Brides dream of the perfect wedding, and the perfect wedding of course comes with the "perfect bride". They undergo all kinds of pre-wedding treatments to make sure they will have that special "glow" and be picture perfect when they're ready to walk down the aisle.
For Shiny Hair: to achieve a natural shiny hair, put in a bottle dried leaves of nettle and cover them with wine vinegar or apple vinegar. Store it about 15 days in a dark place, making sure you shake the contents of the bottle every day. Then strain it, and pour vinegar into clean bottle and then leave it for two more weeks. Vinegar contains acetic acid that helps to extract and keep the essential ingredients of herbs. The nettle has astringent properties and improves blood circulation in the scalp. Add a stream of this vinegar when you rinse.
Also, for added shine after you wash and condition your hair, let a splash of cold water run through your hair. It's simple and effective!
For Oily Hair: Add lemon juice to your last rinse.
For Dry Hair: to combat dry hair you just have to mix two eggs with 1 teaspoon of rum and one castor oil shots. Apply it right before you wash your hair.
Give more life to dry hair by mashing a banana, adding to it a tablespoon of lime or lemon juice and sunflower oil. Mix well and apply the mask on dry hair. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then wash hair as usual. This is a fast, easy-to-prepare recipe which has common ingredients usually in the home. The result is hydrated, silky, shiny hair.
For Shiny Hair: apply a mask of wheat germ oil through all the hair and cover your head with plastic wrap. Leave it overnight and in the morning wash your hair and add a bit of apple vinegar when you rinse. You'll see how smooth and glossy you hair will look.
A mask to brighten hair, particularly if it is fragile and porous and it's very easy to do: mix a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with the yolk of an egg, a pinch of rum and a spoonful of flour. Beat the dough, apply on hair and keep it for a a few minutes. It is important to wash with shampoo and rinse well.
An excellent home-made treatment with softening and untangling qualities is the extra virgin olive oil. I recommend you to apply it on dry hair and massage your scalp with it. Leave it on for 10 minutes and then wash your hair as usual. Make sure not to this more than once a week because it could make your hair really oily.
For Healthy Scalp: give yourself a "shiatsu" massage, while you wash your hair. Follow these tips: 1. with the fingertips, make circular movements in the scalp. 2 Places the hands in crown and toward the base of the neck with circular movements. 3 Put a hand in front of the head and the other in the back, and simultaneously massaging with circular movements. Pressed strongly in this area for 10 seconds.
Although you could benefit from these simple remedies to fix the damages of your hair, there are other factors you should consider to improve the overall health of your hair, skin and nails.
Remember that skin and body care takes time, so start your new regimen at least three months before the wedding.
The hair growth can be affected due to several factors such as abandonment, external environment conditions, stress, prolonged illness, medication side effects, medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, or stress. Thin, fragile hair with split ends takes a long time to grow, because it is not healthy. Therefore, the best way to ensure good hair growth is to provide body essential nutrients from the food we take.
The hair growth largely depends on your nutritional status - vitamins, minerals, etc . The research I did indicates the most important vitamins necessary for hair growth are: vitamin A (causes sebum in healthy scalp), vitamin C (antioxidant), vitamin E (improving the movement of the scalp), biotin (produces keratin), inositol (maintains healthy hair follicles), niacin (promotes the circulation of the scalp), vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 which prevent graying and hair loss.
There are hundreds of products on the market that promise to ensure good hair growth. The most common ones based on the power of these vitamins are: citrus fruits, green vegetables, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, potatoes, green peppers, vegetable oils, soybean, raw seeds, dried beans, wheat germ oil, brewer's yeast, whole grains, eggs, liver, rice, milk, fish, turkey, chicken and red meat. These products contain the necessary vitamins, proteins and minerals that promote hair growth. They may be in the form of external, such as shampoos, conditioners, oils and sprays, or may even be in the form of tablets or capsules for internal adequate intake. Products for exterior applications have a very durable effect while the supplements in the form of capsules have a more lasting effect on hair growth.
