Healthy Hair Tips

Hair, your crowning glory, is big business.

We discuss healthy hair tips:

Have you ever calculated how many visits you make to the hairdresser and how much those visits cost?

I must confess I used to spend over £100 ($157) on each set of highlights when I lived in London. Looking back, I am astonished that I paid for a hairdresser to put synthetic chemicals on my head.

Times change and I have not dyed my hair in over twelve years. I like my hair colour. I do have some grey hairs but my hair is unique. It is cheaper to like my hair than pay to change it!

photo: Nia Technique

I am reading a book written in 1932 titled The New Home Encyclopedia. It is all fascinating but in particular “the care of the hair” pages which state: “when a woman is past middle age and her hair is turning grey, she may as well accept the inevitable with good humour and grow old gracefully.”

That got me wondering why dying the hair is so popular? The book discusses that worry and ill-health can cause the hair to split or bring the grey hairs long before they should appear. I wonder if our fast-paced life is making us grey earlier?

The 1930s care of the hair advice continues: “healthy hair, light or dark, can be washed every week in the summer time but only once a fortnight in the autumn and winter. Well brush the hair to remove the dust and any dandruff.” It continues: “many women with beautiful hair always rub olive oil well into the roots of the hair as this helps to open the pores and loosen the dirt in the same way that that oil will help to cleanse the face.”

Washing your hair once a week in summer and every two weeks in winter, can you imagine? I can. During my time at boarding school (a long time ago) I was only allowed to wash my hair once a week!

Frequent shampoo use can result in needing nourishing treatment oils to provide moisture. There are a few similar ingredients in shampoos regardless of price including sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. These synthetic chemical ingredients can strip the hair of its natural oils. Perhaps we could stop this cycle by washing the hair less? 

Kirstin French, of BeCleanNaturally.ca makes shampoo bars rich in aloe vera and vegetable glycerin to nourish the hair without stripping it. We were chatting and she said we need to “love our beauty the way it is” and I could not agree more.

See her at the Whistler Farmers Market Aug. 19 and 26.

Top tips for great looking hair:

Great oils for hair

Brush your hair daily to maintain circulation to the scalp;

The herb rosemary has been used as a hair tonic for years. Put some leaves in a cup of hot water. Once cool pour over the hair. Gently massage into the hair and scalp for a stimulating rinse;

Dandruff? According to Bruce Fife using coconut oil on the hair as a conditioner can help to control dandruff. Massage into the hair and scalp; leave in for 15 minutes to a couple of hours. Wash out with a gentle shampoo.

This article first appeared in The Question newspaper in British Columbia Canada.

Tell us, What do you do to keep your locks looking full of lustre?

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Photo Credit: The Nia Technique