Read Holistic Beauty from the Inside Out Online
Authors: Julie Gabriel
Tags: #Women's Studies / Women's Health / Beauty & Grooming
Foot exercises are also very useful to boost circulation and relieve tiredness:
You can do these exercises anytime, even in a car or while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. And remember that smiling, stress-relieving relaxation, and great sleep will boost your pregnancy glow much better than any skincare in the world.
GORGEOUS HANDS NATURALLY
Anyone who multitasks—raising children, doing household chores, gardening, typing a lot—finds that an occasional slick of hand cream and maybe a weekly nail polish change would be the only ways to express gratitude to your fingers and hands for all the hard work they do.
To achieve healthy nails and smooth hands, you do not need to spend a fortune on gel extensions or salon paraffin wraps. Keeping your nails moisturized is one simple trick that will create the groomed, “just out from the salon” look at nearly zero cost. Nails are very porous and can become dehydrated just as easily as the skin can. Not surprisingly, oil is your nails’ best friend. You can use any vegetable oil for this purpose or, if you like to experiment, you can add a few drops of chamomile or tea tree oil to the blend for antibacterial and healing properties. Massaging your nails and cuticles at least once a day before bed with vegetable oil will seal the moisture in, nourish the nail bed with fatty acids, and promote the circulation so that the nail grows strong and healthy.
Your nails respond to the quality of your diet. The nail plate is made up of several layers of keratin, which is the most abundant
protein in our body. In strong nails, those layers are sealed together. But if your nails become weak and brittle—for example, after dealing with harsh detergents or when exposed to cold, dry air—those layers tend to break apart. According to traditional Chinese medicine principles, nail problems stem from an imbalance in gallbladder and liver function. I notice that with artichoke supplements, my nails and skin take an instant turn for better.
Peeling nails can also signal that your diet is lacking in linoleic acid. Simply adding a teaspoon of pure olive, coconut, or sunflower oil to your salads can prevent your nails from peeling.
Silica can also contribute to strong, smooth nails. Silica helps strengthen not only nails, skin, and hair but also other joints and ligaments in your body. Silica gels and supplements infused with the herb horsetail are widely available. Do not apply silica directly to your skin or nails, though, as inhaling silica microparticles can damage your lungs. Naturopaths recommend taking a silica supplement for three months and taking a break for one month before embarking on another course. Taking the break is important in any supplementation course for a number of reasons. First, science simply has no information on all the effects of long-term, high-dosage supplementation with vitamins or minerals. Second, some supplements, even the most benign ones, may accumulate in your tissues and potentially cause harm.
Thin, brittle, and easily broken nails are often the sign of iron deficiency. You can correct this problem by eating more green leafy vegetables, red meat, and eggs. Supplementing with biotin (a vitamin from the B group) also helps to improve the condition of brittle nails.
Constant water exposure can make nails dry and brittle, so if large, bulky rubber gloves aren’t exactly your game, try neat surgical gloves from pharmacies—these days, you can buy them in latex-free and non-powdered versions. Gloves are essential for winter too, as they help protect the skin and nails from dehydration. Leather gloves with cashmere or silk lining are a luxury,
but fleece gloves will shield your hands from elements just as well, if not as prettily.
NATURAL MANICURES FOR HEALTHY NAILS
Treat your hands with a natural manicure once a week. It takes only fifteen minutes of your time and is a great alternative to chemical-laden nail salons where you inhale acetone and formaldehyde vapors while being treated to “professional quality” nail products loaded with artificial dyes, fragrances, and preservatives.
To begin with, remove nail polish (if you wear it) with acetone free polish remover such EDEN Natural Nail Varnish Remover (turn to
Appendix C
for more information). Then, rinse your nails with cold water to remove all traces of the chemicals.
Prepare a nail bath by immersing 2–3 packets of green or herbal teas in a bowl of very hot water. Allow the herbs to infuse while the water cools down, and when the water is warm, add 2–3 drops lavender, rosemary, or chamomile essential oil. Soak your fingertips in the water for five to seven minutes.
Rub your cuticles with a slice of lemon and allow the juice to sit on your fingertips for three to five minutes. Gently push your cuticles back with a wooden stick with a little cotton moistened with vegetable oil. Do not cut your cuticles. If there’s a bit of overgrowth, you can gently file them off with a glass file.
File your nails in the desired shape using strokes, aiming from nail corners toward the center of the nail.
Instead of a paraffin treatment, the healing power of honey can be used for your weekly hand wrap. Fructose in honey acts as a natural antibacterial factor, which kills most types of bacteria, even those resilient to antibiotics. If the skin on your hands tends to crack—these cracks can be extremely painful when they occur around fingernails—cover your hands with honey whisked with an egg yolk, and cover with plastic gloves, then warm mittens. Leave the honey on your hands for at least thirty minutes or
overnight, if you can, then rinse off and apply a hand cream or cuticle oil.
If you are not in the mood for nail polish, buff your nails and massage a little nail oil into the surface. If you do wear nail polish, choose toluene-free, formaldehyde-free brands such as Zoya or Scotch Naturals (for shopping suggestions, please check
Appendix C
). There are many mainstream brands that remove toxic nasties from their nail polishes, so it’s worth checking the label of your familiar drugstore nail products in case they have turned for better. And when you paint your nails, stay near the open window if you can so that you don’t inhale too much solvent vapors.
