Summer is already here but these awesome tips can be used right now to stop hair damage and can be used all year long! Summer usually means sun, salt, chlorine, wind and drying heat. Short of covering up every inch of our locks, there is no way to get past these summertime pitfalls. However, there are ways to protect hair and scalp from the elements and pleasures of summer.

Sunscreen is a MUST whether we are at the pool, ocean or gardening….and not only for our visible skin, but for our scalp and hair. Hair usually worn down becomes tossed up in a ponytail or off we go in that convertible with our hair flying about. In the meantime, the sun’s rays are drying out our hair and beating down on our scalp. New sprays are out there that protect from the sun and can also protect from breakage and wind damage whether windsurfing or taking a wild convertible ride. Oil treatments can also help for hair after the party if we were just not prepared for the fun!

The scalp also can end up with an extra layer of buildup from sun damage flakes and extra product. There is a fun scrub to make that just screams summer. This scrub lets conditioners work on hair and scalp after they have scrubbed away all of the excess. Just squeeze some shampoo into your palm and add a tablespoon of granulated sugar (it’s better on than IN our bodies!)…then mix and add to your head. Massage into your scalp to exfoliate. As the sugar melts away and the shampoo rinses out, your hair and scalp feel a new type of clean! And, the $ you save can buy you an umbrella drink!

Color is also affected by the elements, but once it starts to fade it is too late. Instead, think ahead and use a raw honey mask instead of conditioner the first time you wash your hair after coloring. All it takes is ¼ cup of raw organic honey and enough water to make a mixture you can easily spread on your hair. Leave it in place for 15 minutes and rinse out thoroughly. Add lavender or chamomile for a lovely scent! You can also research conditioners that are specifically made for color-treated hair. Either way you’ll keep your color and shine longer!

Clarifiers also come in handy to keep strands from looking dull and going flat. The difference between limp and luscious is the removal of the buildup of silicones in shampoos and conditioners. Clarifiers can be used once a week. Just wash twice with a clarifier then condition. Big disclaimer here…do NOT use on color treated hair or you will be back to the salon in no time!

Frizz is another condition that LOVES to come out in the summer months! Heat causes curls to unfurl like a flag on the 4^th of July and straight hair to frizz like fireworks! Style extenders can be applied to damp hair and then you can blow-dry, curl OR straighten. The heat from your device activates the ingredients which hydrate hair and block humidity.

If it’s the AMOUNT of hair that you have or don’t have that bothers you, then the latest in a thinning hair treatment is laser hair therapy. A laser hair brush can be used every other day for 15-20 minutes per treatment to stimulate the scalp’s follicles and allow them to produce a thicker, shinier hair shaft. Any viable follicle will respond to the increased blood flow and added nutrients it receives. Using a laser hair brush for hair loss will increase the volume and the quality of your hair. Head into Summer with confidence and some shiny, healthy locks!

Look on the red carpet and you will find hairstyles from almost every era…modernized! The 20’s brought short, close bobs. The 30’s, waves were in. In the 40’s hair got longer with curls or updos and sexy bangs. 50’s brought soft touchable hair, 80’s were wet and wild and the 90’s we chopped it all off again…so that we could grow it out again starting around 2010. Now with our longer tresses…we slick them all back into sleek ponytails.

In order to have hair to play with in so many fashions, it needs to be plentiful, healthy and shiny. Color doesn’t matter as we can dye it, and if we naturally have straight hair we will end up curling it, and if it is kinky or curly we will end up wanting to straighten it…so with all of the processing involved to get the latest look we want, let’s start with healthy hair…plenty of it!

