Hair Care & Repair

I was always lucky to have a good head of hair, I never had to worry about it, if I got a bad haircut it would grow back so quick it was only a temporary problem.  That changed when I had to start taking chemo and hormone supressing therapy for my cancer.  Now may hair was thinning, wiry and just wouldn’t grow.
 
For the first year of a cancer diagnosis you are in survival mode, you are just trying to deal with the shock, the fear and trying to stay alive.
 
The second year  is when I decided to start thriving again.  My hair wasn’t a major issue for my survival but now I am not just focussed on staying alive I’m focussed on living and my hair is one of the areas I started to focus on again.
 
Now, I can’t take the usual herbal tinctures I would have given clients to help with hair growth.  This is because their function is to improve blood flow to the peripheries, including the scalp, to bring nutrients to the follicles, hence strengthening the hair and improving growth.  I wouldn’t use these herbs because the chemo is partly trying to stop blood flow to the tumours to kill their food supply.
 
So, I looked to what other natural remedies I knew would help my hair grow back strong.
 
These are my 2 favourite and both come from Ayurvedic medicine. Both are used as an oil to rub into the scalp to help feed the follicles at the root:

• Amla oil – amla is also known as Indian gooseberry and is one of the most treasured herbs in ayurvedic medicine.  It is high in Vitamin C, Polyphenols, and antioxidants.  It not only promotes healthy strong hair growth but is also quite effective against dandruff and some bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. 
• Castor oil – Some of us remember being made to drink castor oil as children, but thankfully this remedy is to rub the oil into the scalp.  Castor oil as a topical hair treatment has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine.  It not only nourishes the hair follicle and root but will strengthen the hair, speed the growth and slow hair loss.  It is high in Vitamin E, Cooling for the hair follicles, high in omega oils and EFA’s

 
Here is how to use it:
Step 1 – wash your hair
Step 2 – apply the oil to towel dried hair
Step 3 – wrap your hair in a towel/towel turban and allow to absorb for the minimum of ½ hour.  For best results do this at night, sleep with the oil on and the towel turban, and then rinse of in the morning with some shampoo.
Start with 2-3x week until you have the required results then reduce to 1x week.  (if you are going through treatments that are affecting your hair then I would continue the 3x weeks, you are constantly working against the side effect of the treatment so need a more consistent method of treatment).
 
Let me know if you try this and what your results are!
 
 
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