Lifestyle Choices

Brushing and Combing

Brushing is good for hair, provided you have a good brush and you do not overdo it. It stimulates circulation of the scalp, removes loose scales from the skin on the head, and distributes your hair’s natural oils well, which means it helps protect the cuticles and create shine. The brush you choose should have evenly spaced bristles with rounded ends. The best brushes for your hair are still made from animal bristles.

Nylon bristles have blunt ends, which can cause splits and cracks to the hair. Some brushes have bristles set in rubber. They are particularly good, for they give a massage to the scalp while you brush. About thirty to fifty strokes a day is good—more than that is too much, and with less you are not really doing anything. When you brush, you need to bend at the waist and brush your hair from underneath as well as back from the crown. (more…)

What Kind of Shampoo is for You?

Taking into account the things already said, you can choose the cheapest one you like the smell of, since your hair will carry the scent in it of your shampoo for a day or so afterward. But there are certain kinds that are particularly good for certain kinds of hair.

Lemon: These shampoos are especially good for oily hair, because they help remove the oil without leaving the hair lackluster and lank.

Balsam: This is a good ingredient to choose if your hair is very fine or lacks body. Balsam is a resinous substance from the bark of certain trees. In a shampoo, it coats the hair shafts, lending them thickness and strength. (more…)

Crash diets

There are 3-day diets, 5-day diets, diets that promise you’ll drop a pound a day for 2 weeks. These are very appealing for people who want to lose weight for a special occasion. And they are the leading cause of yo-yo dieting.

Remember: If it’s fast, it won’t last.

As soon as you go back to eating the way you always have, the pounds will come back. And chances are, they’ll come back with a vengeance since the deprivation of the quick diet will have slowed your metabolism, requiring fewer calories and causing your body to store the excess as fat.

These diets claim to “jump start” your weight loss, but in fact they do just the opposite. Going on a quickie diet implies going off it. You haven’t changed your eating habits. You haven’t incorporated more activity into your day. All you’ve done is temporarily forced your metabolism into starvation mode. (more…)