First of all we need to start with our scalp. A clean, healthy scalp has no oil and built up debris such as dead skin cells clogging the entrance to the hair follicles. Shampoos and conditioners without sulfates (which make all that lather) and that do contain small amounts of vitamin E and coconut oil or other skin softeners that do not cause buildup keep the skin supple. However, the follicles themselves need to keep well fed in order to produce a thick, shiny hair shaft. One treatment for thinning hair and male or female hair loss treatment actually stimulates the blood flow directly around the bulb or base of the follicle. This brings a fresh supply of nutrients to the area that produces each hair. The Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser is the latest laser hair brush and has the maximum number of lasers, a comfortable head and handle and runs on rechargeable batteries so your device is as portable as a regular hair brush! It also has a hands-free stand that lets you test or make calls, read, sew or whatever while you use your laser hair comb for the 15-20 minutes every other day.

Preventing heat damage is another way to ensure healthy hair. Our blow dryers, flatirons and straighteners all break the cuticle or covering of each hair. A great moisturizing shampoo and conditioner can coat the hair strands so that damage is minimized. The best have vitamins A and C and can be applied before we get our blowout! Frizzies can make hair look less shiny, but there are new keratin products that can safely repair damaged cuticle for a few months. This helps to combat breakage from excess combing and brushing as well. Newer blow dryers have ionizing properties and flat irons now come with moisturizing steam like a steam iron does. Sun, salt and chlorine can be harmful too, so wear a hat and rinse hair promptly after a trip to the pool or beach.

There are shine boosters that spray on (use just a little!) and spritzers that visually volumize our hair. These create body and a bouncy, tousled look which makes hair look thicker and allows it to move which always looks more youthful. (Think of grandma with her perfectly coiffed helmet.) Creams that volumize and anything that we add to our hair can damage it or weigh it down if over used, so use sparingly! Hair coloring is another culprit that can damage hair if overdone, although it does make hair look thicker. Just getting your roots touched up to hide gray is a more hair-friendly way to go. Touch up kits, sprays and even mascara type wands of color are smart alternatives.

For those of us that need a female hair loss treatment for thinning or balding that can go along with the natural hair loss treatment offered by laser hair therapy, there is minoxidil (Rogaine). The two products can be used simultaneously without any interference. Laser hair therapy and this female thinning hair treatment drug are safe on any hair type and any ethnicity. Please check with your doctor or dermatologist before taking any medications orally, however. The rest of the fixes I mentioned are available in salons, stores or on the internet and work to help us keep, or help us get an amazing head of hair that will support ANY style!

If we could only grab those hands of time and start to turn them backwards we could stop at whatever age we liked the best (and maybe stay there for a while). Well, we may not be able to go back THAT far, but we can sure shave off a few years with all of the latest technology out there today. We can also use some very old tech to look younger too…

Scientists are now realizing that exercise not only helps with digestion, lower blood pressure, muscle definition, strength and balance, it also helps make our skin look younger too! About an hour two times a week of cardio-type exercise can take up to 20 years off of the look of our skin’s life at the cellular level which leads to more collagen production, moisture retention and elasticity. Give me 5 years at this point and I’d be happy…better get back on the bike, treadmill, elliptical! Some laser and resurfacing techniques also do the same but it seems like the exercise factor would take care of a lot more with one method and cost less too!

Diet is another way to look younger all over.

By diet I mean first of all a healthy diet. Lots of greens, veges, lean protein such as fish and water along with nuts, legumes, olive oil and a little red wine! The Mediterranean diet as it is called seems to not only keep weight off, it protects the cap-like ends of your chromosomes called telomeres. Shorter telomeres make us older and longer or protected telomeres keep us younger. Damage occurs when we eat a poor diet, eat sugary foods and drinks, smoke and have a high stress lifestyle. Darn, but all of this sounds like what we already know, but perhaps choose not to follow completely! Isn’t there a quick fix?

Ends up there is a new nutritional supplement that is now available without prescription. It is a powerful anti-oxidant called TA-65. It lowers blood pressure, glucose levels and somehow protects those end-caps on our genes! An extract from the astragalus plant, or milk vetch, it sprouts from a bean or legume. Long used in Chinese medicine, it is also said to be used for diabetes, heart health and certain immune diseases. Of course, this may not be a way to look very much younger in itself…but I bet WITH the correct diet and exercise it can sure help. I feel the clock ticking slower, maybe even going backward as we investigate!