The advantage of organic hair care products is its all natural composition. Synthetic, man-made products use ingredients and chemicals that can damage your hair and be a risk to your body when absorbed through the skin/scalp. You can quickly understand the difference of organic hair care products only by looking at the label.
Instead of a conditioner with a list of ingredients that you can't even pronounce, I recommend you to try John Masters Organic Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner www.johnmasters.com/lic.htm [1]. This conditioner is made with lavender oil, avocado oil, soy protein, white tea plant extracts and other botanicals oils. Your hair will be enriched with natural minerals and vitamins that will stimulate hair growth.
I am particularly in love with these products.
They are super natural botanicals, all ingredients recognized by the National Organic Program for the USDA. Once you try them for the first time, you will notice the dramatic difference it makes on your hair.
If considering vitamins for hair growth, some that I have looked into so far are:
Viviscal www.viviscal.com/brand/30/Viviscal.aspx [2], Shen Min www.shenmin.net/ [3] Hair Formula 37 www.hairformula37.com/ [4], Advecia www.advecia.com/ [5]
You should start these treatments 6 months prior to the wedding day.
When considering coloring/bleaching your hair, before drenching it in hydrogen peroxide, try natural hair dyes now available in pharmacies. The following are my top 10:
1. Herbatint
This hair dye system is made with extracts from plants and herbs that create deep, right colors gently and naturally.
They’re free of all the nasty ingredients you should avoid, including ammonia, artificial scents, alcohol, parabens, hydrogen peroxide, and never tested on animals.
2. Naturcolor
This is based on emollient herbal formulations with a wide range of beautiful tones to choose from. It is a permanent dye that is free of ammonia and safe for people with chemical sensitivities.
You should avoid ammonia in your hair color because it’s a toxic chemical that has been linked to many environmental and health problems.
3. Advanced Cosmetic Technologies Hair Color Kits
Made with 100% plant-based ingredients, this hair dye is as natural as it comes. Para-phenylenediamine (PPD), which is a chemical found in most conventional hair dyes, has been linked to serious health problems like renal failure, vertigo, and comas as well as allergies and asthma. But you won’t find any of that in these colors! They’re also free of bleach, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, and parabens and of course, they’re never tested on animals.
4. EcoColors
Infused with beneficial ingredients like flax oil, organic flower essences, silk, vitamin E, and natural preservatives, EcoColors is another great option that will leave your hair healthier than before you colored it. You can even mix the colors to create your own custom look.
5. Morrocco Method International
If you’ve ever wanted to try henna hair color, here’s an amazing option. It’s made with 100% plant-based ingredients that are vegan and fair trade.
Henna is a legume shrub that grows in all kinds of conditions in places like India and China and can be infused with colors from seeds, leaves, fruits, flowers, and more. It conditions your hair as it works and comes in numerous colors.
6. Rainbow Research Corporation Henna Hair Dye
This is another great henna option that will blend naturally with your hair color and fade gradually so that you don’t have to have ugly, obvious growth lines. This brand uses organic ingredients that are free of pesticides, chemicals, and additives. The ingredient list is one of the shortest around!
Another benefit of using henna hair color is that it can be applied to treated hair that’s already been permed, straightened, and even colored, so it’s perfect for those looking for an alternative colors that often can’t be mixed with these processes.
7. Surya Brasil
These products are free of PPD, parabens, lead, heavy metals, and contain natural active ingredients. Their cream henna mixes are easy to apply and are made with things like Ylang Ylang, jasmine, sandalwood, and rose essential oils.
8. Aubrey Organics
Free of PPD, ammonia, and coal tar dyes which are petroleum-based colors that start with labels like FD&C or D&C and are known carcinogens. In fact, this brand is 100% chemical free.
9. Hennalucent
100% organic with ingredients grown in the Himalayas. They’re a professional product that will penetrate the hair shaft while conditioning the hair completely. Made with flowers, organic herbs, and the like and free of peroxides, harsh chemicals, and metallic salts.
10. Logona Natural Body Care
Made with exotic ingredients like green clay and birch leaf extra, this hair color is vibrant and brilliant and works in 10-15 minutes.
