Collagen Benefits For Hair
Collagen has multiple benefits for hair. It provides long term goodness, without the constant hassle of regular maintenance. Collagen might just be your new hair-saver. So lets look at what does collagen do for hair?1. Collagen for hair loss As mentioned above, collagen can strengthen the internal structure of hair providing with proper supply of nutrients and blood. This enables the hair to remain healthy, strong and supple2. Collagen for hair growth Collagen will not only boost hair growth, but also increase the fullness and thickness of your hair. Collagen supplement is an excellent method to increase hair growth without affecting the nourishment of your hair. Always use such supplements under the supervision of a doctor3. Collagen can help greying hair Collagen provides a constant dose of essential amino acids to the hair follicle leading to a stronger structure. The follicular structure is responsible for providing your hair with its colour and if the collagen levels are high, this will automatically reduce greying.4. Collagen can reduce splits ends and help with hair breakage As we age, the collagen production declines in the body. This leads to loss in elasticity which results in hair breakage and split ends. Along with providing strength, collagen also improves moisture content of the hair. Hair dryness can lead to frizziness, breakage and splits ends. Collagen will add the necessary moisture and relive the hair from such problems.
Loss Of Hair Is A Side Effect Of Stress
In some cases, severe psychological stress can cause loss of hair. If you have gone through an event that has caused you major stress, it’s not unusual for you to have your hair falling out excessively a couple of months later. Loss of hair caused by stress is usually temporary, and you can expect your hair to stop shedding and slowly begin growing back after about six to eight months.
Protein Overload: How To Fix Too Much Protein In Hair
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Protein treatments are all the craze right now, but too much of a good thing can actually be damaging and lead to protein overload. If youre suffering from unusually dry and unmanageable hair, you may, in fact, have too much protein in your hair.
In this article, well discuss protein overload in detail and show you both how to diagnose the condition as well as fix it.
So, what is protein overload?
Protein overload is a condition that happens when the levels of protein and moisture in your hair are not in balance. Although protein is an important factor in hair health, you can develop too much protein in your hair if you continuously overuse protein-rich hair products.
Protein overload produces symptoms such as dry and brittle hair and you may experience a sudden change in hair texture.
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Are You Using Protein Shakes Just As A Meal Replacement Your Hair May Be At Risk
If this is your case, you may experience some hair loss, but in this case the real cause of your thinning hair is the loss of weight and not the protein shake itself.
Even the AAD states that too little proteins in your system may eventually lead to weaker hair follicles and progressive thinning of your hair.
Common Eating Habits That Lead To Excessive Hair Fall
Hair fall is an embarrassing affliction that affects many individuals and leaves them insecure about their appearance. While genetics play an important role in hair health and balding patterns, another important and overlooked factor in hair growth is your choice of diet. Hair growth is linked to the presence of certain nutrients in the body and a concentrated presence of these can adversely affect you, leading to hair loss and possible baldness. Here is a list of dieting mistakes that may lead to hair loss:
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Fresh Vegetable Juices & Smoothies
These are among the best way to alkalize your body and provide the necessary micronutrients to support healthy hair follicles.
Micronutrients are the trace minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals that our body needs to carry out its various functions.
These micronutrients are contrasted to the macronutrients that are the large, bulky molecules your body needs in mass, like proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
The general rule of thumb is this: the richer the color, the richer in micronutrients the food. You can find some of the best recipes for hair-growth smoothies here.
How To Fix Hair Overloaded With Protein:
Recovering from protein overload isnt an overnight process, but after taking a few important steps you wont have to wait long before noticing improvement. However, depending on the severity of your protein buildup, it can take a few months to see results.
Youll need to focus on how youre moisturising your hair. This means going through your product stash and getting rid of moisturisers that are adding protein and switching to ones that dont contain any.
Proteins come in many forms and under many names, so getting rid of it can be tricky. Carefully read through the ingredients of your current products or any you plan to buy and check for these common names for protein.
