Safe, natural methods to a healthy and clean hair

(NaturalNews) Aromatherapy oil combinations and simple homemade herbal hair packs can provide gentle, non-harmful ways of moisturizing and repairing damaged hair. Regular use of over-the-counter shampoos and conditioners laden with toxic chemicals can dry and strip hair. Instead, try these easy home-made treatments to help revive, shine and clean hair in the best way possible, the natural way.

Hair Products to Avoid

Hair will certainly be stripped and damaged with the continual use of detergent type shampoos. Look out for shampoos containing Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS). This chemical is a skin, lung, and eye irritant, is suspected to cause cancer and damages hair follicles, according to the Journal of the American College of Toxicology.

Aromatherapy treatment for dry hair is simply a matter of adding essential oils of choice to a base oil appropriate for dry hair, such as coconut oil, almond oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil or olive oil.

Some of the best essential oils to choose from for dry hair are Lavender, Rosemary, Rosewood, Geranium or Sandalwood.

Aromatherapy Recipe for Damaged Hair

1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sweet Almond oil
1 tablespoon Peach Kernel oil
Half teaspoon Avocado oil
Half teaspoon Evening Primrose or Borage oil
2 drops Carrot essential oil
3 drops Geranium essential oil

Apply to hair and allow to soak into the hair, for 20 minutes or so.

Home-Made Shampoo for Dry Hair with Chamomile

Place 5 tablespoons of chamomile flowers in a bowl and add 4 cups of boiling water. Allow to steep, covered, for half an hour. Strain the liquid and add 4 ounces of Castile soap flakes. Shake the bottle and use this as shampoo. Used continuously, hair should eventually lose its dryness.

Hot Oil Treatment Recipe for Frizzy, Dry Hair

Apply warm olive oil or coconut oil all over hair. Massage into the scalp. Cover the head with a warm towel and leave for 20 min. Then take a bath and wash hair with a gentle, natural shampoo.

Hair Pack for Damaged Hair

Mash a ripe banana with a few drops of almond oil and massage into hair. Leave it for about 15 minutes. Rinse with water and shampoo in the usual way.

Recipe for Soft, Silky Hair

Mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of honey, massage into hair. Wrap the hair with a towel or shower cap and let it rest for 15 minutes. Shampoo and rinse the hair.

Tips on Treatment for Damaged Hair

Even if a good, healthy diet is being followed, avoiding the following practices will result in hair that is less dry and damaged and easier to manage:

Avoid central heating, overly hot water in baths or showers, over-washing of hair, rough towel drying, hot rollers and the use of harsh dyes and shampoos.

Stay away from hair styling products like gels, hair sprays, colorants and so on which have a damaging effect on hair. Perming, blow drying, straightening or curling hair can cause dryness.

Sources:

http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-re...

http://www.healthy-communications.c...

The Complete Book of Essential Oil & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood (New World Library, 1991)

How to choose natural beauty products

(NaturalNews) The way we look is a direct result of what we put into our bodies. The food we eat and the beauty products we use greatly affect our outward appearance. Unfortunately, it is a fact that like our food supply most of our beauty products are full of toxins, preservatives, and even poisons. These are put in our beauty products in order to give them a longer shelf life and thus give the companies more profits. In order to be a healthy consumer, we must make conscious choices at the check-out counter by choosing natural and organic beauty products.

Don't be fooled by advertising. Most of the beauty products you see on TV and in magazines are targeted towards us to make us think we need their product to look younger, sexier, and skinnier. In fact these products actually age us because of all the poisons, toxins and preservatives in the product! When we use these products on our hair, skin or nails we are putting these toxic substances directly into our bloodstream!

The cosmetics industry is the least regulated industry under the jurisdiction of the FDA. This means that we have to be cautious and aware of the products we are using. Even some natural products contain hidden toxins and preservatives so it is important to read labels carefully. Go to your local health foods store and purchase products that are certified organic. Your hair, skin, and body will be on their way to being beautiful and glowing the way nature intended!