Instead of damaging your hair and putting your body at risk with other popular name brands made with harsh chemicals, nourish your hair with one of these 10 "greener hair dyes" made from plant-based ingredients that are not only good for you but also for the environment.
As you can see, there are alternative ways of beautifying yourself without compromising your health. This way when you say your "I do's" and "promise to love each other for as long as you both shall live" you'll be adding years to your life by watching not only what you put in but what you put ON your body. Printing and sharing (or emailing the link) to information like this to those around YOU can help spread this kind of information and help others learn, so they can do healthier too.
When planning your special day, think about your "happily ever after", the commitment you make with yourself to stay healthy and live a long happy life with that special someone. A beautiful bride is one that radiates health and joy of life. That special glow that emanates from the inside will be the one to give you that picture perfect look on your wedding day.
Start planning for a healthy walk down the isle!
Congratulations ~~ Mari
Mariluz Fontanez, cosmetologist with over 14 years of experience in the beauty industry. Mariluz holds a Bachelors degree in Communications; majored in Film/TV Production and minored in Public Relations. She was recently diagnosed with CFIDS/Fibromyalgia and it is now her passion and personal quest to put her skills to good use by making a huge impact in the media through an educational, fun interactive Fibromyalgia awareness campaign: "Beauty from Pain". Together with Dr. Mark Guariglia, Mariluz has created IFAC (International Fibromyalgia Awareness Campaign), a support group on Facebook www.causes.com/causes/514018 [6] with a very optimistic approach in health and overall wellness. Mariluz finds Lumigrate to be the perfect venue to bring light to this campaign and help so many affected by this syndrome.
Links:
[1] http://www.johnmasters.com/lic.htm
[2] http://www.viviscal.com/brand/30/Viviscal.aspx
[3] http://www.shenmin.net/
[4] http://www.hairformula37.com/
[5] http://www.advecia.com/
[6] http://www.causes.com/causes/514018?m=9e4cc0c7
[7] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#comment-763
[8] http://twitter.com/lumigrate
[9] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#top
[10] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/582%23comment-form
[11] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/582%23comment-form
[12] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#comment-764
[13] http://www.RebuildingWellness.com
[14] http://www.rebuildingwellness.com
[15] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#comment-765
[16] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#comment-986
[17] http://www.saicosmetics.com/hair-transplants
[18] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/hair-comes-bride#comment-1351
Comments
Thank you SO MUCH for this VERY thorough piece, Mariluz! I learned a lot and cannot wait for people like Deirdre Rawlings to have time to comment (this was a particularly busy week for her as she's participating in some COOL women's event).
I was reading parts over again of Sue Ingebretson's FibroWHYalgia, and I read the part where she fell in the parking lot due to weakness and neurologic issues and the woman found her and looked at her fingernails and gave her the input she needed to hear that something WAS CLEARLY WRONG WITH HER and her doctor was totally missing the boat. And as you likely know, "Ilene Morgan" did a whole piece for us last year about fingernails which then Dr Rawlings and Dr Spurlock came along and put in their opinions, and then TahDAH, Lumigrate had a complete piece about what a person can learn from nails.... Over the past year it's had a LOT of reads!
And now we'll have the same thing started from YOU, and once we have the doctor's additional information we'll have something complete about hair too. So you'll be helping a LOT of people here, Mariluz, so THANK YOU.
I'll try to get some photos of my hair from when I was young and healthy -- I was 'the girl with the hair' and people would track me down at the store and ask what shampoo I used. Well, we didn't spend money on anything like shampoo around MY house -- I even used Palmolive dish soap. So I think it's funny they use Dawn now on the wildlife being processed after oil spills! But I know my hair's texture changed when my thyroid was off, it fell out .... for a while I was on about 20 Rxs regularly and my hair started being really wiggy about the chemicals in colorings, and I was thinking the sytlists were doing something wrong! It was more the combo of my hair and the chemicals. But I have used some of the products you refer to above for color and had good results, and I was basically letting my hair 'transition' to being 'grey' or maybe I'll have some occasional foils done to put some color in it but mostly allow me to look 50 and going grey gracefully.
