Hair is much more than an accessory; it is an extension of the being. Hair has both physical and metaphysical components - just like us. Today, I'm going to focus on the physical components. The first step to having healthy hair is understanding how to physically nurture it.
Problems with our hair don't occur because we are lacking a hair product.
Hair problems always occur as a result of an internal imbalance. So don't play into the conditioning that we need 100 hair products! I only use a natural shampoo and conditioner, and hairspray on special occasions, and my hair is the healthiest, shiniest, strongest, and thickest it has ever been.
This post will give you the proper information you need to nourish your hair on every level and to correct any imbalance that has impacted your hair health.
Let's start by addressing the real root cause of some of our most common hair problems.
Hair loss: We lose hair excessively as a result of adrenal imbalance.
Alopecia: This condition occurs when we are missing a hormone blend that the adrenal glands are supposed to produce.
Dry/brittle hair: When the liver is sluggish, it interferes with circulation and nutrient delivery to the hair. Poor adrenal health also causes surges of excess adrenaline, which is corrosive to the hair follicles.
Dry/flaky scalp: Also due to a sluggish/stagnant liver.
Dull hair lacking shine: This is due to either not consuming enough key nutrients for hair health, AKA poor diet, or again a sluggish liver preventing the delivery of the nutrients.
Thin hair: The thinness/thickness of hair has a lot to do with genetics, but we can increase the thickness to a certain extent by cleaning up our insides.
As you can see, healthy hair starts from within.
The first and most important step to healing your hair is to adopt a plant-based lifestyle. Bring in LOTS of fruits and vegetables, and focus your eating entirely around these foods. This doesn't mean you have to be vegan or anything else. It simply means you want to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables everyday in whatever way works for you.
There are two key organs involved with hair health.
1. The adrenal glands.
Our adrenal glands sit on top of our kidneys, and they produce hormones such as adrenaline. There are many factors in our modern world that can negatively impact the health of our adrenals. Our high-stress, fast-paced lifestyles can easily push these glands past their limits. When the adrenal glands burn out (which happens to over 80% of humans at least once), they under/over produce hormones erratically, which impacts our entire bodies, including the hair.
The most important factor in healing the adrenals is grazing (eating every 1.5-2 hours). You do not want to go more than 2 hours without eating. It would be even more beneficial to focus specifically on Medical Medium's Adrenal Snacks, which are listed here. I also highly recommend reading my full post on adrenal fatigue on Instagram.
2. The liver.
A sluggish liver is caused by higher amounts of fat in the diet. Even vegans can be too high in fats by consuming a lot of nuts, seeds, fatty dressings, etc. Toxins also play a role in slowing down the liver. For optimal liver and hair health you want to reduce your toxic load by cleaning up the products you use in your daily life (see my favorite natural products here), eating organic plant foods as the basis of your diet, and keeping your fat intake between 10-15% of your total calories.
After following the guidance listed above to get your liver and adrenals back in balance, you'll want to focus on specific foods that are high in a key nutrient for healthy hair.
The nutrient of importance for healthy hair is silica.
…not biotin! Silica is found in high amounts in these foods:
Asparagus
Leafy greens
Artichokes
Melons
Cucumbers
These herbal teas are also high in silica and would be beneficial to sip on throughout the day if you are trying to improve hair health:
Dandelion
Rose hips
Nettle leaf
Other great foods to focus on for hair health include:
Wild blueberries
Papaya
Figs
Cherries
Taking care of your hair externally is also important.
There are two main factors that cause damage to your hair externally:
1. Chemicals.
The more chemicals you put on your hair, the more damage ensues. This includes all chemicalized products, shampoos, conditioners, hair color, and especially bleach when you lighten your hair color. There are some organic/natural hair colors out there that are better. I’m not saying you need to avoid all chemicals completely, but it is something to be mindful of. Thankfully there are a lot of organic and natural hair product options on the market now.
2. Heat.
This includes blow drying, curling, straightening, pressing, and all other forms of heat styling. Applying heat on the hair isn’t as damaging as bleaching or coloring it, but it’s something you still want to limit. I always wash my hair at night so that I never have to blow dry it. When I wake up it has fully air-dried, and I style it with a large-barrel curling iron on low-medium heat, taking large sections, and put a few loose curls in it.
Please keep in mind that hair healing takes time. Nourish it, be patient with it, and over time it will come back to life. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog, in which I'll cover the metaphysical components of hair!
Do you need more help with your healing journey? I offer private sessions here.