Putting together a regimen...

[Chakira]

Hi everyone! I am still new to the board and the whole "hair care" deal. So now i am trying to start a hair regimen, and i really don't know where to begin. I've been reading posts and i think i have taken in too much info, that my head is spinning /images/graemlins/drunk.gif i am a recovering product junkie, and i am trying to work with just a few products, let me tell you what i am doing now:

wash once a week with ors uplifting shampoo,i usually do a hot oil preshampoo. deep condition with ors hair mayo. i moisturize with ors shea butter, s-curl juice, and ors nature shine. right now i have my hair in braids, but i'm taking them down this weekend and i wanted some help. I think i want to change shampoos, since the ors has sls in it. I have also heard great things about the motions cpr, so i think i'll try that. any suggestions?? i don't which way to go....don't even get me started on trying to figure out the vitamins stuff!

sorry i have so many questions, i am soo confused!
thanks in advance

 

[Crystal]

I hear you. These sistahs had me buying everything under the sun too.. Okay this is what I came up with and is my routine which is based on keeping my hair mouisterized because it was really dry and my routine works for me.

I wash with either Mizani Botanifying Mouisture Shampoo or Abba Mouisture Scentsation(this one lathers really good and smells like peppermint)

Then I Deep Condition with ORS Hair Mayo under the heat cap for 30 minutes. Rinse and then apply a moisturizing conditioner. I rotate between Mizani Moisturefuse and Abba Mouisture Scentsation Conditioner. rinse after 10 min. sans heat.

I don't perm. I rock a ponytail. I Brush it back with Parenuve leave-in and Wild Growth Oil. And sometimes I use Proclaim Curl Activator Gel and Motions Pomade. I'll squirt some Scurl juice on the end of my ponytail and then attach the ponytail piece.

My vitamins I decided to go with are:
GNC Ultranoushair
1500 MSM
2500 mcg Biotin
Silica
Evening Primrose

HTH.

 

[Chakira]

Thanks Crystal, I think i'll try the Mizani shampoo and conditioner. I'lll probably be doing the ponytail thang, since i don't like to put effort into doing my hair. One more question, what is MSM? i saw a few ppl talking about it, and i saw it in vitamin world. i'm not going to buy something that i don't know whats in it, ya feel me?

 

[elliot]

Here is Bargello's plan. Many here use a modified version of the plan below. I hope this helps with putting together your regimen. (I will respond to the MSM question in the next post.)

Here is the original text:

By: Bargello
longhairlovers.com
Growing Out Message Board

Vitamins are very important for not just the growth of hair but for overall health. After doing years of research on vitamins, I have found what vitamins work and what ones don't. My overall health has improved 200% since st! arting my vitamin program. And healthy body means healthy nails, skin, and hair.

Multivitamin: I believe everyone needs to be on a good multivitamin. You need a vitamin that contains at least 100% of the most of the recommended daily nutrients. I am very partial to Vitaminshoppe's One A Day vitamin. This is an excellent vitamin for overall health. Note that it does not contain iron. This might be a concern and might not be. Most menstruating women can benefit from extra iron in their diets. If you happen to be a woman that becomes iron deficient easily, you might just wish to add in an extra iron supplement. By not having iron, this makes a good supplement for men, teens, and post-menopausal women.

Calcium: We all need calcium in our diet. This is something that is an absolute necessity. There is some calcium in the above multivitamin, but not enough. Remember that when taking calcium you also need Vitamin D and Magnesium for the calcium to be absorbed proper! ly. Most multivitamins will contain Vitamin D and Magnesium.

Now for the vitamins which promote healthy hair, skin, and nails.

Hair Vitamins: I like a good hair vitamin to start my program. There are several out there. GNC's Ultra Nourishair is probably one of the best I have seen. It is what I take and is the absolute heart of my program. I am a firm believer in this vitamin. It contains all the necessary vitamins needed for healthy hair.

Note: I do not like the vitamins that state for Hair, Skin, and Nails. They generally have less than you really need of the necessary vitamins for healthy hair, skin, and nails. I am not sure why, but they do. If you take a good hair vitamin, your skin and nails will automatically benefit.

MSM: This vitamin is very important for healthy hair, muscles, and joints. It helps to decrease hair fall out. It does this by assisting in making the growth stage of the hair longer. The longer you are able to retain the ! root, the longer you hair will grow. You may take up to 2000mg/day. Note: Ultra Nourishair contains 500mg of MSM. I take an additional 1000mg/day.

Silica: Helps in the shine of hair. It is also a very valuable antioxidant. It assists in a lot of other areas other than just helping your hair be soft and shiny. There is silica in the Ultra Nourishair; I take an additional 500mg/day.

Evening Primrose: There is so much to say about this essential fatty acid. It contains Omega-6 Fatty Acid (Gamma-Linolenic Acid). This is a good Omega-6 Fatty Acid. It has several benefits of which I will only name a few. Some of the benefits are reducing PMS, clearing up eczema, helping your skin glow, minimize fine wrinkles, reduce cholesterol, help with your metabolism, and cure hair and nail problems. It helps nourish straw-like hair. You really only need 480-960 mg of GLA to reap wonderful benefits. I personally take 500mg/day. You should see results with Evening Primrose as ea! rly as 2 weeks of daily consumption. Your scalp should feel less dry and the hair growing in should feel softer and more nourished.