It is a lot of balance of personal choice related to how you spend your time, energy, money in concert with how you need to 'look' for what you 'do' in life. So you provided a LOT of information here for people to start with and then go from there! ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [8] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
Mariluz,
Love this great info! There's so much we can do to help heal ourselves from the inside out. When we see unhealthy physical features such as hair, skin, and nails, that's like a billboard announcing: WARNING! There's an Unhealthy Person Inside of Here!
We know that our outside features are merely a reflection of our inside health, but your article arms the reader with the tools and resources to do something about it!
Thanks for everything,
Sue Ingebretson
www.RebuildingWellness.com [13]
Sue Ingebretson is finding herself a successful leader in her latest career as a health educator and advocate resulting from her experience as a person who has found her way to determining and managing chronic illness. Her exceptional book "FibroWHYalgia: Why Rebuilding the Ten Root Causes of Chronic Illness Restores Chronic Wellness" is available on Amazon.com as well as other locations. She is developing many helpful tools with the collaboration of leading programs in California and is an invited and welcome contributor here at Lumigrate.com. Her website is: www.rebuildingwellness.com [14].
Thank you Mardy, it's my pleasure sharing this information here on Lumigrate. It's a very rewarding experience to share knowledge that could benefit others.
Sue, what an honor! Thank you. When I first got sick one of the signs were of course my skin, hair and nails. I had developed psoriasis, my skin was so dried, my scalp was scaly and my hair was falling. I felt like I was turning into raisin- drying from the inside out. My nails had ridges and were so brittled. My toe nails came off like flakes. Although I was trying to hold on to beauty, I was transforming into this dull, lifeless woman -a complete shadow of what I used to be- there was nothing pretty about my appearance. Those were some of the signs of my jeopardized health. I knew I needed to do something to better myself.
I'm glad I opted the natural, organic route. I knew my body was in toxins overload. To see results might take a bit longer than a prescribed drug would but at least I know I won't be covering symptoms up with a temporary relief, but instead I am on my path to HEALING fueling up my system with the nutrition it needs. And that's the smartest route.
I hope my articles help others understand....they CAN do it too!
Mariluz Fontanez, cosmetologist with over 14 years of experience in the beauty industry. Mariluz holds a Bachelors degree in Communications; majored in Film/TV Production and minored in Public Relations. She was recently diagnosed with CFIDS/Fibromyalgia and it is now her passion and personal quest to put her skills to good use by making a huge impact in the media through an educational, fun interactive Fibromyalgia awareness campaign: "Beauty from Pain". Together with Dr. Mark Guariglia, Mariluz has created IFAC (International Fibromyalgia Awareness Campaign), a support group on Facebook www.causes.com/causes/514018 [6] with a very optimistic approach in health and overall wellness. Mariluz finds Lumigrate to be the perfect venue to bring light to this campaign and help so many affected by this syndrome.
Hair transplant at our center is done by a Plastic Surgeons who is member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons, ISHRS (USA). We practice Follicular Unit Micro grafting (FUT) which is the latest technique followed all over the world with consistent results. Hair Restoration [17] Male and female patients who wish to undergo follicular unit micro grafting need not be completely bald. These micro grafts can be added in between the existing hair, without ant damage to the adjacent hair roots.
I start my day at Lumigrate checking in to see 'what's new' in the postings on the forums. Today there was an indicator (gold star) on this forum with there having been something added to "Hair Comes the Bride". I knew that Mariluz was in Las Vegas, I presumed at some type of show or event for her business (stylist of makeup/hair). And I was surprised to see it was this posting/above about hair transplant. Following the link, I was surprised to see this company is in India! The 'irony' of that is, 30 years ago I had my first job, at Colorado State University, working with several doctors from India! (PhD in Statistics). One had a very similar name to Dr Shrivastava's, actually!
