When it comes to our hair, we might think that the best way to get it to grow is to cut out using heat tools like straighteners or curling tongs and even hair dryers, but it seems there are other things we can do to help promote health and growth.
This is according to Susie Hammond, a trichologist at the Philip Kingsley Clinic in London.
Susie shared some of her hair expertise with The Mirror, claiming that certain foods can help make a difference to your hair and while some can be good for growth, there are others that can be 'triggering' for issues with the scalp or hair.
She explained: "There are two key food categories you should focus on for hair growth and health that you need to include within your diet and these are complex carbs and proteins.
"How long your hair can grow is to some extent genetically determined, which is why some people are able to grow their hair down to their bottoms and others can't, but there are things we can do lifestyle-wise to promote growth as much as possible and hold the hair in that natural anagen phase for as long as possible.
"To do that you've got to remember that hair cells are capable of rapid cell turnover, second only really to cells in the bone marrow and the gut, so our hair cells can really rapidly turnover but only if we give them the resources to do so because they are non-essential tissue.
"Your body really sensibly is going to look after your heart, your lungs, all your essential functions first of all and your hair is at the back of the queue.
"As such your hair is quite a good barometer of general systemic health, which is why sometimes we call extra hair shedding reflective hair shedding as it reflects what's going on systemically, so if you are scrabbling around and your body is short of resources it's going to take what it has and use it for your essential functions and your hair won't get any."
So what you need to do is support that hair cell turnover as much as possible. But how can you do this?
"For energy, complex carbs are the best thing to focus on. If we rely on starchy carbs like pasta, white bread and so on we get a sugary peak and then we dip again quickly, so we want lower glycemic index foods like complex carbs that will keep that energy steady throughout the day," Susie adds.
"Good examples include wholegrain rice and pasta, wholegrain bread, sweet potatoes are also a good one as well as porridge oats."
The expert adds: "The building blocks for hair are proteins, so you need to be eating plenty of protein and it's best to eat this earlier in the day - breakfast and lunch are key hair meals, as you want to get the protein in early to optimise the time and use them well.
"There are all sorts of examples if you don't want to eat eggs you can eat a bit of smoked salmon, nut butter on your toast, and greek yoghurt is also a nice protein source.
"Protein is the vital ingredient really to boost your hair health.
"Lifestyle changes can take a while, it's all about habit forming and if we think it's going to take a particularly long while and the hair is suffering then I might suggest a protein supplement for the short-term, but generally I prefer all my clients get their nutrients from their wholefoods where possible, as it's much more sustainable long-term and it's healthier."
And while she doesn't encourage her clients to cut out anything or restrict things they like from their diets, she does warn of certain 'red flag' food and drinks that can trigger issues for your hair and scalp.
"If you have a scalp condition, dairy is the most common thing that you might want to cut back on and see if that helps, but I tend not to say there are things that you absolutely should avoid.
"Alcohol is fine in moderation, if you overdo it that's going to challenge various things in terms of the absorption of your nutrients, but I'm not against it.
"However, there are some red flags that we look out for when we speak to clients. We would normally ask someone to tell us what they would typically eat for breakfast, lunch, and supper and if I spot any red flags I will caution them.
"For instance, there are some fishes that can be quite high in mercury and that can impact extra hair shedding.
"They may also be doing something that is affecting the absorption of their iron like drinking an awful lot of green tea, as it's quite high in tannins and that can inhibit the uptake of iron in your diet."
This comes after Susie claimed we should be washing our hair every day or every other day at least, to ensure our scalps were getting a proper clean.
She claimed it was a myth that washing your hair too often was bad for it, saying: "Your scalp is skin, like anywhere else on the body and we're shedding skin cells all the time, and the only way of removing those as well as environmental dirt and sweat is to have a really good shampoo.
"All of that dirt is collecting on the scalp and as it's a lipid-rich humid environment up there we have yeasts that live naturally and healthily on our scalps. These can overgrow and trigger dandruff, so we want to keep that scalp environment clear and the only way to do this is to have a thorough shampoo."
And if all of that weren't enough, she continued to say how sebum, an oily substance produced by sebaceous glands, also collects on the scalp and can make your head 'smelly'."
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