Breathe in, breathe out, and experience healthier hair

Over the past year or so, I've really become attracted to the zen lifestyle of yoga and deep meditation practices. When I practice these methods on a regular basis. My body and mind benefit immensely. Little did I know that this holistic practice was also benefiting my hair as well.

I got into doing yoga a while back partly because it seemed like an easier form of exercise. I hate sweating. I hate it so much that I tend to stay away from aerobic activities so I could avoid it. Because of this, yoga just seemed like such an attractive alternative. So I started by just doing simple things like searching for free yoga videos on youtube. Although yoga isn't as physically demanding as running, I still felt the wonderful changes to my body over time. Not only did my body become more flexible, I also felt like my mind was more focused and at peace when I practiced yoga consistently. These benefits are pretty rad but what I'm most excited about is that my overall hair regimen also benefits from the practices taught in the zen lifestyle.

Deep Breathing ~"Focus on the breath."

Taking in slow, deep breaths is a foundational pillar of yoga. When I first began yoga, I didn't understand why I had to breath so slowly over and over again. Well now I know that this type of deep breathing practice benefits the body in numerous ways. One of the most powerful benefits of taking in deep breaths is improved circulation. The normal way most of us breathe is really insufficient. Our normal way of breathing is considered "shallow" and only uses a fraction of our available lung capacity. The optimal way of breathing should mirror that of a new born who allows her abdomen to fully expand and contract with each breath. So how does did deep breathing help your hair journey? Each deep breath you take in floods your body with oxygen which improves blood circulation throughout the body. Increased circulation means that oxygenated-rich blood can nourish your scalp and hair follicles. I like to combine deep, focused breathing with my scalp massages to make it even more impactful.

Yoga Poses-"Downward facing dog."

One thing I will say about the art of yoga is that although it isn't strenuous aerobically, there are some pretty difficult movements one has to master. Most notably are the various poses were my head is pointed towards to the floor along with several other positions that require a great sense of balance. These poses offer a real benefit to the scalp. First you're drawing in oxygen in large quantities through the deep breathing then you promote a rush of blood to the face and scalp with the various bending movements. There are numerous sites online that recommend numerous yoga poses for "hair fall" and stronger hair. Traditional exercises, while beneficial to the body, don't offer the direct scalp benefit as yoga bending poses.

Stress Reduction-"Release all of your negative energy."

I started practicing yoga during a pretty hectic time in my life. I felt like I was experiencing increasing amounts of work-related stress and needed to find a way to manage those damaging emotions. So I started doing yoga for 20-30 minutes each morning. In doing so I soon realized that I experienced a more peaceful and powerful day. I don't know how to explain it but I felt like I had such control over my mental state. My stress levels went down dramatically and we all know how adversely stress impacts the health of our hair. Whenever you are experiencing excessive shedding, take a moment and assess your stress levels before you spend money on a hair product. If your shedding is stress related, perhaps you can address the issue from the root cause with the calming effects of yoga.

Meditation/Visualization-"Close your eyes and quite the mind."

One of the most beneficial practices of the zen lifestyle is the art of visualization, meditation, and intention manifestation. I am fully present to the benefits of seeing what you want in the mind before it manifests in reality. One of the biggest examples of this is Njoy's inspiring story of how she incorporated visualization into her hair regimen. Stephen Covey said that everything is created twice, first in the mind, then in reality. What makes this practice so powerful is how visualization creates a strong, deep belief in actually achieving what you desire. The more you believe you can have strong healthy resilient hair, the more it becomes possible for you.

I'm saying all of this to demonstrate how important it is to build a hair regimen around a healthy lifestyle more so than just relying on products alone. If you are not much of a physically active person but you'd like to incorporate healthy practices into your routine, check out some of the hundreds of free videos available on youtube.

Update: Tangle Teezer, Healthy Scalp, Green Juices

I know it's been a little while since I last posted. The last few months or so I've had a somewhat hectic travel schedule and I'm currently getting over a wicked cold. All that aside, I've still remained diligent in my hair journey and product experimentation. I just want to take a few minutes to introduce you to some of what I've been into as of late.

