We are so used to using products to straighten curly hair or ones that curl straight hair. All I know is that whatever we’re born with, that is NOT how we want to style our hair! Recently, however the trend is seemingly going back to the “hippie days” where we just let our hair flow free and even washing hair took a holiday. When we do decide to go natural, however, there are certain tips for still getting the best out of what we’ve been given…naturally!

The first of these is planning. We may think our natural hair is super curly, kinky or frizzy, but as we age and don’t “see” our natural hair for a few years, these locks may have straightened out a bit and formed soft waves or even gone gray and straight! Reality may shape where we end up with a new hairstyle. We also need to think about the quality of our hair once we stop any type of treatments. Our hair may be drier even though it is now chemical free if it is newly curly as scalp oil has a harder time travelling down a curlier hair shaft. Straighter hair may get oiler sooner as straight hair lies against the head and picks up oils faster. An oil free conditioner may be the best for straight hair and now an oil based product or leave in conditioner may help with frizzy or curlier hair.

Patience is another must. Everyone hates the “growing-out” process. It is like the “watched pot never boils” theory. We all want our new style, length, color, etc…and we want it NOW. On average, hair grows about 6 inches a year, so adding that to trims to keep a decent shape, it may be awhile before our real self shines through! Of course we can always cut our hair really short or shave our heads and let the new growth take its time, but most of us introduce our new style in “stages” so trims are a necessity to keep ends smooth and give us at least some sort of cared-for look.

Of course there are other options for transitioning into a new style. We can get hair extensions or a weave to add body or length or for longer hair it can be braided or put up in a twist or ponytail. Hot rollers can help gently smooth out the curlier spots and meld them visually into the gently curled straighter parts for a gentle change between curly and straight. The latest aid is the blowout. In this case though make sure to treat your hair with a gentle shampoo and conditioner to aid the process of changing your texture during transition.

Unfortunately some of us find that our natural hair is thinning or may be sparser in patches and our new hairstyle shows these problems more. The latest laser hair restoration techniques using a portable hand-held laser hair brush can make sure that each hair follicle is producing the strongest and thickest hair shaft that it possibly can to help produce thicker, fuller and shinier hair for the “new you”. This laser hair therapy for women (or men) is the best natural hair loss treatment available. Nutreve’s Personal Hair Therapy Laser has the most efficient system with 35 pulsing lasers (cool, red wavelength) in a concave, smooth holder that is lightweight just like a hair brush! There is NO sensation (pain, heat, etc.) AND as a bonus it is NOT harmful to ANY type of hair, curly or straight. It is also not harmful to any hair colors or products nor any medications taken internally or topically.

So, go natural (or not) but make sure to take good care of the first thing a person notices on all of us…our HAIR.

Skin and hair are the most telling when it comes to our age. We would all like to keep our youthful looks longer, and there are so many levels of choices when it comes to “faking a younger look”. Most of us head to the salon, dermatologist or esthetician for our fix, but now in-home devices are breaking into the mainstream of care for both skin and hair.

Makeup artists can give you a bit of a lift when it comes to a special event. Being prepped for family portraits or the red carpet make you look wonderful in the photos or on camera, but can leave you looking caked on or like a cartoon in the light of day. Hairstylists can give us the perfect do for the cameras as well, but we cannot walk around in real life situations with stiff hair lacquered in place. Makeup or hairstylists can give us an evening or one day fix, but to look more youthful in everyday life we need to invest in a more permanent solution.

Estheticians are now being rebranded as “Facialists” who work on the muscles under the skin to tone and lift the muscles that hold our skin in place. They recommend anywhere from 6 to 30 treatments done on a weekly basis by either manual or electrical impulse therapy. I haven’t yet seen a guarantee on how long it last, however! AND at $450 per treatment, this had better last awhile!

Dermatologists are charging up to $4,500 to tighten muscles using ultrasound. Radio-frequency devices melt fat in the jowl area for $6,500 and then there are the fillers to plump up the areas that are fuller in youth such as the jawline and the apples of the cheeks. Other than a scalp massage however, the hair is left out as far as “plumping” or increased production.

Now for the lasers…they are used to resurface the skin so that our pores look tighter and our age spots lighten or disappear. But what happened to the issue of our aging hair? As we get older, our follicles diminish in output both in volume and in quality of hair shaft produced. Aging follicles have a longer resting phase and a shorter growing phase so since less of them are producing at once, hair thins in women and ends production completely causing balding patches mostly in men. Laser hair therapy is a natural hair loss treatment that uses a device that is called either a laser hair brush or laser hair comb. The best devices contain pulsing wavelength cool wavelength lasers and the more the better!

The Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser gives you an IN-HOME thinning hair treatment device that is ergonomic and efficient. The cost factor is minimal too. For around $600 you can purchase this device that includes rechargeable batteries, 35 pulsing lasers, a curved, smooth surface that contours to your head and even a hands-free stand for multitasking while receiving your therapy. The recommended treatment time is 15-20 minutes every other day for improved circulation to the base of the follicles so that production is stimulated and improved and waste products are carried away.

Just as we need to keep up on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise, our skin and hair also need constant attention. Looking at the price tags however, the solution for a treatment for thinning hair is far easier on the pocketbook than treatments for sagging and aging skin! For so much less, you can have an in-home device that can be used on YOUR time schedule (even away from home) for a one-time charge (instead of recurring charges that increase with age) that requires no appointments and no side effects, downtime, prescriptions or pain!

What’s not to love about lasers? They can help us have a REAL thicker, shinier head of hair…no faking!

There’s a new light in town! Humans need light and a proper dose of vitamin D. Plants need light to grow. Eyes need light to see. All of this comes from the sun…but there are different wavelengths of light that scientists have harnessed for other uses. Red or cool light lasers or light emitting diodes (LEDs) are now a staple in the beauty world.

Certain spas in NYC offer $500 facials using a $3,000 mask of LED lights to prevent aging, erasing fine lines and improving skin tone. One would hope so for a facial that costs that much! Salons are now using LED and laser hair therapy to increase the thickness of hair shafts, elongate the growing phase of each hair follicle and produce stronger, shinier hair. Costs for treatments vary from $2,000 to $10,000 for a series of visits that will stimulate hair growth and then keep it growing (at least until you decide you can’t afford it any more).

How does all of this work?

Red light stimulates collagen and elastin production which leads to firmer skin and less wrinkles. Infrared light which is in laser treatments promotes scar healing and increases circulation. The only thing still hampering use for diminished wrinkles or increased hair growth is the price. Also a downside is the salon time and travel time associated with in-office visits. Well, the dermatology arena is now promoting an in-home LED wand that emits red and blue (for killing bacteria found in acne and rosacea) lights together. Skin remains younger looking longer and certain skin conditions vanish. Now laser hair therapy comes in an in-home device as well. It’s the latest treatment for thinning hair which is gaining popularity as our population ages.

The Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser has a contoured head like the contoured mask of lights that dermatologists use. It houses 35 pulsing red light lasers that target the base of the hair follicle where all hair is born. The increased circulation of blood in this area provides nutrients for healthy hair and takes away waste products that can build up and hamper strong hair growth. Following instructions is extremely important as the optimum use is for only 15-20 minutes every OTHER day. All thinning areas can be targeted and any viable follicle will start to produce thicker, shinier hair. This method of thinning hair treatment uses NO prescription medications, no invasive surgeries, no downtime and the cost is only about $600 for a one-time fee for the device and its rechargeable batteries. It even comes with an available hands-free stand so you can sit under it and use both hands to text, use your computer, knit, sew or hold your e-book.

We’re all trying to stay healthy and young looking for as long as possible. Skin and hair are usually the first thing a person notices as it starts to sag or thin. Even if we keep our weight down and our exercise program up, sagging skin and thinning or balding patches on our heads negates all of that hard work. Some of us turn to drastic measures such as surgeries or take endless amounts of prescription pills, others go in for endless amounts of treatments that work only for the rest of the day it seems, yet others just go all-natural and age gracefully. Whichever way you choose to live your life as you age, seek the light!

It promises to help us all ease into a happier, healthier more youthful looking life ahead!

Just about when you thought you’ve heard of every thinning hair treatment…up pops another idea! Of course some ideas are better than others and some new products work better than others, but we are obsessed with maintaining our youthful looks. Since our hair is one of the most prominent features it figures that we would research every natural hair loss treatment out there.

New on the scene touting cell-renewal, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are a plethora of skin, nail and hair loss treatments. Green, blue and brown algae from as far away as the Dead Sea, Oregon’s Klamath Lake and Lagoons in Polynesia team up with kelp and seawater rich in minerals to form the basis for beauty products touting the sea’s healing powers. One beauty company even has named itself after where these products come from…but skin products are just a part of their repertoire. The latest sea derived products are targeting women’s hair and claim to have the best female hair loss treatment.

