthetic perfume ever created was Chanel No. 5, by Coco Chanel. The perfume industry underwent a massive change from natural perfumes, to synthetics, and profit margins were now much higher. The ingredient cost dropped drastically. More time and energy was focused on the “brand” of the perfume and the fancy packaging. To beef up the image, expensive magazine advertisements and beautifully (yet deceptive) ads were created to market the product, and it worked. The illusion of a great product was there, but in actuality, it was a bunch of chemicals made to smell like the product you were expecting. Less time was going into making a great product, and more time was going into cutting costs and deceiving the public with synthetics and clever advertising.

When synthetic perfumes became more popular, natural perfumes all but vanished. Little attention was paid to the ingredients inside the perfumes, and the perfume industry to this day has complete control over what they put into their fragrances. One of the most concerning ingredients in perfumes is petroleum. 95% of the ingredients in most perfumes are derived from petroleum. They include benzene derivatives (used as an additive in gasoline and a sweet-smelling perfume ingredient), Propylene glycol (used as an ingredient in antifreeze and widely used in the perfume industry), Phthalates (Plasticizer used primarily in vinyl and also a perfume fixative), and many other known toxins and sensitizers.

Perfume industries actually have it pretty nice. At their own free will, they can add any ingredient to their product without having to conduct any safety tests or product disclsoure, since the ingredients are considered “trade secrets.” Not many industries have this type of free reign over their product.

Synthetic perfumes are also the cause of headaches for many people. The three previously listed chemicals which are petroleum derivatives, Propylene glycol, Phthalates, and Benzene Derivatives, are three culprits of headaches. Compare wearing these scents to smelling gasoline at a gas station. At first, it smells pretty good, but if you stand there long enough, you’re probably going to get dizzy from the fumes. The dangers of phthalate exposure have been documented to have scary consequences for young children. Propylene Glycol, too, has negative consequences to the human body if ingested in large doses (though small amounts may cause headaches and nausea – like the ones you may get from synthetic perfumes!). Since there is so much controversy surrounding these chemicals and what they can do to the human body, it’s best to avoid them all together.

Natural perfumes, on the other hand, will not likely give you a headache. They are never overpowering, always subtle, and always refreshing. A truly natural perfume is made with essential oils and floral extracts. Each bottle of natural perfume is also slightly different from bottle to bottle, due to different growing conditions and variations in color. They can be mixed, matched, layered, and applied daily in different ways to make unique scents every time you wear them, depending on your mood. When you go natural, you’ll be avoiding the chemicals associated with synthetic perfumes. You’ll also be experiencing perfume the way it was meant to be experienced, just as the Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and perfume artisans of Paris created them long ago.

Is Mineral Makeup Really Better

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

The Benefits of Mineral Makeup over regular or “traditional” makeup sold on the market today are, in fact, many. The number one reason most women make the switch is that Mineral Makeup can actually make a woman’s skin look younger. Because it is a very lightweight and silky texture – not heavy and weighed down – it gives a very natural, and younger, look. Because Mineral Makeup is truly made up of micronized minerals, it actually sits on the skin and doesn’t absorb into it, so it doesn’t clog pores or cake up in lines or creases. It sweeps away fine lines rather than accentuating them like regular makeup often does.

Liquid makeup is so yesterday. These days, women the world over are wearing the new “hot” product – mineral makeup. Those who haven’t converted, however, might be unclear on the concept. What’s all the fuss about anyway? Isn’t putting minerals on your face a bit odd? Mineral cosmetics and makeup is hot for a reason. There are many benefits to using this natural product on your skin, which we’ll outline here.

Most mainstream shampoos contain sulfates which is great for making lots of lather but not so great for your personal health, your hairs health and even the environment’s health. So why are the mainstream companies still using sulfates in their brands of shampoos? For the most part it is because sulfates are cheap to make and create lots of lather. Being that we are all have become accustom to the idea that lots of bubbles means really clean hair they keep making cheap shampoos.

A perfect face is what we all crave, but only few of us are blessed with one. Dark circles, pigmentation, wrinkles, skin burns etc spoil the beauty of our face. To get a picture perfect face and a radiant look people take resort to makeup. There are various types of it available nowadays in the market but, mineral make up is now the talk of everyone.

First of all – what is mineral makeup? Mineral makeup is made from naturally-occuring crushed minerals, usually zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxides and mica. These loose minerals are combined together in different quantities to make a variety of mineral makeup powder formulations such as foundations, finishing powders, concealers, blushers, bronzers and eye shadows. The minerals titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in particular, act as a natural sunblock, effectively filtering UVA and UVB rays to deliver sun protection of up to SPF 20.

Although mineral makeup may be the new rage, it is actually not new. Women and men have been adorning their bodies with “earth colors” since ancient times. Recently, conventional methods have led to the development cosmetics that are less than natural and chock-full of chemicals and sometimes even carcinogenic, ingredients. Mineral makeup is an attempt to get back to basics, using naturally occurring minerals which are ground to a fine powder, as the base for the makeup.

