Good Grooming can make all the difference!
Grooming could be all you need to bring the natural beauty out of your hair. If we assume you are in good health, eat and drink healthily and are still wondering how to bring the life back into your hair then you should consider this. I have three cats and each one of them has a different type of fur. They are all common Moggies, no pedigrees here, and they all spend a great deal of time on grooming, but each one has fur that feels different to the touch. One especially has the most gorgeous silky coat while another one has a rougher type of fur that although equally soft is not as silky to the touch. The third has silky fur but not as thick or as long as the first one. These differences are the result of the genes that they have inherited from their parents and the natural predisposition of each cat. In particular the cat with the rougher fur is arguably the most handsome of my cats with a very aristocratic almost Siamese shaped face but his fur is undeniably not as pleasant to stroke as the smallest and most silky of my feline friends. No matter how long he spends on grooming his fur he is never going to have the same silky coat as Molly.
Some people have naturally weak hair no matter what they do, others seem able to mistreat their hair regularly with little damage done. This is down to your genes and you need to accept this (no amount of grooming will change your hair type) and look for the positive in whatever nature has has given you. I do not mean that you cannot improve on what you have to start with… but just in the same way that you cannot be someone you are not… there will inevitably be some hair types and styles that you can never achieve. Understanding how your hair works and what it needs.
The hair root grows out of a kind of bag beneath the skin. The hair strand grows about 0.35mm per day, making an average growth rate of 1cm, or half of an inch, per month. But this will vary depending upon who you are, hereditary factors as well as your diet and general health. Healthy hair has an average lifetime of between two and six years. During the lifetime of the hair it continues to grow until it reaches the limit of its natural lifespan and then after a short rest period the hair will die and fall out. A new hair will begin to grow from the same bag almost immediately. The lifetime of your hair is determined by many factors, some hereditary, some related to your health and also your current circumstances. The lifetime of your hair will determine the maximum length of hair you can have. Waist length hair takes about 6 years to grow out from a short hair cut. If your hair has an average life cycle of 2 years before falling out it is clear that you will never be able to grow waist length hair. If you are very happy with what nature has given you as a starting point then you are very lucky and all you have to do is to leave well alone or perhaps just spend extra time on grooming. This I believe is the ideal. You see nature has designed the perfect hair for each of us… and we were born with it… or it grew very soon after! Why is it that most mother’s while applying all sorts of artifice to change their own hair will rarely if ever use such things on their young children? Because your mother knows that your natural hair really is lovely and it is perfect for your face and your personality. It is what suits you best… I don’t care what is in fashion at the time, your natural hair type, colour and texture is the best you will ever have… every chemical, strong detergent or unnatural solution you apply to alter that may give you a temporary change but ultimately will affect your natural condition for the worse. While we are young this can usually be recovered from with little or no lasting damage. As we get older, or if we become unwell, recovering becomes harder and the damage may be permanent. A Hairbrush is the key to good Grooming.
