Beauty

Hair problems

Hair loss affects at least one-fourth (1/4) of the population, and probably more like one-half. It is unfortunate and unnecessary, especially for women who often suffer from hair loss beginning at around age 30. More and more men and women contend with this condition, or the symptoms that precede it, where the hair becomes thin and brittle. Ideally, the hair needs to be shiny, thick and healthy looking. This is a worldwide epidemic.

Many new products and treatments promise to solve the problem. However, unless individuals understand the underlying causes of hair loss and address them, few of these products are likely to work.

Hair loss occurs for many reasons, including nutrient excesses and deficiencies, impaired circulation, and hormonal imbalances. In order to assess your situation, you can take advantage of a technology known as Hair Mineral Analysis. No other test is as reliable. For instance, testing individuals with extensive hair loss using a blood test will not be accurate. Even if you are not experiencing a severe hair loss, abnormal changes in body chemistry and nutritional deficiencies may result in early, subtle changes in the body, and they will be seen on Hair Mineral Analysis long before other tests reveal the problem.

So what problems can Hair Mineral Analysis bring to light? Let me explain. But before I do this, I must first describe the structure and growth of hair.

The Structure of Hair
Hair is a connective tissue composed of strands of protein. These are linked or cross-linked in various ways. This type of cross-linking makes some individual’s hair straight, while another’s hair may be curly, wavy, or kinky. Permanants alter the cross-linking of hair proteins. The particular protein structure of a person’s hair determines the health, as well as the appearance of the hair. The hair follicle goes through three different growing phases called the anagen, catagen, and felogen phases. If certain nutrients are deficient during any one of these phases, hair loss may occur.

Individual Nutrients and Hair Loss
Zinc and RNA Transference
Zinc is required for transference of RNA (ribonucleic acid), an enzyme involved in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) synthesis, or synthesis of ALL body proteins. Impairment of Zinc metabolism will affect all protein structures of the body. As we know, hair is mostly built of a protein known as Keratin. Therefore, when there is not the right amount of Zinc in the body, we will not have enough Keratin to create more hair.

Copper and Lysyl Oxidase
Lysyl oxidase is a copper-dependent enzyme involved in connective tissue synthesis. Copper imbalance often leads to lackluster hair and hair loss. Excessive copper, which interferes with the sulfide bonds in the hair, literally causes dissolution of the hair structure. This may cause certain individual’s hair not to hold a permanent. Copper is also required for tyrosinase, an enzyme required for melanin production. Melanin is a pigment substance which gives color to the hair.

B-Complex Vitamins
Many hair products contain B-complex vitamins, especially vitamin B6, PABA, and biotin. These vitamins are involved with amino acid metabolism. Amino acids are the building blocks from which proteins are constructed.

Mucopolysaccharides
Mucopolysaccharides are a group of connective tissue compounds that have been found helpful to the growth of hair. Their synthesis depends on the bioavailability of copper and other nutrients.

Male Hormones
Excessive male hormone levels can cause “male pattern” hair loss in both men and women. Balancing body chemistry can often balance these hormone levels and restore hair growth.

Protein Deficiency
Protein deficiency is a well-known cause of hair loss. Protein deficiency causes a reduction in the linear rate of growth in the hair and in the diameter of the hair shaft, which causes the hair to shed easily. Poor digestion and utilization of protein can cause hair loss, even if one’s protein intake is adequate.

Other Important Nutrients
Deficiency of sulfur, vitamin B6, and B12 have also been shown to cause hair loss. Exceedingly high dosages of vitamin A can also cause hair loss.

Body Chemistry and Hair Loss
Fast Oxidation
Fast oxidizers have elevated sodium levels. Sodium is eliminated in part through the skin and hair. You may notice a salty taste to your skin if you are a fast oxidizer. The first inch or two of the hair represents a section of active growth where minerals can be stored and called upon during stressful periods. As sodium accumulates in the tissues, it can “petrify” the hair follicle, resulting in hair loss. Fast oxidizers are also prone to a deficiency of copper and zinc, which may contribute to hair loss. Excessive male hormone production by the adrenal glands is also associated with a fast oxidation rate. Fast oxidizers have low glycogen reserves and commonly convert some of their body protein to sugar to burn as fuel. Thinning hair in fast oxidizers can be due to the breakdown of hair protein for fuel. A loss of hair protein is much better than loss of protein from vital organs and tissues.