Two months ago, I invested nearly $30 in this Scalp Renew product by Nioxin. I have a special place in my heart for Nioxin products because they just produce quality without all the frills of unfulfilled promises. One of the things I appreciate about Nioxin is their focus on creating a healthy scalp as an important part of the healthy hair puzzle. Unfortunately, this product did nothing for me. I have this deep seated belief that any topical scalp product must tingle or stimulate in order to produce desired results. This product, gives no tingle and, for that, I'm unhappy with it. I kinda feel bad for this product, it has to compete with the likes of my powerful essential oils that envigorate my scalp on contact. The Scalp Renew has more of a light gel consistency and cool the scalp, which is nice, but not what I'm looking for. So for now, I'm sticking to my spray bottle and stimulating oils.

I remember watching an episode of the British Based show "The Dragon's Den" where entreprenuers present their inventions and products to would-be investors. On one such episode, the Tangle Teezer was presented. I remember my eyes lighting up as the creator shared promises of tangle free hair without the fear of damage. This was due to the revolutionary design which gave Tangle Teezer's ability to work through tangles sans snags. I've had mine for nearly a month now and, to be honest, the jury's still out. Unfortunately, I purchased the wrong color. Because of how dark it is, I can't accurately assess how much hair I may or may not loose during the process. Because the teeth are so close together, it's a bit difficult for me to run a comb through it to collect the hairs like I would a hair brush. I'm thinking about going out to the get the bright pink one so I can know for sure if this thing can truly detangle my hair without any excess damage. Honestly though, I feel more comfortable using my wide tooth detangling combs for now.

Yet another stroll through my local Big Lots has paid off big time for me with these new additions to my hair belongings. So these are hand held, battery powered personal massagers. Yes, they were probably created for aching shoulders and sore backs but I, of course, immediately saw how they could be used for hair massaging purposes. What attracted me to these babies is their ability to vibrate on contact. I figured that I could save on manipulation if the product did all of the movement. Instead of moving the massager around, I could keep the massager in one place and still get increased stimulation to that area. I paid around $9 bucks for each one and they take 2 AA batteries.

Lastly, I wanted to let you guys know that I'm still juicing. Actually, I fell off the bandbawagon for a little while because of traveling and a little bit of laziness. Well since it's a brand new year, I've recommitted to the habit of regular juicing. I've also decided to man-up and graduate from fruit-filled easy to swallow mixes to ultra-powerful leafy greens blends.

Cheers!

Relaxed Hair Health mentioned in Natural Hair Blogging Article

This blogging thing is lots of fun. Over the past couple of years, I've had the pleasure of interacting with tons of ladies who reached out to me while on their wonderful hair journey. I love that, because of the wonders of the internet, we don't have to go through this journey alone. I learn from you as much as you have learned from me. I'm also humbled that this simple little blog has attracted the attention of people and companies who I probably wouldn't have the opportunity to interact with under different circumstances.

Blogging about hair is somewhat of a strange topic but, as you may have already noticed, there are a whole host of hair related blogs available online, more specifically, textured hair. There are quite a few sites online that focus on the care and beauty of natural hair. Kagem, the author of charcoal-ink.com, a blog dedicated to the topic of natural hair, submitted an article to British based Black Beauty and Hair magazine on the natural hair blogging phenomenon that has taken the online world by storm. The article features insights from such blogging greats as Curly Nikki, and famous blogs like Black Girl with Long Hair and Mane and Chic. I'm honored that along with these natural hair mega-bloggers, Kagem also reached out to little 'ole me to provide my viewpoint on the phenomena that is hair blogging. Thank you Kagem, for finding value in a blog focused on care of relaxed hair and including me in your natural hair blogging article.

Check out Kagem's article in the December/January issue of Black Beauty and Hair Magazine.