With mineral makeup as popular as it is, you might have become interested in using it yourself, but there are many brands and just as many or more promises. You might wonder what the hype is about as well as if you will see any true benefit from using mineral makeup.

Mineral makeup has become as popular as it is for a reason. It’s ideal for most skin types and generally flatters those who wear it. Let’s look first at some of the benefits of mineral makeup and then examine a few of the top-selling mineral makeup companies.

If a makeup is said to be in its most natural form, then it must be a mineral powder makeup. Mineral makeup contains no talc, oils, dyes, fillers, or any harmful chemicals that can leave your skin dull and lifeless. This type of makeup contains nothing else but pigment minerals such as titanium oxide and zinc oxide. These are naturally occurring compounds that won’t cause allergies on your face or block the pores of your skin. Mineral makeup is lightweight and fresh. And it can make you look gorgeous minus the nightmares associated with conventional makeup.

Mineral makeup is available at retail stores and online. Bare Minerals is a company that sells it and has free in-store consultations. You can also purchase this makeup at pharmacies, like Rite-Aid, CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens.There are usually labels as such and is not to difficult to identify it.

Sephora is a store that carries makeup from multiple companies.It is a store that you can probably find at your local indoor mall. If you search for mineral makeup online, you can find a number of stores that sell it. You can search shopping in google and you may find discounted items too. I would play it safe by buying makeup from a retail store.

Sheer cover mineral foundation is just one example of a product available in a range that has become hugely popular and is great make up for black women. I am sure you have seen one of the many infomercials that is presented by Leeza Gibbons. She talks about the products with lots of people including regular everyday folk and lots of famous people like the singer Leanne Rimes.

Mineral foundation makeup is quick and easy to apply. When you purchase the product you receive an application brush and really good instructions on how to mix and blend the powder so that it is right for your skin tone.

This product has taken into consideration all the different skin types and skin tones that there are so if you have pale ivory skin, you will find something to suit you and if you have a dark African American complexion, there is a foundation blend just right for you.

Detoxing Ion Foot Baths For Better Health!

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Technology has played a role in our health. We are surrounded by wireless phones and computers and while they play a tremendous role in increased productivity, they also create an imbalance in positive and negative ions in your bodies system. When you sit in front of a computer all day you are bombarded with positive ions coming at you from your monitor and wireless phones anywhere in your vicinity. This makes you feel tired and sluggish and you can lose some of your concentration. It can be difficult to sit there for long periods of time. To undo this phenomenon, you need a boost of negative ions to put you back in balance

Have you noticed that when you are in the mountains near trees and a waterfall, or paddling down a river or just walking on the beach with the water lapping around your feet how much better you feel? This is because you are bombarded with an abundance of negative ions. This gives you that comfortable peaceful feeling we all seem to crave these days. No wonder people flock to these crisp clean air destinations to get some much needed down time.

Being that most of us are bound most of the year to our jobs and home, we tend not to experience enough of natures natural balance. And to make things worse, we are living in an environment that is far more toxic today than our fore fathers. Everything we eat, drink and breathe is more toxic than it was even 20 years ago.

An ionic foot bath is a great way to restore that feeling of well being and detox at the same time.

It works by filling a plastic tub of clean water, add sea salt, which is high in minerals, place the array and your feet in the water and the array will put out positive and negative ions. This travels through your body attaching itself like a magnet to oppositely charged toxins and mucus and excretes it through the pores in your feet. If you’ve never seen the results of a foot bath then you will be amazed at what you see. What started out as clean water will become very dirty indeed. The color of the water determines what area of the body is detoxing.

How to read your water:

Black or brown water is the liver.

Orange; means the joints.

Dark green; the gallbladder

Yellowy green; kidneys, urinary tract,

White foam; Lymph nodes draining

Red flecks; blood clot material

Black flecks; heavy metals

With the liver and kidneys taking a heavy load of toxins it is not unusual to see a lot of people with brown and black water for several foot baths. But don’t be surprised one day if you develop a urinary tract infection and your water turns green. People with arthritis will often have orangey water.

If you leave the array in the water for the allotted time you will see some color change because it will react with the minerals in the water, but placing your feet in the water changes the consistency and you will have mucus, foam and or flecks in the water, sometimes so heavy that you cannot even see your feet. Just the array in the water may be colored, but will remain clear.

Some of the benefits of ion footbaths are;

1) An enhanced the immune system

2) Assists in recovery time from injuries and surgery

3) Can relieve pain and joint stiffness due to arthritis

4) Improves sleep pattern

5) Remove heavy metals

6) Removes blood clot material

7) Improve liver and kidney function

8) Increase your energy

Detoxing is a normal function of the body but when it gets overwhelmed and pain or disease sets in, then we must do what we can to help the body unburden itself and ion foot baths help you do that.

Anything you can do to relieve your body of toxic build up will be beneficial to your health.

I hope this helps!