Tress Relief – Age-Proof Your Hair

Posted: Tuesday 12 October 2010 12:06pm

A host of tress issues arise as we grow older. Blame environmental or styling stress, genetics or an unhealthy lifestyle but, if not cared for correctly, hair can begin to look frazzled and add years to our appearance.

Thankfully help is close at hand, with a wealth of knowledge, products and treatments to promote your mane event.

You Are What You Eat

The hair is an excellent indicator of our health; like the skin and nails its condition reflects what is going on inside. “Internally, the constant reproduction of matrix hair cells ‘age’ just like every other body cell,” says Tony Pearce, Pantene’s Expert Trichologist. Hair “is not essential to keep us alive, so it is usually the first tissue to have nutritional-metabolic support withdrawn”, he adds.

Eliza Blackwood, naturopath and nutritionist from Outreach Health, suggests to help build and maintain healthier hair that you include  plenty of protein such as eggs, lean meat, and nuts in your diet.

“Revving blood flow and oxygenation to the hair follicles with massage, and also including foods that stimulate scalp circulation – such as ginger, rosemary and chill – will help to promote health new growth, she suggests.

Good hair nutrition also means eating plenty of food rich in B vitamins; for instance whole grains, eggs and nuts. Hydrating from the inside with essential fatty acids (from fish, nuts and fruits and vegetables such as avocado) will help improve the health of your hair, too.

Supplements should only be used to fill in the nutritional gaps in our diet, the majority of nutrients should always come from a balanced diet. A popular “beauty” nutrient is silica, which is said to assist growing strong and health skin, nails and hair. Try Colloidal Silica (50 capsules), $32.95.

Inside and Out

Environmental factors can be your hair’s worst enemy. “Ultraviolet light, extreme temperatures, humidity, environmental and urban pollution are the biggest culprits,” explains Tony Pearce. “They age the hair structure by eroding, damaging and unravelling the outer layer or cuticle, causing breakage and dryness.”

As we get older, our hair (and the rest of us) become more susceptible to the long-term effects of oxidative stress. By eating the correct foods we are giving out body the tools to ward off damage caused by free radicals, and daily exposure to heat styling, sun and chemical processing, which breaks down the hair surface.

By increasing anti-oxidants and other age-defying compounds found rich in foods like, “raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries and blackberries, can help fight against the damage from free radicals,” advises Blackwood. “Go green with foods such as spirulina, broccoli, cabbage, kale, collard greens, and Brussell’s sprouts,” adds Blackwood. As they enhance the bodies ability to break down nasty toxins.

Offset the environmental attack by nurturing your hair with not only antioxidant-rich foods but protective products. Protect hair with a quality leave-in conditioner that has UV shields, too. Try Kerastase Soleil Micro-Voile Protecteur, $41.  To replenish hair moisture, use Pantene 3 Minute Miracle treatment, $7.99, which is enriched with a pro-vitamins.

Thin Is Not Always Best

Thinning tresses are thought to be “genetically programmed for each of us,” says Tony Pearce. “For women, thinning is also largely due to declining female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, as well as the hormone that drives our metabolism – thyroid adrenal,” he says.

Internal disturbances such as iron deficiency, thyroid dysfunction or an auto immune condition such as lupus could be the culprit, so should always be investigated by a qualified professional.

A simple change in style could be all you need, to make your hair look fuller (and yourself a few years younger!).

Enter volumising products! “Always apply them to towel-dried hair,” says Alan Buki from Atlantis Hair in Sydney. “Concentrate the application on the roots, and use your fingers to massage through mid-lengths and ends, before blow-drying in sections using a large round brush.”

Try O&M Rootalicious Root Lift, $29.95, for mega-support and volume without stickiness. To fatten up the finest of hair, try Schwarzkopf Extra Care Volume Styling Hair Thickening Lotion, $6.99, running it through for a extra boost in height and thickness. For texture, a little bit of dry shampoo, such as TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo, $32.95, applied to the roots is all you need.

Treat Your Tresses

It’s never to early (or to late) to start an anti-ageing haircare routine,  just like skincare, the correct products have been specifically designed to combat the signs of ageing hair. What’s great about this new development is it’s targeting particular problems, such as tired, weakened and porous hair, rather than just blanketing it as “dry” or “dull”.

“This is a big evolution in hair care,” says Maria Ardino, Redken Hair Director and owner of Ardino Hair Face Body, Paddington, Sydney. “Till recently, we didn’t have targeted haircare products specific to hair ageing – which is something clients have long been asking about.”

Ardino suggests indulging with a in-salon treatment.  “It’s a great way to help turn back the clock on your hair.” A good one to try is the new Redken Chemistry Time Reset Shot treatment. Ardino explains,  “it targets the five signs of ageing in hair – decrease in density, increased dryness, change in texture, lack of shine and breakage; and our clients have noticed an immediate improvement in their hair.’

Looking at the hair structure at a different angle, Chronologiste, the latest in-salon treatment by Kerastase Paris, works by fussing nature and science. Combining vitamin A and B (both powerful antioxidants), squalane, essential fatty acids and Pacific Sea Water Enriched Gel (a rich mineral and micro-nutrient)., it aims to rejuvenate the hair structure to give back that soft healthy luminosity, renewed vitality and youthfulness.

And now you can bring the salon home to you, with treatments such as Redken Time Rest Corrective Defence, $28,  Kerastase Age Premium Masque Substantif, $56, andMoroccanoil Restorative Hair Mask, $49.50.

by Allanah Deluca

Comments (1) Print Send to friend Share or bookmark this page