Your Crowning Glory – Hair
Lovely, shining hair is one of a woman’s greatest beauty assets. Hair tends to be the body’s barometer indicating good health or the lack of it. The life–span of a hair can be anything from several months to several years, depending on how it is treated and how healthy the scalp and hair conditions are. It is seen that the average life of a hair is about five years. After that, the follicle the hair is growing from begins to shrink and the hair remains static until it drops out or is brushed out to be replaced a few months later by a new hair. The average adult scalp has around 1,20,000 to 1,50,000 hair. Although a hundred of hairs may come out in a single day.
Your hair won’t become thinner. The trouble starts when the new hair does not form in the follicle, perhaps because there is inadequate blood supply, or because glandular or hormonal activity in the body is preventing healthy growth. Hair is a precious beauty asset, so it deserves good care. There are four types of hair–normal, greasy, dry and greasy dry. Normal hair is shiny yet not greasy, and fairly easy to manage. Greasy hair looks good for a day or two after shampooing, but then quickly becomes lank.
Dry hair is difficult to control after shampooing, looks dull and has ends that are dry and split. Greasy dry hair is usually fairly long and the hair nearest the scalp is greasy while the ends are dry. The beauty of hair, too, depends on good health. Since hair is made from a form of protein, a high protein diet can help to make it grow strong and healthy.The valuable vitamins of the B Complex are important for brewers yeast. Another good source of Vitamin B is the liver, so make sure your diet includes at least one liver meal a week. Minerals important for the health of your hair include iron, copper and iodine. Iron and copper are present in everyday foods like meat and leafy green vegetables. If you have greasy hair, banish fried, greasy and fatty foods from your diet, and concentrate on green vegetables and salads, meat, fresh fish, liver, eggs and cheese. For dry hair, add a little vegetable oil to the same basic diet, but avoid fried food, since it may cause skin troubles.
Dandruff can be a problem for dry, normal or greasy hair. A well–balanced diet and good general health are essential for getting rid of dandruff permanently. Eat a lot of food rich in proteins like cheese, lean meat, eggs, poultry and fish. Also include sprouted pulses, nuts, yogurt and cottage cheese in your diet. This will give hair strength and shine. Do not eat junk food on a regular basis. They contain unsaturated fat which is not good for your health. Also avoid dairy products. Drink skimmed or semi–skimmed milk which is low in fat.