Chapter Twelve Quick Tips
THIRTEEN
Brilliantly Glowing Hair
P
oetically called our “crowning glory,” hair for many of us is the deepest misery as we struggle to add volume, straighten frizz, or add glisten to dull locks. We try to boost our confidence and self-esteem with a full-blown hair session in the morning, complete with a shampoo, hair mask, hair serum, blow dry, and possibly straightening. But how often can we manage to squeeze this indulgence into our mornings crammed with burnt toast, a malfunctioning coffee machine, a little one’s sudden aversion to white stockings, lost keys, lost umbrellas, lost phones, and our lost temper, after all? no wonder that many of us adopt a no-fuss hairstyle routine: for long hair, a ponytail; for a bob, that “clean hair” flat look; and for super-short crop, well, the less you wash it, the better it looks—choppy and muddled. Can we find a holistic approach that won’t rob us of a much-needed hour of sleep each morning?
Start with the condition of your hair. no matter how many silicones, vitamins, and essential oils you put on your hair, the
trick will vanish at midnight, if not sooner. As with all parts of your body, true hair conditioning begins on your plate and in your cup. And on your pillow.
FEED YOUR HAIR
Eating well benefits your hair in general, but if you feel your hair could use an extra kick to help it grow faster or more thickly, then you should build your diet around hair-friendly nutrients. Strong hair begins in healthy skin of the scalp, so follow the same dietary recommendations I made for skin in earlier chapters, and boost your intake of hair-beautifying vitamins and antioxidants listed below. Fish, seaweed, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy products, and cheese; all non-sweet, non-starchy vegetables such as peppers, avocados, cucumbers, asparagus, and aubergines; and lots of other brightly colored vegetables and fruit contain just the right amounts of naturallybalanced proteins, oils, fiber, vitamins, and minerals (most important, silica).
Our hair is built of keratin, which is a protein, so eating lots of good-quality proteins is vital for healthy hair. Fresh, minimally processed and preferably organic proteins for your hair come from lean meats and dairy, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, pulses, and legumes. Brazil nuts, fish, shellfish, chicken, garlic, whole grains, and sunflower seeds also supply your hair with trace mineral selenium, an important antioxidant that not only wards off free radicals but also helps metabolize proteins so your hair and skin receive more nourishment and structural support.
Vitamin A is an essential antioxidant that helps restore healthy sebum flow in the scalp, and helps to relieve hair dryness, flakiness, and itchy scalp. Food sources include meat, milk, cheese, eggs, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, apricots, and peaches. Recommended daily dosage to improve your hair condition should be around 5,000 IU . Do not take more than 25,000 IU a day, as it can be extremely toxic and can cause hair loss as well as other serious health problems.
We already know how vital vitamin E is for the state of our skin, but it also helps maintain the healthy glow in our hair. This multitasking antioxidant improves blood circulation in the scalp and prevents the scalp from dehydration. All cold-pressed vegetable oils, seeds, and nuts, beans, and leafy green vegetables are good sources of vitamin E. To improve your hair condition and help prevent hair loss, aim for up to 400 IU vitamin E a day. Make sure to consult your medical practitioner if you suffer from high blood pressure, as this vitamin may not be suitable for you. Instead, infuse your scalp with vitamin E by applying weekly warm oil treatments (see below for details on oil treatments).
Biotin stimulates keratin production so that hair becomes stronger and maintains its natural color. Biotin naturally contains in brewer’s yeast, whole grains, egg yolks, liver, and dairy products. If you decide to supplement with biotin, aim for 150–300 mcg a day.
Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, maintains good blood circulation in the scalp so your hair receives fresh oxygen and nutrients. Apart from brewer’s yeast, niacin is found in wheat germ, fish, chicken, turkey, and meat. If you choose to supplement with niacin, take up to 15 mg a day. Vitamins of the B group are best taken as a complex because all of them are very helpful for the skin and hair.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) help restore hair luster and manageability. By maintaining a steady flow of sebum, EFAs relieve hair dryness and itchy, flaking scalp, which many people mistake for dandruff. Instead of reaching for an antidandruff shampoo, pop a fish or starflower (borage) oil capsule after meals three times a day and make weekly warm oil treatments with hemp seed oil.
Zinc helps restore healthy hormonal levels. Sometimes the abundance in male hormone testosterone leads to hair loss and even pattern baldness in women. Zinc regulates testosterone levels and at the same time improves your immune response so that your scalp becomes less disturbed by elements or aggressive
hairstyling. Rich food sources of zinc include oysters, red meats, poultry, liver, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, mussels, shrimps, egg yolks, nuts, and various soy products. Better supplements of zinc should contain zinc gluconate, zinc arginate, or zinc citrate, which are better absorbed by the body. In addition to a healthy diet, supplementing your diet with a vitamin B complex, essential fatty acids, and glow-boosting vitamins C and E will make a very noticeable change for better in your hair’s condition. Taking a rich multivitamin pill with a complete list of essential minerals is also helpful. Check with your doctor before taking any supplements, as this may have adverse effects on your overall health.
It takes about a month or so for the hair to absorb the hair vitamins and get into the system. You should start seeing your hair grow at a rate of an inch per month.
Emotional stress has a direct effect on the condition of your hair. Stress makes the muscles of your neck and head become stiff and tense, which reduces the blood flow to the scalp. To reduce tension, you can try yoga, meditation, or head and neck massage offered at very affordable prices in many spas and salons. I found that my stress-triggered hair loss has greatly diminished after a few sessions of acupuncture, which I initially hoped would deal with headaches and tinnitus. These deeply relaxing sessions helped my head all over, from my brain down to my split ends!