It is true that our skin, nails and hair show how healthy our insides are, and there are ways to better hair health as well. Thick, shiny hair whether long or short just screams youth! As we age, women tend to thin all over our heads, so we need a female hair loss treatment or prevention. Men tend to bald in patches, so they need a laser hair therapy that works for them. Of course, with all of the attention and research on organics, we want it to be a natural hair loss treatment as well! Enter the new format of a long used treatment using cool or low level lasers as therapy (LLLT) for aging follicles. Much like protecting the end-caps of our chromosomes, the correct use of a laser hair brush can increase the level of nutrients getting to each follicle so that our hair grows thicker like it did when we were younger. Old, tired follicles can be treated to produce healthier hairs. This laser hair therapy for women CAN be used on men as well! It also is safe for all skin and hair types including dyed or treated hair. The Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser is compact and easy to use for only 15-20 minutes every other day for optimum hair follicle stimulation.

So, to turn back those hands of the clock…or at least to slow them down…two newly recognized products can augment the traditional diet and exercise knowledge that we already have. Let’s get started…we aren’t getting any younger! (or ARE we?????)

Shampoos seems like a necessity and a regular part of our daily or bi-weekly routine. But, what are we actually doing to our hair? Too little shampooing and our heads look greasy…too much and our hair is dried out, dull and flyaway. Shampoos that lather up, shampoos that don’t have suds on purpose, cream shampoo, dry shampoo…they all claim to be the best solution to giving us the best looking, healthiest hair. But, how much attention are we paying to our scalps? THAT is where our hair originates, and that is where we make or break the quality of our head of hair. Hair follicles must remain clear of debris to allow the hair shaft to grow and they must be fed by a healthy blood flow to keep them producing a thick and shiny hair shaft. As for shampoo, whichever one works to keep our scalp healthy is the one that is good for our hair. I believe in “mixing it up” a bit so hair never gets to greasy nor too dry, yet scalp stays clear…

A great way to keep our scalp’s follicles pumping out healthy new hair is to keep it fed, and the best thinning hair treatment is to make sure that blood is flowing to the base of each follicle. We all are starting to lose hair or our hair is getting thinner once we pass the thirty mark. Some of us keep our hair longer, some go completely bald at an early age, but we all could use the help of a natural hair loss treatment to keep all of our follicles firing on all cylinders BEFORE they start to slow down. Like the vast variety of shampoos, we also have options for keeping our hair vibrant.

Along with keeping a healthy body through proper diet and exercise, not smoking and not taking unnecessary drugs, we can use a laser hair brush for hair loss or thinning. Use of a laser hair brush only 15-20 minutes every other day will not affect any medications you may be taking, will not reduce the effectiveness of hair dyes or treatments and will definitely increase the proliferation of viable hair follicles. Hair follicles that were dormant or in their resting phase are awakened and the fine, thin hairs that they were producing will be growing thicker and fuller. Now, any follicle which is already dead will not start producing hair. This treatment for thinning hair is mostly about prevention…prevention of thinning or loss.

Several options exist, but basically the more actual lasers that are on the surface of the laser hair comb or brush the better. Don’t be fooled by LED lights either. Make sure that these cool, low level lasers (LLLs) are situated for targeting the base of the hair follicle. The LLL Therapy will penetrate and not damage the hair that you already have but it will increase the blood flow to provide nutrients and take away toxins from the bulbs of each follicle. Extra comforts would include a smooth surface so that its use does not feel uncomfortable.

An ergonomic handle and easy to clean surfaces are other plusses as well as rechargeable batteries. You do not want a cord to tether you nor to spend a fortune on batteries! There is only one company which has been clever enough to offer a hands-free stand that holds the laser hair brush so that you can sit under it with both hands free to read, knit, do crafts, etc. while you spend your 20 minutes of treatment.

