OMG! I'm so excited to join the GTG girls! Special thankies to Odara! I'll be dishing on hair products every Thursday (except this is Wednesday and wanted to get this out before the holiday weekend...lol). I've been through hell and high water with my hair and I'm sure most of you have too. This year by accident, I decided to go natural! My last relaxer was back in March and I did the big chop a couple of days ago. Since I "accidently" went natural, I did what's called
Transitioning. When you transition, you allow your hair to grow out along with your relaxed hair. Many women do this because they want some length to their hair when they finally cut off all the relaxed hair. While
Transitioning, I made sure I cut the relaxed parts of my hair (bout an inch at a time) once or twice a month. I also made sure to wear my hair in stress free styles because breakage often happens while going through this process. I also made sure I conditioned my hair religiously.
One important thing I noticed that a lot of sites dedicated to hair fail to discuss is the importance of healthy hair
FIRST- whether it be natural or relaxed. While many can offer you product recommendations for external use for your hair you have to remember healthy hair comes from
inside. That means eating healthy as possible...(we all have habits...lol) drinking plenty of water and taking good quality supplements. While I can't tell you want to eat, I can recommend some great supplements to take to help you grow healthy hair.
First up is Biotin. Biotin is a B-Complex vitamin. It's found in hair and nail supplements. You may also take it as a sole supplement. It helps strengthen hair and nails. I'm currently taking Biotin 5,000 mcg as a sole supplement. Prior to that, I found a brand that had it in 7,500 mcg! I couldn't find it again so I got the next highest dose. I have found a marked difference in the strength of my hair and especially my nails. I don't have a preference for a particular brand but this is what I'm currently using.
However, one of the BEST and I mean THE BEST hair supplements I've taken is Andrew Lessman's Healthy Hair, Skin & Nails. I swear
HSN is the devil but they did right by selling this man's products. My mom has damn near everything this man sells....lol. After seeing his presentation on HSN, I decided to give his supplement a try a couple of years ago. Sweet baby yeezus in a lowrider! This stuff had hair growing in places I didn't think could grow! Check out the supplement facts
here. They come in clear capsules and are finely ground into a fine powder. Best of all it doesn't contain any preservatives or additives. I was NOT disappointed taking this stuff. Now you may ask why I stopped taking it. Well the hair growth on my head was fabulous but the hair growth on my body was ridiculous....lol. I stopped taking it for a while to rid my arms and legs of "where the wild things" are look. Then the product was so popular they could hardly keep it in stock. But it looks like it's readily available now. So I will definitely be copping some! If you want to give this a shot I'd suggest getting the 50 capsule bottle for $16 to start or if you're more adventurous get the 100 capsule bottle. That's almost two/four months to try it out and see how it works. I don't expect it to work on everyone but with the results I had- I just HAD to recommend it.
Another great supplement to take is Silica. Not to be confused with Silicone. Silica is a
form of Silicone. It's found naturally in quartz. Your complexion and shiny hair all depend upon silica, apart from its other properties help your skin and hair to retain moisture and keep looking young. It also strengthens your hair, makes it less likely to become brittle, get split ends and that dull look. A good source of Silica is also found in Horsetail Herb Extract.
Three of the most important things are:
1. Make changes to your diet for optimal results and coupled with that
drink plenty of water. We often become too dependent on supplements and quick fixes to cure all and to make miracles happen.
You also have to do your part to help the supplements work. Start eating more fresh vegetables and fruit by incorporating them slowly into your diet daily. If water is too plain for you drink flavored seltzer water! It tastes just like soda minus all the sugar and crap in them. Or use flavor packets that use sweetners like Stevia or Equal. You expect to eat fast food 4 out of the 5 days a week, take these supplements and poof! you have miracle hair? LOL It doesn't work that way. If you put garbage into your body your results will likely be the same.
2. Be patient. If you just started a new supplement don't expect in 4 hours for your hair to start showing results. For some people they start taking supplements and start seeing results in as early as a couple of days to just a week or two. A lot of that has to do with genetic predisposition, environmental factors and just plain ole diet. Commit to a supplement for a couple of months and incorporate #1 if you haven't already. Maybe the miligrams aren't enough for you, maybe try a different brand. But at least try it for longer than two weeks before you deem it useless. Make sure you are CONSISTENTLY taking it as directed by package instructions. You can't complain that it doesn't work if you only took it once this week and picked up again three weeks later. DO NOT take more than the recommended dosage daily to try and speed up the process!!! Excess mineral intake is not only dangerous but can cause adverse health issues and in some cases death.
3. Being hair healthy means being emotionally hair healthy. Stop looking at the texture of someone else's hair and think you can achieve the same results. YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL! Your hair was meant to be different. Embrace it, love it and pamper it! Your hair is an extension of you. If you aren't physically and emotionally healthy neither will your hair.
I'd like to know what you're using and what works for you! Drop me an email!
martini@gimmethatglow.com and be sure to check back for more!
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