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Archive for the 'Wellness' Category

Hair grease: how to get rid of it best shampoo for greasy hair

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
by Jennifer Summers

Greasy hair can appear stringy and fail to keep its lightness and volume within a few hours of shampooing. Greasy hair can seem lifeless, dull oily and lank. It can also appear heavy and flat, refusing to stay clean and fresh. Is this describing your hair? Ever ask yourself “why is my hair greasy?” Others may judge people with greasy hair as having poor hygiene and that they do not wash their hair very often, even if the sufferer washes it every day.

Grease found in greasy hair is natural body oil called sebum. Sebum is produced by the sebaceous gland. Each hair has a sebaceous gland immediately under the skin. Greasy hair is healthy hair as the oil (sebum) is produced to stop each hair strand from drying and to stop the ends splitting. Sebum is produced by the body to lubricate hair and skin and prevents drying by providing a protective barrier. Sebum is your own built-in moisturizer for the body.

Greasy hair is excess of sebum in the hair and comes as a result of an over production of sebum (oil) from over active sebaceous glands, stimulated by hormones called androgens. Androgens are male hormones that are present in both men and women, but are higher in men. Androgens do two things: First, they enlarge the sebaceous glands in the skin. Second, they cause these glands to increase oil production.

As hormones have a role in sebum production, fluctuating hormone levels can be one of the causes of greasy hair. Greasy hair can most commonly be found in older women experiencing the menopause, teenagers in puberty, and women in general because of their monthly cycle or pregnancy. Stress can also be a cause of greasy hair as it can affect hormone levels. People who have fine hair can sometimes suffer form greasy hair because they have more hair follicles and more hair follicles means more sebum producing glands on the scalp.

There are a number of external factors in that cause greasy hair. Washing your hair too often can increase the production of sebum as the sebaceous glands produce more sebum to combat the stripping of oils from the scalp and hair which can happen as a result of frequent washing. Vigorous hair and scalp scrubbing can stimulate hair grease. Touching hair can also over-stimulate glands, as can brushing vigorously which carry oil through your hair. Pollutants in the everyday environment can cause hair to look greasy, along with product build-up at the roots from over-use of hair styling products.

There are also several internal causes to greasy hair as well. Along with changing hormone levels, a major cause of greasy hair is the food you put inside of you, i.e. you diet. Western diets are usually much greasier, containing more fat. They are usually processed, containing many additives, and typically are higher in fat and sugar. The high fat content of the diet increases oil in the skin which can lead to greasy hair. The meat in a Western diet often contains some hormones, and these hormones can add to the levels of unbalanced hormones. Greasy hair can also be a sign of a diet that is low in vitamin B.

The key of how to avoid, stop, treat and cure greasy hair is approach it from the outside and inside. Starting with the outside: avoid brushing your hair too often, and avoid brushing your hair vigorously. As you wash your hair, massage your hair and scalp lightly instead of scrubbing them vigorously. The beast shampoo for greasy hair is a mild-ph shampoo that is extra cleansing or clarifying. Look for a shampoo that is specially formulated for greasy hair. To protect against dryness moisturizing shampoos can leave oil in your hair, these should be avoided.

When shampooing, leave the shampoo in your hair for approximately 5 minutes for a better clean. Rinse and shampoo again if necessary. It’s up to you as to how often you should wash your hair. Once or twice a week is the ideal but to find your own balance of washing and oil production start with washing once a day, reducing how often you wash as you find that balance. If you are going to condition your hair, use a conditioner designed especially for greasy hair, and apply the conditioner not to the roots but to the mid and ends of your hair. If you use a hair dryer to style your hair, heat will stimulate oil production, so don’t let it get too hot.