Here is a list of protein ingredients:
- Hydrolyzed collagen
- Wheat, quinoa, or soy protein
- Silk protein
- Oat flour
- Amino acids
You might be surprised how many of your products contain one or more of these ingredients, but during your recovery period, you should avoid all protein-boosting products to bring your hair back into balance.
There are also some natural products that are known to do more harm than good for protein-sensitive hair, such as coconut oil. If youve ever noticed your hair feels crunchy after applying coconut oil, you have too much protein on your strands.
So what comes next?
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How To Tell If Your Hair Has Protein Buildup
Though protein is essential for hair to remain strong and resilient, too much of it can have the opposite effect on your hair, making it fragile and stiff. Protein overload is often the culprit when your hair is acting up but you cant quite figure out why. If youve been giving your hair lots of attention with new shampoo, moisturising masks, or treatments, but your hair STILL feels straw-like, chances are you have too much protein buildup.
So, if your hair just doesnt feel the way it use to, but you cant find a solution, you could be dealing with excess protein. Heres how to identify protein buildup and how to treat it!
Consuming Foods With High Levels Of Mercury:
High levels of mercury are associated with hair loss. One of the most common sources through which we consume mercury is fish. Some fishes are particularly mercury-rich and need to be avoided. This includes sushi, mackerel, swordfish, and certain tuna. You can replace these with shrimp, salmon, and light tuna as these carry lower mercury content.
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Too Much Of A Good Thing
Getting too much of particular supplements can also cause excessive hair loss. Excessive vitamin A supplementation, for example, is one potential cause. Consult with your doctor to ensure you have a true deficiency before adding supplemental amino acids or vitamins and minerals to your diet.
Will Seven Products Over Proteinize My Hair
All SEVEN products are carefully designed to keep hair in balance. That means enough protein to support strength without over-saturating hair. They will not add too much protein, but if you already have too much protein in your hair, you will want to rely on deeply moisturizing treatments like the BOND hair mask to give the boost of conditioning your hair needs.
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Diagnosing Damaged Hair: Why Is My Hair Breaking
If you are asking the why is my hair breaking question, then we first need to determine the level and cause of damage.
Per celebrity stylist Cash Lawless, the easiest way to tell if your hair is damaged is to grab a strand of hair about 6 inches from the end. Healthy hair will fall slightly. If your hair is limp and flops down it likely needs more protein. If that strand is stiff and does not bounce like healthy hair does, you either have extreme damage or too much protein in your hair.
Learn About The Most Common Causes For Hair Loss
The causes for hair loss listed below are for basic information purposes only. I am a self-trained nutritionist. I put this information together for you for reference purposes only. There are links to outside medically-related articles to give you a much better idea of the meaning of some of the unusual terms listed on this page.
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Why Glycemic Index Is Important
The glycemic index of foods measures how much a food will cause blood sugar levels to rise after being digested. Foods rich in highly processed carbohydrates have high glycemic indices, as do carb-rich junk foods. On the other hand, natural, plant-based and whole or unprocessed foods have low glycemic indices.
Processed cereals have a very high glycemic load because the natural fiber from the plant has been removed. Normally, the fiber would cause it to be digested and absorbed into our bodies more slowly.
With the removal of this natural fiber, the food sugars go straight into the bloodstream. This causes a huge spike in blood sugar levels.
In response, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. This hormone attaches to cells in our body, instructing them to absorb the sugar from the bloodstream and use it up as energy. Insulin also helps store sugar into the liver for future use, to be released when blood sugar levels drop too low.
In summary, insulin is essential to keep the levels of blood sugar under control.
When we live on a chronic diet of high glycemic load foods, our body often cannot cope with all this flood of sugar.
Our cells then develop resistance to the effects of insulin, and our blood sugar levels stay permanently elevated. Doctors call this insulin resistance .
There is also evidence linking insulin resistance to hair loss.
Myth : Masturbation Causes Your Body To Produce Dht
Dihydrotestosterone, more commonly referred to as DHT, is a male sex hormone thats the main factor responsible for male pattern baldness.
In men genetically prone to male pattern baldness, DHT can bind to hormone receptors located throughout the scalp and cause hair follicles around your hairline and crown to miniaturize.
