Keeping your hair healthy and vibrant when travelling can be a challenge. Airplane travel leeches moisture from both our hair and skin, while changing time zones wreak havoc on our circadian rhythms, which has a knock-on effect on your health in general.

Here are a few tips to follow when you are about to embark.
(more...)

It would be too good to be true if taking a little pill every day would solve our hair issues. Or would it? Drugstores and health-food stores abound in products promising shinier, fuller and even longer hair, as well as treating hair loss. But do these items really deliver? The scientific community is clearly divided on the issue.
Let’s take one brand as an example: Inneov, a French brand of nutritional supplements which is the fruit of a partnership between L’Oréal and Nestlé (beauty and “nutrition”!). Inneov claims that its hair supplements work to reverse hair loss and if taken for a minimum of 3 to 6 months it will even make hair fuller and thicker. The brand goes on to state that its supplements enter the bloodstream to actually attain the follicles from where each hair begins its journey. (more...)

For those of us who cringe at the thought of chemically coloring our hair, henna is a healthy alternative, and if applied properly it can do your hair good. A powdered extract of the Egyptian plant Lawsonia Inermis, henna has been used as a natural hair and skin dye for thousands of years, mainly throughout India and the Middle East.
Henna is best suited to dark or reddish hair types, and not to lighter hair—unless you’re aiming for bright orange locks!
(more...)

Choosing a hair mask at your local drugstore or beauty supply store can give you a headache in no time. For those of you who like tinkering in the kitchen, you can just as easily make your own mask at home. All it takes is a few essential oils (visit your health-food store) to concoct your own hair potions. It might be a bit tricky the first time, but once you’ve made your first batch, you’re home free!
(more...)

I’m sorry to say that no matter how technologically advanced our hair care products are today, our hair still ages, which means it thins, goes gray and sometimes falls out.
But what exactly happens to our hair as we age? Like our bones and organs, including our skin, there are just fewer cells reproducing as we get older, and our hair in no exception, and a lack of protein within the hair shaft means thinner and oftentimes coarser strands.
When it comes to gray hair, for years it’s been common knowledge that the melanin inside the hair naturally slows down production as we age. But a recent discovery by Germany and UK-based scientific teams has called into question the traditional thinking on why we go gray. Their recent studies have shown that the appearance of gray hair is actually caused by a build-up of hydrogen peroxide within the roots of our hair.
(more...)

Back in the day, women colored their hair when the inevitable strands of gray showed up. Much to hair care brands’ delight, covering up gray is now the tip of the hair-coloring market iceberg—today women begin coloring their hair as early as age 13 (mainly highlights, of course) and many continue doing so into their sunset years.
There are a wide variety of hair colorants (formerly known as dyes) available today, from temporary tints and henna to “permanent” coloring, which often contain harsh chemicals.
You need to hit on just the right color so that it both flatters your skin tone and looks as natural as possible. Even if you choose to go technicolor blue, pink or purple—some of these colors will be all wrong, while others, no matter how wacky, will actually suit!

Here are a few tips when choosing a new color:
(more...)

There are lots of things you can do to maintain healthy hair. Here are 5 no-nos when it comes to keeping it in prime condition.
(more...)

Understanding your hair needs and what products address those needs begins with knowing what kind of hair you have.

Here are six main categories:
(more...)

Your hair texture doesn’t depend on whether your locks are curly, straight or frizzy. Fine, medium, coarse or thick hair exists in all these categories. So where does your hair’s texture come from? It’s all down to the actual circumference of the hair shaft—thick hair has the largest, while thin has the smallest. The circumference of the shaft comes from the actual size of the hair follicle lodged in our scalp; larger follicles produce thicker hair, while, you guessed it, small follicles make thinner hair. However, all is not lost—someone with very fine hair can have a lot of it and appear to have a truly thick mane!
(more...)

The old adage “you are what you eat” also applies to your hair. Indeed, how your hair looks is not just a reflection of your hair care routine and which potions you use, but of your diet.
Medical research clearly shows that hair “issues”, such as thinning and hair loss, are more often than not due to dietary deficiencies—an insufficient intake of vitamins, minerals and protein. Remember, your hair is mainly made up of proteins!
Although there are a startling number of supplements on the market promising to deliver a healthy head of hair, the easiest, cheapest and most natural way to a good hair day is through your diet.

Here are some foods that will keep your scalp and hair looking good.

(more...)