Posts filed under 'Organic Skin Care & Beauty'
If you’re like many women, bleaching, dying, or highlighting your hair may be a regular part of your beauty regime.
And if you’re like most pregnant women, you probably have some hesitation or even a fear about continuing to color your hair while baby is in tow.
Although research into the effects of hair coloring on baby’s health are still somewhat limited,many experts now contend the dyes are most likely safe and that women needn’t be afraid to color their world during pregnancy.
That said, don’t be surprised if your doctor still suggests you approach hair coloring with caution.
Because the dye is absorbed through the scalp and into the body (it can be identified in urine) some medical experts are hesitant to give carte blanche to hair coloring during all three trimesters. Often, many physicians advise holding off coloring hair with permanent dyes during the first trimester when your baby is undergoing important neurological developments. Coloring can then be resumed in the second or third trimester.
If you color your hair at home, look for products with the fewest number of chemicals and always work in a well-ventilated room, wearing gloves while handling the mixture. If you have your hair done in a salon, request the first appointment in the morning on their least busy day - when you are least likely to suffer excessive chemical exposure.
Hair Coloring Alternatives
If you don’t want to take a chance on coloring your whole head of hair, you may want to consider adding highlights - a great way of accenting your color and bringing light to the face, not to mention a little pregnancy glow! Because this process involves applying the chemicals one-half to one-inch from your roots, they don’t ever touch your scalp. So, they can’t get into your blood stream - which is safe for you and baby. You can also easily allow 8 weeks or more between appointments - minimizing salon exposure.
If you colored your hair before pregnancy, and want to ease up on treatments until after baby is born, look for a semi-permanent dye, containing low or no ammonia, and low or no peroxide. These generally contain fewer harmful chemicals, and work well to blend the different colors of your hair, making “roots” appear less obvious. What can also help: Color enhancing shampoos, designed to deposit temporary color so they can significantly extend the time between hair colorings.
Finally, you can also try a “hair mascara” - tubes filled with temporary color and topped off with a thick mascara-like wand. Because they only coat the outside layer of your hair and don’t get anywhere near your scalp, they are very safe to use. The wands are also faster, easier and safer than spray on temporary color -with no fumes to inhale - so they can work great to touch up roots.
Natural Hair Coloring Recipes from PamperingMom.com
To make your own ultra safe, all natural hair tints, try these recipes:
· For red highlights or to enhance red hair :Mix ½ cup of beet juice with ½ cup of carrot juice . Blend together, pour on damp hair, and let sit for one hour before washing out. If you spend that hour sitting in direct sunlight, the effects will be even more dramatic.
· For blonde highlights:Mix 1 cup of lemon juice with 3 cups of chamomile tea that has been brewed, cooled, and strained. Pour over damp hair and let sit for one hour - again sunlight will enhance the properties of the color. Wash out and follow with a conditioner. For significant blonde color use daily for up to three weeks.
· For brunette hair Prepare strong black coffee or tea. After washing hair, pour the mixture through hair 15 times, re-rinsing using the same liquid. ( You can do this by placing a large pasta or soup pot in the sink to catch the rinse, then pour into a large jar for the next rinse). On the final rinse through, leave on hair for 15 minutes, then rinse with clear water.
A word about perming and straightening your pregnant hair
While there is little in the way of scientific information on the safety of perming or relaxing your hair during pregnancy, perhaps the most convincing evidence against the their use comes directly from hairdressers. Most say that because pregnancy hormones frequently interfere with, or even change, the way your hair reacts to perm or relaxing solutions, you could easily end up with a look that is quite opposite of what you expected. Hair can get frizzy or straight instead of curly, or kinky and frizzy instead of straight. So forgo the perm or straightening for now - and opt for a style that’s easy to manage without the extra chemical treatments.
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Colette Bouchez is the author of “Your Perfectly Pampered Pregnancy: Health, Beauty and Lifestyle Advice for the Modern Mother-To-Be” and director of http://www.PamperingMom.com. |
Technorati Tags: pregnant, color, dye, hair, chemical-free, healthy, natural, tips, alternative
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October 9th, 2007
Kerri Hair experiment at 3 weeks and 3 days
Apprehensively, I went to my hairdresser, Bron, on Saturday to get my hair cut. Here’s a pic just before I got my hair cut and you can see the ends look a bit whispy and fly-away. I was somewhat concerned at what my hairdresser might say because I’m 4 weeks into my hair experiment and it is very controversial, striking up a virtual firestorm of comments online about hair being greasy (that’s the mildest remark).