With the inside: do all that you can to reduce and eliminate any and all stress. In your diet, consider using a vitamin B supplement. Make sure you eat plenty of whole grains, seeds, nuts, leafy green vegetables, salads and fresh fish. Reduce the amount of fatty foods that you eat, avoiding greasy, fried and fatty foods as much as possible. Reduce the number of white flour based foods in your diet, foods like pastries, pasta and bread. Lastly, avoid sugar and sugary foods like biscuits, cakes and soft drinks.

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What Can I Do About My Arthritis Pain?

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
by Garth Hopewell

Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Some people say “no pain, no gain” and they see pain as a sign that they have done something to the point of your body paying a physical penalty. Most pain is not that productive.

If you are suffering from arthritis you are going to have pain in the joints and this can keep you from doing the things that you want to. It is important to have pain management so that you can deal with the arthritis and live from day to day with hardly any frustration.

Like a red flashing light, your pain in the body is going to signal that you need to stop what you are doing and take action about your body’s health. Pain is very natural and it does not have to be hard for you.

There are is rather a list of things that can cause arthritis pain. Pain can be caused by inflammation in the joints. This type of pain is usually accompanied by redness and swelling in younger patients or anyone that just develops the condition. A second cause is damage to the joint tissue. We usually feel that we have pulled a muscle when this type of pain is occurring and it can be a condition caused by stress on a joint or another problem.

Pain can also happen from fatigue. You may simple have a small amount of lingering pain; being tired can make you feel this more. Think of it in terms of a headache at the end of the day when you are tired. Joint pain works in the same way. Depression and stress can cause pain or make your pain seem more severe than it really is. This is a terrible cycle to start. You will get depressed when you have pain and this will cause you to be more depressed which will cause you to feel even worse.

Arthritic pain in people is likely to feel a lot different to other kinds of pain. It is important to have a pain management plan. This will also include eating a healthy diet.

There are other courses of action open to you to address your arthritic pain. You may also want to use massage to help with your arthritis. Stay optimistic about life and take on the challenge of pain when it comes. Arthritis is going to be hard but you can overcome it so that you have a more normal life.

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Calm and Focus the Mind with Meditation

Thursday, October 9th, 2008
by Keira Adams

What exactly is meditation? The term meditation is often used to describe an individual’s state of intense focus on an object or thought. Attention is turned inward to the spirit.

It’s believed that meditation tehniques come from Vedic Hinduism origins, and it’s a common component of many eastern religions. But these days this practice is becoming more and more popular in western societies.

There are any number of reasons why people want to take up meditating. There are those who practice it to help them focus more on God; others aim for personal development. Many people find that it helps them achieve peace of mind and better health. There are even people who hope that when they begin to meditate, they will be enlightened.

Maybe you think that meditating is just another activity you should be doing to become healthier, sort of like dieting or exercising. Almost everyone who starts something new will have a vague sense of what this activity will do for them. However, if you don’t know what you expect to gain, you most likely won’t stick with meditating in the long run.

Not having clear objectives can make it difficult to know where to start. It can also lead to discouragement when your expectations aren’t being met. The best approach is to first of all identify what you want to gain by meditating. Discover as much as possible about the best practices to achieve that objective. After that, just get going.

In theory meditation is a simple practice. You just sit quietly and focus on a specific object or thought. But in actuality, this is a lot harder than it appears. You might not realize it, but your mind is always racing. And that makes it difficult to focus on only one thought at a time.

It’s best, therefore, to start off slowly. Practice your breathing first. This is the key to meditation. Sit comfortably and inhale and exhale deeply for several minutes. By taking regular breaths, you will improve your ability to focus, which is critical when meditating.

If you catch yourself thinking about other things while meditating, focus again on your breathing. Meditating is really just about concentration. If you realize that you’ve gone off track, just gently guide yourself back to the right state of mind. Don’t get discouraged; learning to meditate takes time, so keep on practicing.

The practice of meditation can lead the way to a calm and peaceful mind. With all the problems we face daily at work, at home, and the world in general, it’s important that you regularly experience a few minutes of peace.

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