No more bad hair days!
Why you should choose
certified organic hair care
You can get some excellent organic hair care products today. Some of you may already make this WISE investment - but I was scrolling through the pages of 'Hair care' questions and answers on Yahoo recently (If you're not familiar with "Yahoo! Answers"...take a look, but it's addictive, so watch out!)- and I was just amazed by the lack of worthwhile recommendations! It struck me how little people seemed to know about what could REALLY be causing many of their hair care problems.
As I had a plan to 'talk' about organic hair care products here on www.gonando.com - and as I felt compelled to answer a couple of questions on Yahoo(which it seemed could apply to many people with 'niggly' hair issues out there) it seemed sensible to relay those answers to you here...
But be sure to see our Organic Hair Products page as well as this one!
Question 1:
Is it really possible to restore health and shine to damaged hair?
My hair has a tendency to go 'woolly' after washing it and needs a day to settle down. I have used hair straighteners on it in the past but not very often. Any suggestions as to what might help make it healthier and restore it to some kind of good condition. Is that possible? Thanks.
Firstly - of course it is possible to restore health, vitality and shine to mal-treated hair...but first you have to recognize just what could be causing the problem...(here's my answer):
Many people do not realize that the VAST majority of hair care products - shampoos, conditioners, treatments, dyes, etc, etc...are a concoction of chemicals that - far from helping your hair aften reduce the healthfulness of your hair and scalp – are actually undermining its health and vitality.
What you need to consider is that hair shampoos often contain chemicals that actually weaken the hair - the solution then seems to be using a 'conditioning' product...and these seem to work for a while for many folks...the point is the manufacturers KNOW that their shampoos weaken your hair...which they do not care about, because it means they can market another product to you!
Conditioners generally involve coating your hair with certain synthetic chemical waxes or related substances. This is what give you a false sense of having healthier, shiny hair...all you are doing is coating your hair with more chemicals, that in the short-term give the false-impression that because your hair is shiny it must be 'healthy! Often the lustre imparted by conditioners last for only a short time - and requires regular use, coating the hair with layers of chemical muck.(Until the manufacturers launch ‘new improved’ XYZ...to lure you to try even more products).
The ONLY way out of the merry-go-round is to change to 100% natural, (preferably certified) organic hair care products (make sure they carry an organic certification, eg USDA - otherwise they you may just be being 'conned' by 'marketing hype').
The bad news is that when you 'make the change' - for a short while your hair will be going through a 'detox' period and may, for a short while, seem even worse...This is natural, because it is being stripped of all the chemical support it has relied on and the true dreadful state of you hair will be apparent for a what may be a few days, or even a few weeks.
Slowly - maintaining the use of safer non-chemical, non-toxic products by sticking with organic hair care products - you will see your hair return to its genuine natural state - and become thicker stronger, healthier than it has been for years.
ON A SIDE NOTE: If your diet is poor, and or you suffer some type of underlying health issue, you may still need to provide some additional support for your hair to become really healthy and shiny - in which case - once again you should only choose - 100% natural conditioning or serum treatment - from a certified organic hair care range.
If you take this advice it is almost certain you will see amazing and remarkable improvement in your hair...and at the very least you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have eradicated a host of unpleasant chemicals from your life!
Naturally I had a taste for providing advice by the time I had finished this piece (like I said, it's addictive!;-D)...So I added my thoughts to another question that no-doubt affects many folks. This time about greasy hair and seeing as it was a problem I had personally encountered it came from the heart! ;-)...You'll note some similarities in the advice - because naturally, it is important that people get the message about just WHY choosing safer alternative organic hair care is so important:
Question 2.
Greasy Hair? It's really annoying I have to wash it every day or it looks horrible the 2nd day. Any Tips?
I know the problem! I had the same regime for years. Only recently I discovered some facts about shampoos and conditioners that helped explain why I had the problem...I have made appropriate changes and ...the problem has all but gone away - naturally.
Typical off-the-shelf shampoos, whether cheapo 'own brands' from supermarkets/stores to expensive designer stuff, to expert 'celeb-hairdresser personality' creations...are almost all total chemical cocktails. (Sometimes with an occasional minor amount of a natural ingredient added as a token gesture for marketing purposes!)
Of course, shampoos contain detergents/degreasers - they have to to remove grease, oils and dirt. Very typically (check your bottles now) they use Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (US: Sulfate) (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES). These are very effective degreasers - so much so they use the stuff to clean garage forecourts!!!...Amazing though it seems they are also very widely used in personal care products.