The best laser hair therapy treatment is from the Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser at about $599. This one time purchase can not only prevent thinning or lost hair, but it can help regain what we may have already lost just because we have not been aware of this amazing product. This advancement in laser hair restoration will give you thicker fuller hair so that your biggest worry now is WHICH shampoo is the best for you!

Gadgets abound for everything we can dream of to keep us young or at least younger looking and or feeling. There are trimmers, clippers, zit zappers, ultrasonic face scrubbers, collagen boosters, hair removers, hair renewers, micro-….WAIT, something that can bring back our hair? A laser hair restoration device? This would mean that we finally have a treatment for thinning hair that is actually a natural hair loss treatment! This gadget is well worth investigating

A well-known fact is that as we age, our hair either starts to fall out or thin in spots (mostly men) or get thin all over (mostly women) for most of us. Our pattern of balding or thinning usually repeats the process that our parents went through. However, their generation did NOT have the knowledge of laser hair therapy. This low lever laser light treatment (LLLT) is actually a cool wavelength of laser.

This means that the temperature is cool, so there is no sensation of heat on your skin or scalp. What it does is increase the flow of blood at the precise level of each hair follicle or bud. This carries nutrients and takes away waste for each follicle faster than would normally happen. As each follicle is fed and cared for properly, it will not only hang onto its hair shaft longer, but will start to produce a stronger, shinier hair. Also, the follicles which were dormant or in their resting phase will also start to wake up and put out a stronger more vibrant hair as well. Voila, a fuller, thicker, shinier head of hair.

Now, don’t get these folks wrong. A dead follicle is a dead follicle. No amount of blood flow or fancy shampoos, creams or ANY gadget can get you a natural hair growing in a dead follicle. The only other way to have more live hair on your head is to have surgery to move hair from one place to another on your head which in my mind leads to thinning in spots anyway…and so it actually is just spreading out the hair you have…but this dying off of follicles is just going to continue. The ONLY way to stop or slow this process is with a laser hair brush for hair loss or a laser hair comb.

Usually these terms are used interchangeably as the older type of laser hair brush had very stiff bristles that either parted the hair so the light could get to the right depth or had the laser light coming from them. The newest and smoothest way to get the most beneficial treatment is from the Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser which is a smooth, curved surface with a canted easy-grip handle which houses 35 cool lasers. This brand has the HIGHEST number of true lasers (not just LED lights some use for effect) and it’s lasers pulse. Pulsing technology is also the latest in making sure that the light is delivered in optimum quantities for the best results. For all of the details and regular folk’s testimonials, just go to their website. All the technological info is there along with comparisons to any other brands out there. Lots of FAQs will have your head spinning and asking yourself why you hadn’t either heard of laser hair restoration before or hadn’t tried it out for yourself. This reminds me that they have a great money back guarantee and trial period that beats the rest. Another item that this company has is a hands-free stand that lets you do other things like read, sew, work on a craft project or anything else where you are sitting or standing in one place for the short treatment time every other day.

A lot of gadgets out there are very expensive, but some are not that bad. I think that to pay almost $200 for a face scrubber is excessive, but in comparison to pay around only 3 times that much for something that can restore our hair to a more youthful look is priceless! A treatment for thinning hair that works for women and men alike is amazing. So many drugs and procedures only work for one or the other.

AND just think…you and your mate can SHARE this wonderfully easy home treatment so the price gets even better! Vacations, business travel, busy schedules don’t matter as this new version of laser hair

I Googled “thinning hair treatment” and came up with SO many potions, vitamins, so called natural hair loss treatments that looked a lot like snake oil to me, shampoos, scalp conditioners and even fake hair particles to blend in with your hair and scalp. I think I would rather buy a wig when it gets that bad! In the meantime though my hair IS thinning and I am looking for SOME kind of female hair loss treatment. My hairdresser has been noticing my thinning spots too, and she suggested that I research some of the new laser hair therapy products out there. She said that a few customers of hers had tried them and she could notice the difference within about 2 months! I was ON IT!