Choose your grooming implements with care and do not skimp on cost as far as these are concerned. A good quality brush and comb will last you for years. A wide toothed comb is important for combing out tangles, especially when hair is wet, choose one that is perfectly smooth with no seams or rough edges upon which your hair can catch. If your hair is long or especially thick you will not need any other comb but if you have short or fine hair then choose a smaller toothed comb for fine styling. The comb can be made of anything at all, the most important thing is that it is very very smooth.Choosing a brush for good grooming is not as simple as it sounds. I know that there are many modern fibres that may make the using of natural bristles redundant but I have yet to find a synthetic brush that did as good a job as the well made natural bristle brush. Most natural bristle fibres are made from pig hair. Many people would prefer not to use a brush containing pig hair. In my opinion there is no synthetic substance to match and until one is invented I am happy to use the natural fibres. In an ideal world it would have come from an organic pig and perhaps one day that will be the norm – that would certainly make a big difference to the conscience side of things but until then… we are stuck with what we have. Never brush wet hair. Wet hair stretches very easily and although healthy hair can stand a certain amount of this, damaged hair will simply break. Begin your morning hair grooming routine by combing the hair with a wide toothed comb. If your hair is long start at the end holding the hair with your free hand so as not to pull it excessively when tangles are encountered. Slowly work your way upwards towards the scalp. When you have combed the hair thoroughly take up your brush and begin at the scalp with long sweeping strokes. Think about the process as you brush, you are lifting sebum from the scalp and transporting it down the length of the hair. If your hair is very long it is likely that the ends will always be more dry than the roots as the sebum runs out before you get the brush right to the end of the hair. But even if your hair is short it is still a good idea to do the full brushing routine. Brush your hair for a good 5 minutes at least. The old tale of 100 strokes with the hairbrush is a good one – though it isn’t necessary to count the strokes, about 5 full minutes will do it. Don’t worry about static electricity this can be easily sorted by passing your free hand along the length of your hair behind the brush. Many modern shampoos and conditioners actually cause static in your hair and a natural bristle brush goes along way to dissipating any static build up. You should not make static the reason why you cannot follow a good grooming routine. It can be very pleasant to brush your hair thoroughly, not only does it improve the health of your hair, it massages and stimulates the scalp too. And it’s a great deal cheaper than paying for an Indian head massage. (and even better if you can get someone to brush it for you!) If you have long hair that is not tied up during the day it may be necessary to groom again at lunch time or early evening. 
If your hair is excessively dry you may wish to try a little
natural conditioner
at this point. The best natural conditioner is of course the scalps own sebum but sometimes a little help is required. Jojoba oil does this very well but does not suit everyone. Coconut oil is another good choice, but in reality any vegetable oil (olive, sunflower, sweet almond) will do provided you are happy with its natural aroma. A few drops applied at regular intervals throughout the day can be very beneficial. It is important not to overload the hair. If your hair is short sprinkle a few drops of oil onto the palms of your hand and then rub them together. Massage your hands over your hair (avoid direct massage onto the scalp, try to concentrate on the hair only). It is immediately obvious when you have overdone it as the hair becomes lank and dull. If your hair is excessively dry and/or very wiry or curly, you can repeat this process until you get the desired effect. If your hair is long then begin applying the oil to the bottom and driest portion of the hair first. Work your way up the hair shaft towards the scalp, again it is important not to overload the hair with oil. A little oil applied at regular intervals will work much better than a lot applied all in one go.
Good Grooming includes Styling the Hair
As part of your grooming routine you will no doubt wish to style your hair. It is best not to use heat. Of course on occasion it is important to look your best but heat is damaging to the hair and should be used sparingly, if at all. If blow-drying is absolutely necessary, try to only dry the roots and the body of the hair with the heat, leaving if possible the ends to dry naturally. If your hair is long and you intend to use bands or clips to tie it up always look for the smoothest clips you can find. Any protruding edges or roughness will snag on the hair and can break it. Bands should be smooth and even and should never be tied tightly on the hair. You will find that healthy hair becomes very strong and can stand the abuse that a special day brings, a wedding or a grand function for example, but should not be over taxed by such rigours every day.I have seen adverts on the tv for shampoo and conditioner that suggested that a lot of hair breakage is due to brushing. This is misleading. If your hair is healthy and you are brushing it correctly (i.e. removing tangles by combing first) then there is no reason at all that your hair would break just from brushing it. Damaged hair of course is something else. Good grooming is a little time consuming and often these rumours are circulated simply to make you feel better about skimping on your routine. Before going to bed plait long hair loosely and tie it with a covered elastic. During the night we are prone to a lot of movement and weak hair breaks easily. Those who awake in the morning to a pillow covered with broken hair will know what I mean. Those people who have short hair but still find an excessive amount of broken hair on their pillow should sleep in a cotton night cap. This is not an item that can be bought easily nowadays but in the past ladies often went to bed with their hair in a cotton cap to protect it from breakage. If you have any sewing ability at all you can use a shower cap as a template and fashion a cotton equivalent that will do the job – I didn’t say it would be flattering so I offer an alternative, albeit more expensive – change your pillow cases to satin or silk. I can imagine that many of my readers are laughing now. How far you take this is of course up to you...
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