Flaxseed Oil: Now flaxseed Oil is wonderful in the sense that it contains both Alpha-Linolenic Acid (Omega-3 Fatty Acid) and Gamma-Linolenic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid). Omega-3 is very important in our bodies too. We need both to help maintain a healthy body. Omega-3 has been know the help ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It is also essential for healthy hair, skin, and nails. It helps hair in the same way Omega-6 does. Why take both? Because the cells of the body need both to work properly. Our bodies do not make either of the Fatty Acids, we must supplement. Taking both will help the cells of the body work more efficiently and in return help growth of hair as well as health of hair and body. I take 500mg/day. I really don't think you need more than that, but experiment. You might find your body does need more.

Biotin: Now ! biotin is what really can boost your hair growth. Skin, nails, and hair rely on biotin to grow. So, if we feed our bodies more biotin, then our skin will look better, and our nails will be stronger, and our hair will grow faster and stronger. My hair vitamin contains 1200mcg of biotin. I take an additional 2400mcg/day. I have played with the dosage a little and have found that my hair definitely grows faster with the total biotin of 3600mcg/day. You might need to play with this too. You might need more or less than I do for results.

Protein: I can't scream enough about protein. We need it. I don't care if it plant or animal. Truthfully your body can absorb and utilize plant protein better than animal. This is why vegetarians are incredibly healthy. I drink a protein shake everyday with my vitamins. I drink it with milk (it tastes better and I get extra calcium and protein with the milk), vegans can make a protein drink with soymilk (get it with calcium added and you ! have the benefits of extra vegetable protein and calcium). Adding protein to your diet will help your body all the way around. It will function better and you will not be as hungry all the time. I suggest a protein drink of at least 22gr. of protein. I suggest at least one serving a day. If your diet is really bad, you can drink more. The extra protein will also help your hair grow. It is protein too, you know.

With all this said, everyone is DIFFERENT! You might need more of something than I do, or less. Vitamins are personal things. You need to play with them to get the correct dosage for you. They are not a cure all. They can help your body in ways you wouldn't think about. I have tried to keep the above information brief. I could write pages about each vitamin and why you should take it. The above program works very well for me. My hair grows at the speed of 1 ½" per month. One thing to always remember, when starting a vitamin program, don't expect results overni! ght. It will take your body 2-6 weeks to benefit from vitamins. This time period depends on how depleted your system is. The average time being 4 weeks. If you are recovering from a serious illness, it could take longer.

One word about prenatal supplements. I personally do not think they will boost hair growth anymore than a good multivitamin. There are a lot of good over-the-counter prenatals out there. I like Natrol probably the best. When I sat down and actually compared the ingredients in prenatal vitamins and multivitamins, the multivitamin actually had more than the prenatals did. Prenatal vitamins do contain extra iron (for anemia), folic acid (for birth defects), and potassium (to help with muscle cramps). Now, none of those ingredients will boost hair growth. I have had 3 pregnancies and I have NEVER taken prenatal vitamins. When I presented my vitamin program to my OB-GYN, each one has stated that they could not have put together a better vitamin program fo! r overall health during pregnancy and after. They have never prescribed a prenatal for me. There really was no need.

If you wish to take a prenatal in addition to a good multivitamin, by all means do. The only reason I think doctors have stated that there has been a boost in hair growth is that generally people don't take vitamins until they get pregnant. They take a prenatal and their hair starts to grow. They think it is the prenatal when in fact it is just getting some good vitamins in the system and the result of pregnancy itself. Pregnancy can cause your hair to grow faster as your body is renewing things a lot faster.

**As of 4/22/2002 Bargello has increased her intake of Biotin to 7500 mcg/day.

 

[ngaa]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Chakira said:
One more question, what is MSM? i saw a few ppl talking about it, and i saw it in vitamin world. i'm not going to buy something that i don't know whats in it, ya feel me?

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry this aint crystal but since u asked this is a description of msm i found online

MSM: This vitamin is very important for healthy hair, muscles, and joints. It helps to decrease hair fall out. It does this by assisting in making the growth stage of the hair longer. The longer you are able to retain the root, the longer you hair will grow. You may take up to 2000mg/day.

hth

ngaa /images/graemlins/drunk.gif
p.s. be carefull tho wen usin it coz some pple have had side-effects wen usin this eg headaches and break-outs coz it detoxifies the body and the toxins come out thru yo skin, so u may want to drink a lot of water to make sure yo skin remains clear

 

[elliot]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Chakira said:
One more question, what is MSM? i saw a few ppl talking about it, and i saw it in vitamin world. i'm not going to buy something that i don't know whats in it, ya feel me?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is some information on MSM that I copied from another website. HTH

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane)

MSM is one-third sulfur, and sulfur has a reputation for being nature's "beauty mineral," for keeping the hair healthy and the complexion youthful. Skin, hair, and fingernails are normally quite high in cystine, one of the sulfur amino acids that gives keratin, a particular kind of protein found in these tissues, its property of toughness.

MSM speeds hair growth as well, says Miners. "That's good for my industry," she quips. "And the hair seems thicker. I do a lot of hair coloring and quite often when you color the hair you can take a hair strand and break it. The process may in some ways weaken the hair. I've noticed that after people start taking MSM on a regular basis that their hair is stronger.

NOTE: Many complain about headaches and skin breakouts from using MSM. I would suggest that you search some of the recent posts about MSM to hear what others say about it.

Elliot

 

[elliot]

ngaa-

I see we were up to the same thing--explaining MSM. (I am glad to see so many supportive women).

Elliot

 

[Chakira]

ngaa and elliot, thanks so much for clearing some things up. i still have no idea what vitamins i'm going to take, but at least i feel that i'm on the right track!

God Bless!