First of all “laser hair brush” and “laser hair comb” seem to be interchangeable descriptions. None of them I found looked anything like a comb, but some looked like a brush. Most of this style had handles and “bristles” to either separate the hair or aim the lasers better at your scalp. My research found, however…that laser light goes through hair shafts and so there is no need to part it, and those “bristles” were stiff and painful when you ran the brush over your head. Now if you have to do that every other day for up to 30 minutes…

OUCH! Some had LED lights mixed in with their actual lasers and some even had mirrors (tricky!) to just make it look like there were more lasers at all. One item (a personal laser hair therapy device) had a smooth, curved surface, 35 actual diode lasers, they used the latest pulsing wave technology and had a slightly curved handle angle. Even the words “laser hair therapy” sounded better. The most amazing part of this particular website is that it offered a hands-free stand that fits that curved handle and allows you to multitask while getting your treatments! More comfortable and easier…what about the price???

I found that prices for hand-held devices varied only slightly once you got past the virtually useless ones. The range was from about $500 to $850 for anywhere from 12 lasers up to the best at 35. Of course the more lasers you have working for you, the larger the treatment area is and the time of treatment can be cut dramatically. I found that most brands have their own websites that explain pretty much the same general facts about hair growth, stages, patterns of baldness, etc.

I certainly learned a lot about growth phases, expected “drop out rates” of hair per day and saw lots of photos, diagrams and read lots of FAQs. My conclusion??? The best hand-held laser on the market is the Nutreve Personal Hair Therapy Laser. It’s the clear winner with the most diodes, an ergonomic handle, a head-friendly smooth, curved surface, and the latest pulsed wave technology. It also comes with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the option of a hands-free stand and a VERY decent price of $599! OK, I’ve done the research on hand-helds for you. Next I’ll review these caps, domes and in-house salon hood versions.

I found out by taking hours and hours of research that there is a solution to thinning hair after all! I was right about the fact that going to sulfate free shampoos, keeping my scalp clear and healthy, exercising and eating well all contribute to healthier hair, but in addition, this cool laser for hair stimulation is the latest and the greatest. The only problem is which one do I choose? Let me make some comparisons for you. There is a LOT to know!

There is quite a variety of hand held lasers and another group of “wearable” laser devices. Both seem to work on the same principal, it is just that some have more “power” than others due to the number of true lasers in the device. Some companies intersperse LED lights with the lasers, but there is a big question as to any effectiveness from just LED lights versus true laser diodes. Only one company actually PULSES their light which works best according to research I could dig up. Basically, I wanted to investigate two things: the effectiveness of the product and the “user-friendly” aspect of the product. I figured if I didn’t use it, why have it? It all comes down to the idea that “the best product is the one you will USE”!

In order to understand the effectiveness aspect, there is a lot of background information I had to wade through. I learned that laser light therapy is the most effective way to slow or stop hair loss. It has also been shown to thicken existing hair and to make sure that every viable hair follicle is producing at its optimum level.

It CANNOT grow new hair from a dead follicle…so if you have completely permanent bald spots, then hair transplants are the only way to go. However for MY problem of overall thinning hair or for guys with male pattern baldness that is beginning, the laser comb or brush is perfect!

Low-Level Laser Therapy or LLLT is not, in itself, new. Cool lightwave therapy has been around for a long time. It has been used in many aspects of physical therapy and dermatology. Mice re-grew their shaved spots in lab tests when LLLT was used in the area to help heal surgery scars faster. The red light spectrum that is used in laser hair therapy is found to have no negative side effects as it is highly concentrated, but kept at a low level of light (650 to 670 nanometers). On our scalp, it increases the blood flow by increasing the energy factories of our cells. More energy means more movement and efficiency in carrying food and healing properties to our hair follicles which are the “birthing chambers” of our hair shafts. Happy follicles mean healthier, thicker, shinier hair.

