- Beauty Basics - Eight
Tips For Naturally Beautiful Hair
- By Ololade Franklin
Looking for a more natural approach
to hair care? Here are some tips to help your hair look and feel
its best.
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1. Avoid shampoos that contain sodium laurel sulfate,
or sodium laureth sulfate. These chemicals are synthetic detergents
that are used in dishwashing liquid and other cleansers. They
are valued because they lather well, but they are very harsh,
and can dry out your hair. Instead, look for shampoos made with
decyl glucose, or decyl glucoside, which are much gentler.
2. Give yourself a hot oil treatment to deep condition
your hair. Warm oil penetrates the hair shaft making the hair
more flexible and giving it shine. This can also help to prevent
split ends which result from dry hair.
3. Eat right and consider taking vitamin and mineral
supplements to encourage healthy hair. Several vitamins and minerals
have been shown to help hair growth and condition including biotin,
vitamin E, vitamin B, vitamin C and MSM. |
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4. If you are an African American, or if you have
extra curly hair, avoid brushing your hair. Use a wide toothed
comb, or your fingers to work with your hair. Brushes can destroy
African American or extra curly hair by shearing it out of the
scalp.
5. Look for essential oils, herbs and vegetable
oils in your hair care products. Essential oils such as rosemary,
ylang-ylang and west Indian bay help to stimulate hair growth.
Lavender and tea tree are naturally antiseptic and help to fight
dandruff. Vegetable oils such as soybean oil, safflower oil and
corn oil are moisturizing and conditioning to the hair shaft.
6. Avoid sleeping in hair accessories such as barrettes,
scrunchies, head bands, etc. This can lead to hair damage.
7. Massage your scalp to help stimulate hair growth.
Massaging helps stimulate hair growth by increasing the blood
flow to the scalp. This nourishes the hair roots and helps to
stimulate the hair growth process.
8. If your hair ends are damaged, give yourself
a trim every so often to remove damage. |
Readers' Hair Care Secrets