Read Your Labels:
If your shampoo, conditioner, soap, face wash, deodorant, make-up, shaving cream or lotions contain any of these ingredients, ditch them immediately:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: Literally a poison that causes eye irritation, scalp irritation, and tangled hair.

Parabens: (methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl): These preservatives are a group of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries that are linked to breast cancer! The E.P.A. has found that they interfere with your body's endocrine system: your hypothalamus, your ovaries, and your thyroid

Propylene/Butylene Glycol: The main ingredient in antifreeze. Need more be said?

Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea: Preservatives used in cosmetics that release formaldehyde and cause dermatitis.

Synthetic Colors and Dyes: Cancer-causing toxins that often lead to skin allergies, and a whole other host of problems. Most dyes are not regulated by the government and many have been linked to allergic reactions, skin rashes, hyperactivity and asthma.

Alpha Hydroxy Acids: Popular skin exfoliating acids which compromise the skins protective functions and possibly even alter the natural biorhythms of the skin with long term use.

Diethanolamine/Triethanolamine: Causes dryness of hair and skin, and when mixed with certain chemicals, becomes carcinogenic.

Give your Makeup A Makeover!
The lungs breathe, and so does the skin. The skin is the body's largest organ. Toxins exit our bodies through our skin. Lotions and powders may soften the skin temporarily, but they actually end up inhibiting the health of our skin by weighing it down and causing it to sag and age.

Anything we put on our skin is absorbed right into our body. This goes for our makeup too. You want to be sure your makeup is mineral-based and free of chemicals, preservatives and dyes. Chemicals in your makeup not only go directly into your bloodstream but also clog your pores and cause your skin to age prematurely.

Choose all-natural mineral-based makeup. Mineral-based makeup contains all natural elements from the earth broken down into tiny particles so it can be easily absorbed into our skin. These natural minerals contain skin-healing properties and give us that natural "glow."

Spare Your Hair:
Typical hair shampoos and conditioners are full of toxic chemicals and preservatives. Celebrity stylist Chaz Dean says using regular shampoos on your hair is like using laundry detergent on your hair. "And what happens when you use laundry detergent to wash your clothes? The fabrics break down and fall apart. Your hair is doing the same thing. These harsh detergents are stripping your hair, robbing your hair and it's becoming finer, thinner and weaker. So it's not you, it's what you have been doing to your hair."

Again, read your labels. Buy only certified organic hair products and you can reclaim those lustrous locks!

Beautiful Supplements:
You can also add these great supplements to your diet to improve your beauty routine:

Antioxidants: Antioxidants have numerous health and beauty benefits including diminishing cellulite, increasing metabolism, and keeping your skin youthful and hair soft and vibrant. You can get antioxidants from antioxidant rich foods such as fruits and vegetables and liquids such as teas and juices.

Wheat Grass : Full of antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients, wheat grass juice is a powerful body cleanser with incredible healing properties. Wheat grass can help with skin problems such as eczema and sun damage. The chlorophyll in wheat grass cleanses and rebuilds the bloodstream and combats toxins.

Spirulina: A blue-green algae with more protein than soy, more iron than beef and more vitamin A than carrots. Spirulina is the ultimate anti-aging food especially good for healthy eyes and strong vision because of its beta-carotene content.

Borage Oil: Also known as Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil restores moisture to dry/damaged skin. It can provide relief for chronic skin-care problems such as eczema or acne.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C boosts immunity, treats and prevents colds, protects your skin from free radicals, and aids in collagen production. Use organic face and body products with vitamin C for clear, more radiant skin.

Vitamin E: A natural antioxidant Vitamin E protects the skin from environmental factors and benefits your cardiovascular system and prevents the breakdown of your body's tissue.

Coenzyme Q10: A powerful supplement that fights free radicals and is anti-aging; Coenzyme Q10 stimulates tissue regeneration and reverses skin aging.

Just remember that everything you put in or on your body affects you- inside and out. Making informed choices will lead to a more vibrant, healthy life.

