Rejuvenate your hair!
Wish your hair was as healthy and plentiful as it was when you were younger? Science proves you can help restore your hair follicles with a few simple tweaks to your routine!
Avoid the hair-damaging mineral hiding in your water!
Washing your hair with hard water can lead to a damaging accumulation of minerals on the hair shaft and follicles. Even traces of copper from pipes or your water heater can leech into your hair’s cuticles and follicles, sparking a chemical reaction that can result in dullness, breakage, split ends and even hair loss, suggests research in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. Rx: Suds up twice weekly with a shampoo infused with chelants, which attach to copper molecules and whisk them down the drain! One option: Joico K- PAK Shampoo, $11.99, Walgreens.com.
Keep your scalp healthy!
“Healthy hair depends on a healthy scalp,” says Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of clinical research in the department of dermatology at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. And coconut oil can deliver just that! It’s packed with natural antimicrobials and antifungals that penetrate deep into the scalp, calming the inflammation that can stunt hair growth. “Plus, coconut oil provides a hydrating seal over hair cuticles,” he says. “Ultimately this translates into softer, more flexible and shinier hair.” Get the benefit by massaging 2 Tbs. of coconut oil into your scalp for two minutes twice weekly, then working the oil through to the ends of your hair. Don a shower cap and relax for 10 minutes before shampooing as usual.
Fortify hair with silica!
“Horsetail, willow bark and nettle teas help fortify your hair and cuticles with the mineral silica, which is critical to strong and healthy hair,” says Michelle Schoffro Cook, PH.D., D.N.M., author of Be Your Own Herbalist. And brewing a potent hair tonic couldn’t be easier: Steep one tea bag of each herb (find them at health-food stores) in a quart of hot distilled water for 10 minutes. Let cool, pour into a spritzer bottle. Mist over hair and scalp nightly before bed. Keeps refrigerated for one week.
Rev growth with collagen!
It’s the main structural protein of healthy hair, which is why adding just one teaspoon a day to your smoothie— or even coffee— can speed growth! “Collagen can help thicken hair,” says Debra Jaliman, M.D., author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. Rx: a daily dose of Reserveage Collagen Replenish Powder ($15.99 at iherb.com). Boost the effects by adding vitamin C-rich foods (such as blueberries, raspberries, spinach and oranges), which, she says, power the body to build new collagen.
—Kallie E. Kristensen