Hair Pills: Are They Really Worth The Hype?

The other day I snipped yet another random section of hair. While there is certainly some growth since last year, it's still a long way from my dream length. In my moment of impatience, I had the urge to start a hair supplement to get me to my goal length quicker. When I asked a few of my twitter followers for some supplement suggestions, the reaction that I received was certainly less than favorable (someone even suggested that they could cause growth of extra body parts!). Extremely concerned by this news, I decided to do some research to see if hair pills are really worth the hype.

The ability of a person to obtain long hair starts from the inside out. While there are numerous practices that can help retain the length of one's hair, the growth process itself is entirely internal. This internal process is what hair pills seek to address. But how is this exactly?

Like all other parts of our body, our hair follicles need certain nutrients in order to operate at its optimal level. Because it is the lowest in the hierarchy of bodily needs, our hair gets only the remnants of the essential vitamins and minerals needed to sustain our other bodily functions. Hair pills seek to boost vitamin and mineral levels to allow our hair to get more of the nutrients it needs. And what exactly are the essential vitamins and minerals for hair growth? From my research, I found that the following are essential:

Biotin (Vitamin B7) - this is one of the 8 essential vitamins for the body. It helps with metabolism and growth and is also needed for healthy hair and skin.

Inositol (Vitamin B8) - this vitamin is good for healthy skin and hair

Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) - this helps the body make healthy new cells, and is especially essential for women who are able to have children.

Vitamin B6 - can help accelerate hair growth

Zinc - helps the body utilize protein, which stimulates hair growth

Vitamin C - helps increase circulation of blood to the scalp

Vitamin E - improves scalp circulation

Silica - a mineral naturally found in the body that can help accelerate hair growth and help strengthen the hair

MSM - mineral that lengthens the growth cycle of hair, allowing each hair follicle to be in the active state longer

While these vitamins and minerals have substantial benefits for hair growth, when supplemented in extreme doses they can have adverse effects on the body. Most hair growth pills provide dosages of up to 30 times the recommended daily intake. Since all of these vitamins can generally be found in certain foods that we eat, intaking a supplement that boosts levels to 30 times the recommended daily dosage is definitely extreme. This accounts for the negative side effects that many people experience from taking hair growth pills. Some of these side effects can included neurological disorders, heartburn, acid reflux, headaches, and cystic acne.

Although it would be nice to be able to grow an inch of hair a month, I personally am not willing to take those risks. For now, I am going to stick with my multivitamin since it encompasses most, if not all, of the essential vitamins needed for hair growth. I do, however, intend to take biotin supplements. (Look out for a post in the next few days about it!)

All About Shampoo: The Sulfate Free Movement

For years, kinky curly coily heads everywhere have moved away from the use of most commercial shampoos. For many, this migration to other cleansing alternatives is due in large part to a common cleansing agent called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Many who have shied away from this ingredient claim that although this cleansing agent is extremely effective, it is overly drying to curly hair. But how is this cleansing agent overly drying? And why does it only effect curly hair in this manner? I decided to do some research to find the answers to those very questions.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), like all cleansing agents, are surfactants. Surfactants are materials that can greatly reduce the surface tension of water when used in low concentrations. This allows water to get underneath oil and dirt so that the impurities can be removed from the surface that one desires to be cleaned. (Surfactants can be used in a variety of different ways, not just as cleaning agents, but for the purposes of this post I am focusing only on the properties of surfactants as cleaning agents.) Both SLS and SLES are surfactants that are extremely effective for tasks requiring the removal of oil. This application is ideal for many cleansing purposes such dish washing detergents, floor cleansers, clothing detergents, and shampoo. Shocked that our hair is seen as having comparable amounts of oil as your floor? I was too, but after a little more research I discovered the logic behind it.

Everyone, regardless of whether you have kinky curly coily hair or straight hair, produces an oil called sebum. Sebum is an oily, waxy, naturally odorless substance produced to lubricate the skin and hair of mammals. For humans, this substance is produced in greatest abundance on the face and the scalp. Ideally, our scalp produces sebum, and the sebum glides down our hair shaft providing moisture to our hair. Overtime (depending on how your body personally produces the substance), sebum can accumulate in our hair, giving it that nasty, oily, and dirty appearance and feel. To rid our hair of this oily substance, a cleansing agent that is effective in removing oil is necessary. This is why many companies have chosen to use SLS and SLES in their shampoos.

So why do these cleansing agents effect curly hair differently from straight hair? Well, the difference in the physical properties of straight hair and curly hair provide some insight. For those with straight hair, the body's naturally produced sebum can freely flow down the hair shaft since there is nothing obstructing it from doing so. Curly hair, on the other hand, does not allow sebum to be moved so easily. With all of the turns and curves of curly hair, sebum does not have the ability to flow all the way down the hair shaft. Because of this, little to no sebum actually reaches the ends of curly hair. Using the same strong oil removing cleansing agent will therefore produce a different effect on straight and curly hair. Since straight hair will have excess sebum, the use of SLS and SLES shampoos will not excessively strip the hair of moisture. Curly hair, on the other hand, which usually does not have excess sebum, will usually be stripped of what little moisture it does have by the use of SLS and SLES based shampoos. For this reason, many kinky curly coily heads have chosen to forego sulfate shampoos.