James, Kat. The Truth About Beauty. Hillsboro: Beyond Woods Publishing, 2003.

Meyerowitz, Steve. Juice Fasting and Detoxification. Summertown: Book Publishing Company, 1999.

Chazdean.com, "Press" http://www.chazdean.com/press/tv-shows

Papaya- The Fruit if The Angels

(NaturalNews) Papaya is called fruit of the angels by Conquistadors because of its heavenly taste. In its prime, it is a cerise-orange colored, unbelievably juicy fruit with an aroma to match its heavenly taste. Not only is papaya beautiful, fragrant and luscious, it is amazingly healthful!

How fortunate that this glorious fruit is available year-round. Although a native of the tropics, papaya trees produce fruit all year long and are now produced in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. A ripe papaya can be as long as twenty inches, but most commercially grown fruits are pear-shaped, about seven inches in length and about a pound in weight. It is high in bromelain, which makes it beneficial in ways similar to pineapple. Since it loses nutrient strength as it ripens, papaya is best if purchased mostly ripe and eaten by the next day. Purchase fruit that is orangey-red in color and just a little soft to touch. Fruits that have yellow patches are less ripe and will take a few days at home to become their best. The seeds of a papaya are small, round and black in color. Although they are edible, they have a bitter, peppery flavor that few people seem to find enjoyable.

Papaya can be eaten for its digestive and heart health properties. Externally, it is used in anti-aging products and both the skin and pulp are valuable as healing agents. After a course of antibiotic therapy, papaya juice will rapidly return the intestinal bacteria count to normal. It is especially rich in Vitamin C and carotene. More unusual, but very valuable is its high arginine, papain and carpain contents. Arginine is known to be good for male fertility, while papain is a proteolytic enzyme. This means papain can break down protein, making it valuable as a meat tenderizer. Carpain is an enzyme considered to be good for the heart. Papaya also contains fibrin, a rarity in the plant world. In humans, fibrin is an essential part of the blood clotting process.

Although further study needs to be done, early findings lead to the belief that papaya may prevent diabetic heart disease. It is high in fiber, which helps to lower cholesterol. A very special ability of the fiber contained in papaya is that it can bind cancer causing toxins to it, preventing them from binding to cells in the colon. For individuals with a family history of colon cancer, papaya may be an important dietary addition.

Another promising finding is that men who ate lycopene-rich foods are less likely to develop prostate cancer. Papaya is one of the high lycopene fruits, easy to eat and easy to obtain in today's markets.

Papaya is a great addition to any meal or snack. Chunks of fresh papaya are terrific in cereal or in smoothies.

Sources:

Jian L, Lee AH, Binns CW. Tea and lycopene protect against prostate cancer. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16 Suppl 1:453-7. 2007. PMID:17392149.

Fortin, Francois, Editorial Director. The Visual Foods Encyclopedia. Macmillan, New York 1996.

Ensminger AH, Esminger M. K. J. e. al. Food for Health: A Nutrition Encyclopedia. Clovis, California: Pegus Press; 1986 1986. PMID:15210.

recognize toxic chemicals in the natural labelled care products

(NaturalNews) A common belief among consumers is that products labeled "natural" must be safe and beneficial to consume or use. Often the ingredient lists on these "natural" products contain chemicals that are unrecognizable and unfamiliar to most people. The bad news is that the products that are labeled as "natural" by manufacturers are usually far from natural and safe. The good news is that it is possible to be an informed consumer with the information necessary to avoid these products. Learning about these toxic chemicals is the first step toward avoiding them and this is quite simple to do, using the Internet as a tool.

Almost every synthetic chemical that exists has a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that contains the facts about the chemical as well as any potential dangers associated with human health. The MSDS lists a summary of the facts for each chemical and summarizes other facts such as hazard identification, first aid instructions, exposure limits, and other names that are associated with the specific chemical. It can be very surprising to read MSDS information for "natural" chemicals and find information warning of dangers associated with these chemicals.