In the past, the laser option was only available in salons or dermatology offices and the cost factor was huge! Not only were the treatments expensive, but just the time and gas and scheduling alone made it cumbersome. Treatment required you visit 2 or 3 times a week for a YEAR to sit under a hair-dryer type device for 20-30 minutes. Only a licensed person could administer this therapy, so it did come with a specialist or physician to check on and monitor your progress. Now, however, this technology has been approved for individual use and it has gotten a lot smaller AND a lot less expensive (like computers or cell phones all have). With all of the new home use devices, I also find that they offer money back guarantees to try their product for 6 months so that you can get your money back if you use it properly but do not see results. Most offer over the phone consultations too…but the knowledge of the different customer service sites does vary!

All of the devices were safe, painless and most will work to stop or slow hair loss , but NONE will work forever…in other words if you stop using any of these devices, the progress that you made will diminish and your hair or lack thereof will be back to the beginning. Of course, it is the same with any of the topical chemical or internal medical products too. JUST like exercise, we need to keep up the work. DARN! In the beginning, every other day for 20 minutes or so is needed, but your results can be maintained after 6 months or so with only a once or twice a week treatment. Now that we have the basics down, lets compare actual products and companies.

I rapidly was able to determine that I need to start using sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners that do not leave a buildup on my scalp. These and heavy hairsprays, gels or mousses all can clog the very pores of the scalp (follicles) which need to breathe and be open for new hair to come out! Any oily residue can smother a follicle! I also am investigating products that can treat the hair shaft (such as oil treatments that I now just put on the ends of my hair instead of spreading it out all over my head). I will not give up my hairdresser’s coloring regimen, though I did actually ask about the drying effects of the products she uses, sulfate levels, etc. Luckily, I go to a great spot that is very conscious of these issues and they use only the safest of products that are the healthiest for hair and scalp. It was there that this whole thinning issue was brought to my attention in the first place!!!

I also found out that my diet, exercise (or lack thereof), stress levels (ommmmm) DO actually matter! I now rethink what is going into my body as well as what is going on my scalp. I am lucky enough to not take any prescription medications yet, but if I am prescribed something in the future, I will ask about side effects…maybe even actually READ those 50 page inserts that come with meds. Over the counter medications (self-prescribed) can also do damage to our chemical balance, so I will take that into account as well. Hormones??? Well, our bodies dance to their own tune when it comes to timing and duration of hormonal change.

What we CAN do though is investigate exactly which foods trigger hormonal responses and which foods have anti-inflammatory properties so that we can eat to smooth out our hormonal journey. I am currently hot on turmeric and probiotics (by eating yogurt and Kim chi). I am also cutting out salt, sugars (well trying) processed meats (processed anything) diary other than the yogurt (I miss cheese/love rice milk!!!). I actually feel a little more like exercising and have more energy with my lighter tummy.

But what do all of these changes mean for my HAIR??? Well, I am finding that the benefits will show up, but may take awhile. Remember that the hair we see is already dead! The follicles are where it all begins. After a month or so though, I am already seeing new hair along my hairline (short little hairs that stick out a little from the pack) and that is the signal of new growth. The next thing I want to investigate though is the latest in laser use. I have always thought of lasers as “removers” of stuff (skin cancer, gum tissue, hair…) Wait, HAIR??? Well, I am learning that it depends on exactly which wavelength of laser we are talking about. Removers and cutters are “hot” lasers. For hair regrowth we are talking cool lasers…and I mean COOL! Hair therapy laser treatment actually works to feed your follicles. When this means of thickening thinning hair and improving growth first came about, it could only be done by big machines in hair salons and the treatments were very expensive. Now, technology has improved to the point where they have been able to make products that work just as well that are small enough and small enough on the budget to be used at home. Privacy and saving gas are

just a side benefit! These hand held or hands-free lasers are pretty much safe for color treated hair, any type and color of hair and any ethnicity hair type. Sound too good to be true? That’s what I thought. So, I investigated these new devices, and this is what I found…..