We have long known (or hoped) that taking fish oil is good for blood pressure, but now salmon are giving up salmon-egg enzyme which dissolves dead skin cells without harming living cells. Baby salmon emit this enzyme during hatching to dissolve their egg sacks. Caviar extract is also used as another natural hair treatment loss treatment as it is supposed to add moisture, shine and improve the hair shaft from the inside out. These magic elixirs can either be applied to skin (scalp) or taken orally. I just wonder how one does not smell like the sea or burp up fish oil!

Algae does contain alguronic acid which is an anti-ager, and mineral-dense seawater heals with its plumping yet calming powers. Protein rich marine oils (salmon, caviar) can actually speed growth of cells. However, I suggest we drink algae rich juices from our local health stores or juice bars, take our fish oil capsules AND add a laser hair therapy treatment if we want to boost our hair’s strength, body and shine. Juices are at our local super market now and supplements can be found there too…but where can we find the latest in laser hair restoration? Well, it’s as easy as the internet. The latest laser hair brush uses cold laser waves to improve blood flow which in turn hastens hair growth. This light method does no harm to hair that is already in place, and it does not dry out or inflame skin cells. Used along with a non sudsing shampoo which will keep hair follicles clean and clear, increased blood stimulation strengthens and thickens the hair shaft. This translates to a thicker, shinier, fuller head of hair!

The top company which sells a laser hair brush for hair loss is Nutreve. They have perfected the science of correct wavelength, a comfortable and easy to use product, and the maximum amount of pure therapy lasers (not LEDs) in a hand-held device. Speaking of hand-held though…they also offer a stand that allows us busy folks to multi-task and use their product hands-free! How clever….Try it and forget smelling like a salmon…(although you may want to try the algae products on your face!)

The latest health craze is the use of coconut oil for just about everything! Extra virgin coconut oil is touted by celebrities, health gurus and regular folks as well. We are being told it is good to eat, drink, slather, swish and now it is even a treatment for thinning hair.

Most of us have tried it for cooking as it has a distinctively sweet taste, and is made of medium chain fatty acids unlike most fat we eat which is made up of long chain fatty acids. Coconut oil is used by the body as fuel and increases your metabolism which burns your calories at a faster rate. So, even at 120 calories per tablespoon, you shouldn’t gain weight…at least that is what proponents claim! If it is good for us, then a healthy diet is a wonderful building block for preventing hair loss. It may actually be part of the next natural hair loss treatment we try.

Coconut oil may also be the new cure for memory loss. Its medium chain fatty acids increase the body’s production of ketones. Ketones are a wonderful source of fuel for our brain cells. With our bodies staying young longer, we need to keep up mentally as well. The dental community is jumping on the bandwagon suggesting that the toxins in our mouths are fat soluble and by swishing with coconut oil for 20 minutes daily, these toxins get carried out when we spit it out. Dental plaque is the main culprit for poor gum health and bad breath, and has also now been linked to poor heart health.

Extra virgin coconut oil has ferulic acid which reduces inflammation. It pairs well with all of those peels we get to renew the look of our skin. Its antibacterial, antioxidant and antifungal qualities can eliminate breakouts even while it moisturizes our skin including our scalp. Many communities of peoples living near warm waters have used coconut oil as a female hair loss treatment for years. It not only moisturizes the hair shaft, but it protects the scalp and skin from the drying effects of sun and salt.

A mix of natural oils has shown up at high end salons for clients to use not only as a moisturizing product, but also to protect hair while clients are at the beach or pool as it protects against chlorine as well. This goes along with their promotion of laser hair therapy or laser hair restoration. Salons are selling laser hair brushes as a thinning hair treatment right along with natural hair care products to increase fullness, shine and body.

So, as we start to feel our age, or refuse to give in to the thought of it…we can add coconut oil to our smoothies, salads, slather it on our skin…even swish if we wish…but we must not forget to apply it to our hair as well. This along with the amazing advances in laser hair therapy will ensure we have healthy insides and beautiful outsides, naturally! Ask your salon or check the web for the best in a home use handheld laser hair brush for hair loss and hair health. It works with an array of cool light lasers in a brush type device that can be used at home or on the go for maximum blood flow and stimulation of hair follicles…therefor promoting thicker, fuller, shinier hair. Nutreve has a personal hair care laser hair comb or brush that is simple and easy to use…Even easier than cooking with coconut oil!