One can't help but wonder how and why these chemicals can be labeled as natural under these conditions.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) has stipulated that a MSDS must be created for any chemicals that are considered hazardous according to criteria described in the Hazard Communication Standard. All hazardous chemicals must be indexed and an MSDS must be published for each of them.

An enlightening exercise for any consumer who is concerned about toxic chemicals is to perform a Google search for specific ingredients contained in his/her personal care products. Entering the specific chemical name along with "MSDS" in the search field will return MSDS results for the specific chemicals searched for. Another resource for researching specific ingredients is www.hazard.com/msds.

Within this website are three search options:

1.Search by manufacturer
2.Search by name of chemical
3.Search the Chemical Toxicity Database

Chemicals to Avoid in Personal Care Products:

Cocoamide DEA, diethanolamine, TEA, triethanolamine, MEA -- Used as a shampoo thickener and foam stabilizer. According to the MSDS for Cocoamide DEA, this chemical is harmful if swallowed or inhaled and contact with skin, eyes, and clothing should be avoided.

Propylene glycol, propylene oxide, polyethylene glycol -- Listed on the FDA government website as a known carcinogen. This is a common ingredient in many moisturizers and lotions. It has also been connected with kidney and liver damage in scientific testing. Propylene glycol has also now been connected with common skin rashes and skin damage.

Sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate -- A common ingredient in shampoos and liquid soaps. SLS may be the most dangerous ingredient used in personal care products. SLS is the active ingredient in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and industrial strength soaps. This is a very corrosive chemical used to clean industrial and greasy surfaces.

Sodium Fluoride -- The fluoride that is added to drinking water is hydrofluoric acid. This is a compound of fluorine, which is actually a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and other assorted ingredients. Fluoride in this form has no nutritional value and is one of the most caustic industrial chemicals. Fluoride is also an active ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons.

Mineral Oil, Petrolatum and Coal Tar -- Used in many moisturizing products. Mineral oil is a petroleum by-product that interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins. Because of this it promotes acne and other skin disorders. Mineral oil has also been associated with premature aging. Any product that contains mineral oil may be contaminated with cancer causing Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

Consumers who are armed with accurate information about toxic ingredients contained in common personal care products will be able to make informed decisions that will protect their health.

Source: http://www.inspiredliving.com/organ...

Flaxseed oil - a natural skin remediy from inside out

(NaturalNews) Borage and flaxseed oil appear to act internally to improve skin health, according to a study conducted by researchers from Laboratoire Oenobiol in France and Heinrich-Heine University and the University of Witten-Herdecke in Germany, and published in the Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers assigned 45 healthy, non-smoking women to receive a daily supplement consisting of 2.2 grams of either borage oil, flaxseed oil, or a medium-chain fatty acid placebo. The researchers regularly induced skin irritation (inflammation and reddening) in every woman by means of topically applied nicotinate. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 65.

Women who had been taking borage oil for several weeks were found to experience 35 percent less skin reddening than they had at the beginning of the study, while those taking flaxseed oil experienced 45 percent less. There was no change in the degree of reddening experienced by the placebo group. Women receiving borage or flaxseed oil also exhibited lessened blood flow to the skin in response to irritation.

After six weeks, those taking either oil supplement experienced a 10 percent decrease in water loss through the skin, and another six weeks showed even further improvement among the flaxseed group. Both groups showed significant decreases in skin roughness and scaling after 12 weeks, while no change was observed in the placebo group.

Borage oil consists of large amounts of the omega-6 fatty acids gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and linoleic acid (LA), and the monounsaturated fat oleic acid. Flaxseed oil consists mostly of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), along with smaller quantities of omega-6 fatty acids and oleic acid. Blood levels of GLA were observed to increase in the borage oil group after six and 12 weeks, as were ALA levels among the flaxseed group.

The current study was not designed to uncover the specific mechanism by which the oils improve skin health.

Sources for this story include: www.foodnavigator-usa.com.