Beat woman worries
Wednesday 07 July 2010
Dry/greasy hair, weak nails and spots may seem trivial matters to some but they can get women down. As if we don’t have enough to worry about!
Worry no more though as your Closer Online team is here to help you beat the above women worries the healthtastic way.
Hair
Too greasy
Greasy hair is linked to the overproduction of sebum, a waxy substance that keeps your hair soft.
Buy a shampoo for greasy hair/children’s shampoo: ensure you massage the shampoo into the roots where the grease emerges from. But don’t rub too hard as this will encourage the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. Make sure you condition the middle and ends of your strands which tend to get dried out when using a shampoo for greasier hair.
Natural remedies: a mix of lemon and water can help to reduce your hair’s grease levels. It will make it lemon fresh too!
Zinc supplements, Evening Primrose and homeopathic rememdy phosphoric are also good for correcting sebum imbalances.
Regular washing: try to wash your hair regularly so that your hair gets used to producing a certain amount of oil
Too dry
Moisturising shampoo and conditioner: use an intensive moisturing shampoo followed by a hot oil conditioner. You can make your own hot oil conditioner by mixing a 1/4 cup of vegetable/olive oil with a tablespoon of conditioner and gently warming the concoction.
Natural remedies: Mix 1 egg yolk and half a mashed avocado before adding coconut milk and massaging into scalp and rinsing
If you have an aversion to coconut or avocado, why not try ginger oil to improve dry or damaged hair?
Add 1 teaspoon grated ginger to 1/4 cup sesame oil and mix. Massage into scalp and leave for 10 minutes before shampooing. Repeat on a weekly basis.
According to a natural remedies website, ginger root prevents dandruff while sesame oil is a natural sunscreen.
Wear a hat in the heat: this will prevent from drying out your hair.
Nails
Include more zinc in your diet: meat fish, eggs, courgettes, nuts and asparagus are some foods that are high in zinc. If you are on the Pill, this is particularly advisable as this contraceptive can lower your zinc levels.
More iron: people suffering from anaemia may have brittle nails – eat more red meat, spinach and pulses if this applies to you
Keep your nails short: this will prevent breakage
Don’t subject your nails to hard work: for example, wear gloves when doing the washing up
Wear vitamin rich hand lotion: this will nourish your skin and nails
Nail products: you might want to try a nail strengthener or if you’re addicted to wearing nail polish, apply a base coat first
Skin
Water: drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day is paramount to keeping your skin clear
Cleanse, tone and moisturise: doing this every day will give your skin the TLC it needs
Benzoyl peroxide: products including this reduce bacteria levels and unblock skin pores
Retinoids: this is treatment derived from Vitamin A – not only will it tackle your spots, it will also help to stop new ones from forming
Consult your doctor: check with your doctor what would be best for your skin
By Anisa Kadri
Ready to combat your hair, nail and skin worries now?