My hairdresser Bron is the owner of a very busy, award winning hair salon and is a classic Aussie who tells me exactly what she thinks, no holds barred. This time I was just getting my hair cut, no color and not even my usual wash and styling. I didn’t want to have any products put into my hair, not even shampoo. Bron quickly noticed while handling my hair that it had changed. She kept running her fingers through my hair and commented that it was getting thicker and looked very good. Such a relief she didn’t think it was greasy or oily. If she thought that, she would definitely have told me.
My hair has been baby fine for years now but remember as a kid that I used to have thick, shiny hair. Baby fine hair can be good, it’s cooler in Summer and I’ve adapted to style it to suit me but I never forgotten the hair I had as a kid. I remember how much shinier and full my hair was when it was long. My school girl ponytail would bounce against my back rather than the feathery soft fine hair that tickles, a different sensation all together.
I shared with Bron that people have told me over the years that hair doesn’t change and that I must be mistaken. She said in her no-nonsense way that was rubbish and that she had seen people’s hair change. I thought about it and remember how lots of women say their hair changes during and after pregnancy. I remember my mother’s hair going glossy and having rich red highlights when she was pregnant at 34 years of age. So this gives me more evidence that hair really does change.
I like having long hair but thought that because it was fine, it looked a bit stringy or lanky at times. Bron has always encouraged me to consider those funky new fake hair additions to give my hair more body.
I shared with Bron that I am doing a few things differently to my hair without divulging the details other than to say that for the 5 previous days I had been taking essential fatty acids (Udos Oil). She said she could definitely notice the difference. She pointed out that my hair was healthy and shiny for most of the length and pointed out the last third didn’t look quite as good but said she was only going to take all of it off, just a bit of the ends. Bron explained we’d let the other part grow out.
The changes I’ve made have only been for 4 weeks so I know that it’s more than just the hair that’s grown during that time that’s changed. I was so excited after I left at the great feedback that I rang my friend Emelisa who knows about this experiment and has been interested in the results. She has quite short thick hair and said she definitely didn’t want her hair getting any thicker but does want shinier hair. I’m delighted she is so intrigued and is considering doing this experiment too.
Technorati Tags: hair, experiment, shiny, healthy, natural, tips, new, alternative, organic
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October 8th, 2007
As early as their mid-teens, some men begin to see signs of thinning hair, and by their twenties and thirties, almost 1/3 of men have some degree of balding.
In many cases, this is the result of male pattern baldness, a hereditary condition that affects millions of men. In addition to male pattern baldness, there are other causes of balding in men. Loss of hair can be a side effect of stress, pollution, infections, some medications, and exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Vitamin deficiencies can also play a role in hair loss, particularly deficiencies in iron or zinc. Whatever the cause, dealing with hair loss is difficult, and can even impact self-confidence.
Finding effective treatments for balding can be confusing. The choices are many: strong chemical treatments, hair-replacement surgery, or even wearing a hair piece.
But in today’s health conscious society, many men are looking for natural solutions for thinning hair. They are increasingly discovering the benefits of organic hair care products and selecting this natural, healthy way to care for their scalp and hair.
Fortunately, a wide variety of organic hair care products are now available. These organic products are beneficial to keeping existing hair healthy and stimulating hair growth, without exposing the skin and scalp to even more chemicals that may exacerbate the problem.
As with organic foods, no pesticides or hormones are used, which makes natural hair care products an attractive option for treating a not-so-attractive condition.
About the Author: Pam Lange Products offers a complete line of affordable all-natural hair restoration products designed to help regain hair health. For more information on these 100% organic products, please visit http://www.PamLangeProducts.com.
Technorati Tags: hair loss, men, pattern, chemical, organic, causes, tips, help, organic food, natural, healthy
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October 8th, 2007
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