Growth Spurt??

When I started my hair growth journey a few weeks ago, I read a few things that said it might take a month or so for me to really start noticing growth from all these "remedies." I think we've hit the magical one-month mark, because I'm noticing a growth spurt all of a sudden. Yeah!! Look for an update photo sometime in January.

My cousin recommended Vitamin D for hair growth. I will add that to my ever-growing assortment of remedies-in-a-bottle. And I have already run out of the rosemary herbal supplements (maybe that's because rosemary is also supposed to help with brain power -- something else I need!). Time to pay a visit to Vitamin Shoppe!

I stocked up on Jello again this week. One box is supposed to make four servings, but when someone is consuming that jiggly gelatin for a purpose, well, the servings become pretty generous. I really hope people were lying years ago when they told me Jello is made from horses' hooves. Children will believe anything, and I don't see "hooves" on the ingredients list, so I'm sure it's fine. I still avoid hot dogs, though, just in case they really are made from rats...

Haven't gotten to the grocery store yet to get lettuce, citrus juice, banana and coconut oil for my scalp treatment concoction. I'm planning to do that -- and the vinegar/olive oil experiment -- this weekend.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Eat Your Veggies... And Wear Them, Too

We all know we're supposed to eat lots of fruits and vegetables for good health... But did you know that many ancient cultures applied these foods to their scalps to promote hair health and growth? Remedies include chopped lettuce, the juice of citrus fruits, coconut oil, banana.

And let's not forget the salad dressing! Olive oil and apple cider vinegar are said to be helpful in promoting hair growth. According to what I've read (several different places), olive oil can be applied directly to the scalp, then you wrap your head in a showercap or towel and just wash the oil out in the morning. The vinegar, which cleanses the scalp, should be combined with water and used as a rinse.

So... Yes, I'm going to try these. We'll see how easy it is (or isn't) to keep chopped lettuce on my scalp. Maybe I should just stick the lettuce, citrus juice, coconut oil and banana in a blender? Hey, at least it will smell good. The olive oil will be interesting. Perhaps I'll mix it with my Weleda rosemary hair oil. Apple cider vinegar... Hmm. I'll try that one on a weekend, just in case my hair winds up smelling like apple cider vinegar all day.

Of course, fruits and vegetables contain lots of vitamins, but I figure I might get an extra boost from a hair vitamin. I picked up a hair/skin/nails vitamin from Walmart a couple of weeks ago, and I'm taking it daily. I remember a friend in college tried to grow her hair one time, and she said she experienced quick growth once she added a multivitamin to her diet, so I'm optimistic.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Rumor has it that hair grows faster during the warmer months. (I started this process in December... Go figure.) Maybe it's because people are more active in the summer and therefore have better circulation? Circulation is said to be a factor in hair health, and it makes sense. That's why scalp massagers are so popular -- anything that invigorates and draws blood to the scalp should improve growth. (I hope.)

As I type this, it's 40 degrees outside, and we keep edging closer to January. So, I have added my scalp massager to my ever-growing list of "remedies." It's copper and looks like a giant spider. It makes my scalp feel great, so I hope it will help increase circulation during these frigid months.

I've also thought about wrapping a hot towel around my head a few days a week -- and I might even infuse it with some rosemary. Couldn't hurt. Heck, maybe I'll even convince my husband to install a heat lamp, and I'll just sit under that for the duration of the winter. If you've ever had a hot stone massage, it's probably the same principle -- the massage therapist uses the hot stones to increase blood flow to specific problem areas in the muscles.

Good ol' exercise works, too. I try to take my dog for a long walk three or four times a week. Of course, she's an American Eskimo puppy, so our "walks" are more like mad sprints around the neighborhood. On the flip side, I'm also doing Tai Chi a couple of times a week. It helps reduce stress, and stress is actually said to be a cause of slow hair growth -- or even hair loss.

So, here's to a warm, stress-free New Year and long hair.

Jello and the Mint Family

I'm not the world's biggest fan of Jello. I like it once in a while, but it's just sort of weird and jiggly -- not something I would normally choose to consume half a dozen times a week. However, my husband recently told me he noticed one time when he was eating a lot of Jello that his fingernails grew more quickly than usual. So, since hair and nails are both made of keratin, it stands to reason that if Jello (gelatin) makes nails grow, it should make hair grow. I do have to say that I've been doing this for about three weeks now, and I've noticed my fingernails are growing pretty quickly.

I've also read that rosemary -- in both edible and topical forms -- often promotes hair growth. I already use a lot of rosemary in cooking, so I'm taking rosemary herbal supplements: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=NW-2417.

I'm also applying Weleda rosemary hair oil to my scalp a few times a week: http://usa.weleda.com/our-products/shop/rosemary-hair-oil.aspx.

On a recent trip to Whole Foods Market, I discovered the store's brand of peppermint herbal shampoo and conditioner. Peppermint is supposed to invigorate the scalp, and even better -- the products do not contain any sodium laureth/laurel sulfate! I've been using it for a couple of weeks and my hair does feel generally healthier.

As far as growth goes... My family has been commenting this week that my hair has grown almost an inch since Thanksgiving! My plan is to post update photos about every three months. The attached photo was taken in mid-October (and I've had one minor trim since then), so in a few weeks I'll post an updated shot.

Here we go again...

I've been trying for 10 years to have the sleek long brown hair I had as a child. Over these past years of dealing with one thing after another, though, I've developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with my hair. It started in 11th grade when a medication I was taking caused some of my hair to really thin out. Grrr. Then during my senior year, a perm caused some serious dry hair and lots of damage. Even more GRRR. It was pretty much a mess. So, I chopped it short.

Then I went off to college -- where I dyed it brown (it had been highlighted in high school), then red, then brown again, and then a lighter brown before I went home for the summer. The damaged hair grew out, and I highlighted my very-short hair for the start of sophomore year. I kept it short through the rest of college -- it was just easier.

I fell in love during college, and got married a week after graduation. I was able to grow it to shoulder length in time for the wedding, and thought that maybe I would be able to keep growing it. Finally! But... no. One day I tried to save money by layering it myself -- you know, the ponytail trick where you chop off the very bottom of the ponytail and -- voila -- beautiful layers. Only it didn't work that way. I ended up having to trim it substantially.

I got it permed again, in summer of 2007. I just wanted some gentle waves while it grew back out. That didn't happen. It looked like I'd been electrocuted. So, I waited and waited for the perm to grow out. Finally it did, around the time I started a new and quite busy job. So, again, I gave up and decided it was just easier to keep it short.

A year ago, I decided long hair can be just as manageable as short hair -- so I got the bright idea to get extensions while waiting for it to grow out. The extensions were beautiful. But when the stylist pulled them out eight months ago, she took a significant amount of my real hair as well. So, I've been waiting since April for my hair to get thick again.

Two months ago, I was on the verge of giving up once more. But I've had a change of heart and I AM READY THIS TIME, complete with a growing list of hair-growth remedies. Some of them make me laugh. Some sound pretty reasonable. I am going to try them all. And you, dear reader, get to read all about them. And please -- share your comments, questions and suggestions with me. I'd love to hear from you during this journey.

Thanks.
Tracy