Over time, this causes thinning and noticeable hair loss.
Weve discussed the effects of DHT on your scalp and hair in greater detail in our guide to DHT and male pattern baldness.
One of the most common reasons used to back up the claim that masturbation causes hair loss is that masturbating results in a release of hormones, including DHT.
This reason is untrue. Like most urban legends, real scientific data totally contradicts the claim that masturbation has any effect on your bodys production of DHT or other male hormones.
In fact, there are several studies that show that sexual activity, whether its masturbation or sex, has no measurable effect on testosterone or DHT production.
One study compared the testosterone levels of men with normal sexual function to those of men with sexual dysfunction. The researchers took the mens testosterone levels in the same period and under identical conditions.
The final results of the study showed that both groups of men had similar levels of testosterone, with no significant difference between the men with sexual dysfunction and the men with normal sexual function.
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Other Causes Of Hair Loss
While a change in diet can lead to hair loss, there are many possible reasons for thinning hair. Genetic hair loss is the most common reason, but losing hair can also be caused by autoimmune conditions, hormonal fluctuations, thyroid disease, anemia, chronic stress and harsh styling practices. Other triggers include prescriptions such as blood thinners, birth control, steroids, antidepressants and weight loss drugs.
Give Your Hair A Break From Styling
If your hair is showing signs of damage, its time to take it easy with heat styling, hair dye, and most hair products. Wear your hair loose or pull it back gently, and let it take a breather in its natural state.
If you have protein building, you wont be able to use a deep conditioning treatment or hair mask to get rid of the problem, because those products are probably what caused the buildup in the first place.
The best method of treating damage to your hair is to prevent it from happening altogether. This is true even about protein buildup.
Some tips to prevent protein buildup include:
- Follow package instructions for any hair treatment that includes keratin. Dont layer two products with keratin on top of each other, and dont use the products more than recommended.
- Wash your hair once or twice a week with a clarifying shampoo made for your hair type.
- Dont overwash or overcondition your hair. Limit conditioner to the ends of your hair it typically doesnt need to be applied to your roots.
- Visit a stylist regularly to get feedback and advice on how your hair looks and feels.
When you have concerns about your hair, seeing a professional stylist is never a bad idea.
See a professional if your hair:
- breaks easily or is shedding a lot
- is brittle and tangles easily
- has visible split ends
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Diagnosing Damaged Hair: What Kind Of Hair Needs Protein
High porosity hair has lots of gaps in the cuticle and lets water bloat the strand. In general, the coarser your hair is, the more cuticle it has and the more likely it is to be porous. Curly hair and hair that has been processed bleached hair, straightened hair, color treated hair, etc are more likely to be porous. Protein can support the restructuring of bonds in hair which will lead to more strength and less porosity.
On the other hand, low porosity hair that has a relatively sealed cuticle in its natural state does not need much protein. In fact, proteins can build up on low porosity hair and ultimately lead to breakage.
Whey Proteins Connection With Hair
Protein in general is important for healthy hair, skin and bones. In fact, hair follicles are mostly composed of proteins. A sufficient protein intake is vital for maintaining hair health as well as sufficient bone density and muscle mass. This is especially true for people who engage in intense activity most days, whether through a physically demanding job or a rigorous training schedule.
However, there is some evidence that suggests certain forms of whey protein may accelerate hair thinning and male pattern baldness. A 2017 study found whey protein isolate as a supplement was associated with a larger degree of acceleration in hair loss.
Other studies have found that nutritional deficits like a lack of protein could actually be a contributing factor to the loss of hair through male pattern baldness and other factors, like natural aging.
Traditionally, elevated testosterone levels are also correlated with hair loss. However, there is still research to be done in this area, as some science suggests that therapy to adjust testosterone levels in women can actually lead to more hair growth.
Another form of baldness called alopecia is mostly associated with immune system issues. With alopecia, hair falls out in patches throughout the head, as opposed to the typical thinning or receding hairline that is common in other forms of baldness.
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