One night, the three of us women working as 'admins' in the department office shared a LOVELY evening at the home of one of the Indian professors in the neighboring Mathematics department. Having been a mountain girl from Colorado who literally didn't interact with a person with black skin until age 7 when on a train trip to Chicago, and who in the winter of my 10th year of life asked the girl next to me in class why she was still so tan (her mother was Latina but bleached her hair) -- this is just really a nice interaction. (Mariluz' family hails from Puerto Rico, I have been inspired and impressed by what Mari's childhood growing up there entailed to get to the United States and I marvel at her command of languages, which shows in her ability to write so effectively.)
There is a growing awareness in the US of 'medical tourism' -- you get a nice vacation, you get wonderful care if you chose good programs to utilize, and it all ends up CHEAPER than if you had it done here in the United States. One of my 'former' patients (though they frequently return to become a repeat client/patient in this new method of consuming from me as an occupational therapist, Rusty Leech (name used with permission), goes to India related to treatments which have been effective to restore the neurological function after spinal cord injury and paraplegia from an accident that might have occurred about the time I was enjoying the dinner at the home of the Indians who had come to the United States to teach our college students in Colorado about their culture as well as mathematics and statistics. One, the only man I've ever known with TWO PhDs, (math and stats) became a very close friend of my husband and me; we did woodworking and were without any extra money to buy equipment so what they would do is go pick out furniture at the furniture store and we'd go look at it, design from that model and then make the piece and charge them the price of the one at the store and we'd make enough money to purchase a new piece of equipment to streamline and increase our quality.
Their family grew over the years; his wife was from the US and they met in graduate school and he coincidentally became one of the statisticians for the research program my husband and I were part of, which lead to coal-fired power plants in the US having very expensive scrubbers put on them (oooh, the fight that went on from the power plant industry) and my health failed due to the fumes I was around making the furniture as well as the long hours (burning the candle at both ends) in a new and cheaply constructed building to house our burgeoning research and support staff and our equipment (which included a graphics and video studio with two employees).
The advantage of being around long enough is you get an appreciation for the bigger picture of things (for me at the time of this writing, 52 years ago I was alive and kicking being infused with chemicals from my pregnant mother's cigarette smoke plus a few adult beverages every night -- it was 1959 and before the Surgeon General of the United States began the LONG fight that continued to this day with the cigarette industry). For me, I see how people across the Earth might have more concern for me and my health than someone in my own family, that we ALL have one thing in common -- we ALL live on the Earth. And in my opinion, the beauty of the Internet coming 'to power' as it is today, allows us such benefits.
I naturally do not know this group/above personally or beyond what you know from reading and going to their website, but I will also share this from my past: in 1989 when I 'went down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome' (you don't 'come down' with fatigue, you GO down, as Mari will attest), my family physician/GP/PCP immediately suggested I go to the allergists as they are connected with National Jewish's information. All three were from India, and he recommended one of the three and said 'only because he's easier to understand, he has less accent'. Since I'd struggled at 19 through learning to understand the Indian accent when working for the Statistics Department at CSU, I consulted with one of the other two, as the one recommended was in India setting up some type of program in his homeland. Unfortunately, I was misdiagnosed but did not give up; I made an appointment for when the doctor originally recommended to me was back from India and he IMMEDIATELY knew what was going on by the puffiness under my eyes; sure enough the bloodwork he ordered showed Epstein-Barr titers elevated, which at the time was being called 'chronic Epstein-Barr virus', then transitioned to be called "chronic fatigue yndrome" in the 1990s.
My father had fallen ill at 18 with mononucleosis (caused by EBV), also 'coincidentally' while in his first year in college and it changed the whole course of his life and I grew up with a parent stricken by what is now known as fibromyalgia. I work very hard every day on maintaining or regaining my own health and promoting the awareness and understanding so that others might benefit as well. Maybe someday I'll feel up to venturing to India; thankfully I'm not one who needs the services that 'prince'/above has presented, but I hope that it's of benefit to those who find it here at Lumigrate.com, thanks to Mari's contribution about hair when she was feeling up to putting a piece together for us here at Lumigrate! I'm VERY glad she's up to going to Vegas and look forward to her sharing more with us at Lumigrate when she has more to share! ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [8] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!