CurleeDST
Well-Known Member
Hair Vitamins: Miracle Pill or Placebo?
As women and especially as women of color, we are always looking for that one thing, that one cure, that one solution to long, lustrous hair. The moment we hear about something that someone says will “make our hair grow,” we bombard the stores trying to get this miracle cure to our quest for a gorgeous mane. Some of the touted “hair growers” of the past included Mane ‘N Tail, Sulfur 8, and prenatal vitamins, but were short lived. So just what does make your hair grow?
continued from home page...
Hair growth depends on a lot of things, and there is no quick fix or magic pill to grow hair. For one thing, the rate at which your hair grows and how long it may get depends a great deal on genetics. If every woman in your family has hair that only comes to their ear, chances are, you won’t have hair that grows down to your bra strap. Second, underlying illnesses are a factor in hair growth. If you suffer from lupus, a thyroid disorder, alopecia, or some other illness, it can affect you hair growth and health in general. In these cases, the proper healthcare professional should be consulted and treatment should begin to try to correct the problem immediately.
Another problem that can arise with trying to achieve “good hair” is our styling practices. If you are greasing your scalp with Vaseline, clogging the pores in your scalp, getting a relaxer every two weeks, bleaching your hair regularly, hot curling your hair every day, refusing to get your split ends trimmed, and the list goes on, it is most likely that your hair will not grow at its maximum potential.
A fourth factor is our emotional health. Stress can wreak havoc on a perfectly beautiful head of hair. It is important that we take time out for ourselves and let superwoman be a character in a comic strip. We need to take measures to reduce our stress levels as much as possible or practice creative ways to deal with our stressors. Things that are out of our control are just that---out of our control.
Lastly, diet plays a role in hair growth also. To get the maximum amount of growth for your hair, you need to follow a healthy diet getting all the proper nutrients and drinking lots of water. This is where hair vitamins may be of some help. Hair vitamins, just like regular vitamins, are to help you meet the daily recommended allowances of certain vitamins and nutrients. So if a person does not eat very healthfully, vitamins help them get some—but not all, of the nutrients they need. With this said, hair vitamins alone will not make your hair grow, but can be a part of a total health regimen to promote hair growth. So ladies, there is nothing wrong with picking up a bottle of hair vitamins to help you get started on your journey towards longer, healthier hair--just be prepared to do all of the other things that are necessary to achieve your desired outcome. The moral of this story is, “don’t put all your eggs in one pill bottle.”
by: Nicolle Epps, Editor-in-Chief, BlackHairMedia.com
As women and especially as women of color, we are always looking for that one thing, that one cure, that one solution to long, lustrous hair. The moment we hear about something that someone says will “make our hair grow,” we bombard the stores trying to get this miracle cure to our quest for a gorgeous mane. Some of the touted “hair growers” of the past included Mane ‘N Tail, Sulfur 8, and prenatal vitamins, but were short lived. So just what does make your hair grow?
continued from home page...
Hair growth depends on a lot of things, and there is no quick fix or magic pill to grow hair. For one thing, the rate at which your hair grows and how long it may get depends a great deal on genetics. If every woman in your family has hair that only comes to their ear, chances are, you won’t have hair that grows down to your bra strap. Second, underlying illnesses are a factor in hair growth. If you suffer from lupus, a thyroid disorder, alopecia, or some other illness, it can affect you hair growth and health in general. In these cases, the proper healthcare professional should be consulted and treatment should begin to try to correct the problem immediately.
Another problem that can arise with trying to achieve “good hair” is our styling practices. If you are greasing your scalp with Vaseline, clogging the pores in your scalp, getting a relaxer every two weeks, bleaching your hair regularly, hot curling your hair every day, refusing to get your split ends trimmed, and the list goes on, it is most likely that your hair will not grow at its maximum potential.
A fourth factor is our emotional health. Stress can wreak havoc on a perfectly beautiful head of hair. It is important that we take time out for ourselves and let superwoman be a character in a comic strip. We need to take measures to reduce our stress levels as much as possible or practice creative ways to deal with our stressors. Things that are out of our control are just that---out of our control.
Lastly, diet plays a role in hair growth also. To get the maximum amount of growth for your hair, you need to follow a healthy diet getting all the proper nutrients and drinking lots of water. This is where hair vitamins may be of some help. Hair vitamins, just like regular vitamins, are to help you meet the daily recommended allowances of certain vitamins and nutrients. So if a person does not eat very healthfully, vitamins help them get some—but not all, of the nutrients they need. With this said, hair vitamins alone will not make your hair grow, but can be a part of a total health regimen to promote hair growth. So ladies, there is nothing wrong with picking up a bottle of hair vitamins to help you get started on your journey towards longer, healthier hair--just be prepared to do all of the other things that are necessary to achieve your desired outcome. The moral of this story is, “don’t put all your eggs in one pill bottle.”
by: Nicolle Epps, Editor-in-Chief, BlackHairMedia.com