This is not the effect that SLS and SLES based shampoos will have on all curly hair, but most people have experienced excessive dryness from its use. I have personally chosen to not use sulfate shampoos and I have noticed somewhat of a difference in the moisture levels of my hair. As always, use ingredients and products that work best for your hair.

Pretty Nails: An Added Benefit of Good Hair Care

As many know, good hair care practices can lead to longer, healthier hair. In addition to this desired benefit, I have found that it also leads to pretty, well manicured nails. (Bet you didn't think of that benefit, did you? lol)

A commonly overlooked cause of hair breakage is right there on our fingers: our nails. Also a protein element of our body, nails with edges that are not kept smooth have the ability to snag our precious locks, breaking each strand that is caught. Since our nails are an extension of our fingers which are needed to do...well, basically anything...with our hair, this can be a bit troublesome. To prevent inadvertent breakage, check to ensure that your nails are smooth before handling your hair.

For me, this hair care practice has meant an investment in good emory boards (which I now keep handy at all times out of habit) and of course new nail polish (I'm an OPI fanatic!). Since my student budget won't exactly allow me to get my nails professionally done weekly, I've taken to methods of giving myself my own manicure at home. The Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens have been super helpful for those times when the classic manicure needs a little bit of edge put to it. Check out my most recent creation!

These are the products that I used to get this look:

Products from Left to Right: Orly Top 2 Bottom for base coat,  Essie "Turquoise & Caicos", Nicole by OPI  "Give Me the First Dance", OPI RapiDry Top Coat, Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Black

The practice of keeping my nails smooth in order to prevent inadvertent hair breakage is definitely one hair care practice that I don't mind having! 

All About Shampoo: Clarifying v. Moisturizing

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There are tons of shampoo’s out there on the market. Some claim that they can be used daily, others claim to be moisturizing, and still others claim to be clarifying. But what exactly is the difference between these classifications of shampoos? And how do they fit into a hair regimen? After asking myself these same questions, I did some research, and here are the conclusions that I came to.

Moisturizing/Daily Use Shampoo

Most shampoos that you pick up at your local drugstore or BSS are moisturizing/daily use shampoos. Shampoos within this category have the ability to clean the hair “gently” without drying it out. Since the ingredients aren’t nearly as harsh as clarifying shampoos, you should be able to use these shampoos frequently without running into too many problems. While these shampoos are good for removing dirt and excess oil, it is possible that they don’t completely remove all product residue from your hair and scalp. Depending on the amount and kind of styling products that you use, you could go weeks before product build up becomes an issue. A stronger shampoo is needed to rid the hair of product residue.

Clarifying Shampoo

Clarifying shampoo is a more potent shampoo that is designed to deep clean your hair and scalp. This type of shampoo has the ability to remove all product residues from your hair and scalp. If this product residue is left un-removed from your hair, it will cause your hair to lose its sheen, become limp, and hard to style. This residue can also build up on the scalp both preventing the hair follicle from “breathing” which slows hair growth and causing scalp issues such as dandruff. Although clarifying shampoo is

Shampoos categorized as moisturizing or daily use are shampoos that have the ability to clean the hair and scalp, but aren’t as potent as clarifying shampoos. These shampoos usually contain things that your strands can handle on a daily or weekly basis without being overly drying to the hair.

Quick Tip: Scalp Massages for Hair Growth

While are many things that you can put on your hair in an effort to maintain length, the true secret to encouraging growth starts beneath the skin. One way to assist your internal bodily functions in growing you gorgeous locks is to give yourself regular scalp massages. Scalp massages increase the flow of blood to your scalp, providing your hair follicles with more of the nutrients they need to optimally grow your hair.

As a person with dry skin (resulting in a dry scalp), it is pertinent for me to keep my scalp moisturized by oiling it regularly. Recently, I began incorporating scalp massages in my scalp oiling routine. I start by distributing oil on my scalp using a small tipped applicator bottle (the kind used to apply hair color). I use just enough oil to cover my scalp (when it comes to oiling your scalp, a little goes a long way; you don't want the oil dripping all over the place).  Once distributed, I take the pads of my fingers and massage the oil into my scalp in small, circular motions using varying pressure. This ensures that the oil is not only reaching all parts of my scalp, but also encourages blood to flow to my scalp which allows the additional nutrients in the oil to absorb into my skin to work in conjunction with the nutrients supplied by my blood.

In the past, I have done scalp massages just on wash day as part of my pre-poo treatment, but I have since increased scalp massages to about 2 - 3 times a week, coinciding with the days I re-moisturize my hair (I figured that the washing process could serve as an additional scalp massage so no need to waste oil on that day lol). Since having too much stuff on the scalp will suffocate hair follicles, I opt for a light oil that absorbs into my skin easily.