These detergents (and their 'sister' chemicals Ammonium - Lauryl and Laureth - Sulphate) are harsh and abrasive – therefore they weaken the hair and make it porous, so that it easily ‘absorbs’ stuff...like your natural scalp sebum (oils) making hair look greasy very quickly) – but they do create lots of 'creamy rich foam'. (AND these are JUST ONE of many chemicals used routinely in hair care that actually undermine the health of your hair).
Sadly 'creamy rich foam' is a marketing nonsense that we have all been 'conned into believing' represents a ‘rich luxurious’ product. We have been 'taught' by endless advertising campaigns that 'creamy rich lather’ means ‘great product'...this is plain and UTTER RUBBISH.
Imagine how these powerful degreasants strip all the natural oils from your scalp and hair - like these products/chemical components do. Naturally, your body reacts in 'overdrive' producing more natural protective oils...its a vicious circle...your hair gets oily/greasy again quickly - so you wash it again with harsh detergents...etc., etc.
Eventually you think - maybe I need a shampoo for 'greasy hair'...EVEN WORSE...as it is essentially the same as the other stuff but with even more harsh detergent added!!!
Then typically - you start to support your lifeless weakened hair with more chemical laden conditioning. If they are NOT organic hair care products - off-the-shelf conditioners are usually a blend of chemicals and synthetic waxes - along with synthetic fragrance, synthetic colours, and synthetic preservatives...You hair can become 'overwhelmed' by layers of wax and chemicals...so you really do not see or know what your true hair is like any more.
The radical (and I'd say only real) solution is to get all the toxic chemical rubbish out of your bathroom cabinet.
You should change to a 100% natural, chemical free products - ideally choose a guaranteed (check it is officially Certified) organic hair care product (made from all natural, organically grown ingredients - so that you can be sure that not even the chemical residues from farming, that can be found in natural BUT non-organic hair care products, can affect your hair).
From experience I can suggest the organic hair care shampoo Desert Flower shampoo from miessence, or maybe their Lemon Myrtle shampoo (which is designed for oilier hair - but is NOT full of harsh detergent). You can check these organic hair care shampoos along with superb products others here at the miessence online shop.
After the first few washes - you may experience a period of 'de-tox' whilst your hair sheds all the chemical residues. This can be a difficult period for some people - for me the transition was immediate and my hair just got better and stronger (and regained it natural colours). Some folks have a difficult week or so whilst their hair regains its strength. BUT it is worth the short-term pain for long term gain in terms of getting back your true healthy head of hair!
As your hair gets its natural strength and consistency back - you should notice that it is nowhere near as greasy. I now find that a shampoo every third day is about right. I also find I use a less shampoo per wash using these organic hair care products - so even though the product is more expensive than the cheapest brands - it lasts around 3 times longer...BUT BE WARNED...do not expect lots of ‘foamy lather’ – just a gentle natural foam that is all, from the natural ‘saponified’ plant based ingredients! (Stick with the transition... it is worth it!)
AS A SIDE NOTE: If you suffer from naturally greasy skin - then some dietary changes could also help you. Drink plenty of pure fresh water. Reduce fatty foods to a minimum and reduce consumption yellow/hard fats (margarines/lard) and use modest amounts of (preferably virgin) olive oil, or virgin coconut oil (expensive, but superb) for cooking.
If you have any health issues which could be affecting your hair strength and quality, or exacerbating your natural oil secretions...or you cannot wait to 'treat your hair' to a tonic - you could also consider using the 100% natural, organic hair care conditioner - which contains ONLY natural and beneficial ingredients...not synthetic waxes and weaking chemicals that make you hair more porous like mainstream brands. (Amongst the organic hair care choices at the miessence online shop it is a shame I cannot describe the wonderful, fresh, natural aroma of the hair conditioner!)
[If you have really mistreated your hair in the past - that is if you've ever used heated tongs, curling irons , straighteners...etc. on your hair OR you have commonly used synthetic chemical colorants, dyes or bleaches...then amongst the organic hair care choices a superb hair-repair serum might be necessary. These three simple organic hair care choices - shampoo, conditioner, serum - in your armoury should ensure that your hair is soon back to natural, blooming health!]*
In my experience - and that of our family - of using organic hair care products this regime really pays off, in more ways than one.
[ * - I added this paragraph...just for visitors to www.GoNandO.com... because some folks have sadly developed what amount to terrible grooming 'habits'...BUT once you change to CERTIFIED organic hair care products you are almost bound to see an world of difference, as many users have testified. Be sure to check-out the miessence B5 Hair Repair Serum if your hair has suffered badly, in the past! NOTE: The page can take a few seconds to load sometimes - but it's worth looking through the organic hair care products range, when you get there.)
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