Slow Oxidation
Hair loss in slow oxidizers is associated with excess or biounavailable tissue copper. A copper imbalance causes a dissolution of the hair structure, resulting in impairment of hair growth and “lifeless” hair. Excess tissue copper also contributes to low sodium levels in slow oxidizers. When the tissues are low in sodium, transport of vital nutrients into the hair follicle is impaired. When nutrients cannot be transported into the hair cells, hair loss will eventually occur. Elevated copper levels and/or adrenal exhaustion also causes calcium accumulation in the soft tissues of the body, including the hair. Calcium accumulation impairs transport across cell membranes, impairing the flow of nutrients to the hair. Slow oxidation is also associated with sluggish thyroid activity, which is known to be associated with hair loss. Blood pressure is often low in the slow oxidizer, and circulation poor due to impaired adrenal and thyroid activity. Blood circulation to the scalp may be impaired, again contributing to hair loss.

Hypothyroidism and Hair Loss
The alopecia of hypothyroidism is well known. Thinning of the hair is one of the recognized signs of low thyroid activity. On a hair analysis, high calcium is an indicator of lowered thyroid activity.

Pregnancy and Hair Loss
Loss of hair frequently occurs in a woman just after delivering a child. The accumulation of copper during pregnancy depresses the thyroid gland, which will result in hair loss.

Low Hair Sodium-to-Potassium Ratio
A sodium-to-potassium ratio on a tissue mineral test below 2.5:1 is indicative of protein breakdown. Potassium is released from cells, causing the potassium level to rise relative to sodium. Since hair is a protein structure, excessive protein breakdown can cause hair loss.

Stress and Hair Loss
Frequently, hair loss occurs directly following a stressful situation. Stress can be physical, such as an illness or chemotherapy, or it may be mental or emotional. Reasons for hair loss resulting from stress are:

Rapid zinc depletion.
In fast oxidizers, copper is depleted.
In slow oxidizers, copper can become biounavailable.
Impaired blood circulation to the scalp.
Impaired protein digestion and utilization.
Increased demand for many “B” vitamins, which can lead to a deficiency.

Chemotherapy and Hair Loss
Certain cytotoxic drugs used in cancer chemotherapy result in hair loss. We have observed a reduction of hair loss in persons undergoing chemotherapy when supplementary nutrients are given along with the chemotherapy. This leads us to suspect that the loss of hair associated with chemotherapy may be due to nutrient deficiencies, or imbalances, induced by this drug therapy.

Scalp Infections
These can also cause or contribute to hair loss. Most are fungal in origin. Simple infections of the scalp include dandruff and a childhood disease called cradle cap. Both are usually easy to correct and disappear as the body becomes balanced. Very rarely, a scalp infection is more serious, but this is not common.

A Yang Rising Condition is associated with Hair Loss
A variant of a yin condition of the body is called in acupuncture terms “Yang Rising”. It occurs when the body is very yin, usually with a low thyroid condition, and then it reacts by trying to become more yang, but in a half-hearted or inadequate manner. This pattern is revealed easily on a properly performed hair mineral analysis. We call it a four highs pattern. It occurs when four macrominerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium – are all above their ideal levels.

Impaired Circulation involving the Scalp
A more usual cause of hair loss is impaired circulation to the scalp. One might have arteriosclerosis of the arteries leading to the head or scalp, for example. Perhaps more of the blood reaching the head is needed inside the brain, so less may go to the hair follicles, which then may suffer malnutrition and toxin buildup as a result. Tension in the fascia or even the muscles of the neck might also contribute to hair loss by interfering with circulation to the scalp. Massaging the scalp and neck helps in these cases. But the most effective way is the use of new technology called Quantum Therapy, which is a very helpful for improving blood and lymph circulation. It can be used to help deliver nutrients topically into the follicles. LED and Infrared Technology, Radio Frequency and Ultrasound devices, Vibroacoustic machines, Electromagnetic, and Laser treatments are becoming more and more popular today. I offer my clients treatments with most of these devices, In combination with a Nutritional Balancing program, these technologies can give the best results.

Conclusion
Through a deeper understanding of the role of nutrients and metabolic balance in hair growth, it is often possible to prevent and even reverse the troubling symptoms of hair loss. Nutritional Balancing may often help this condition. When the imbalances listed above are corrected, clients report that their hair loss has stopped and hair quality improves. In most cases, the hair grows back in if the problem has begun only in the past year or two. Hair loss that has been going on longer means that the empty follicles will have closed and the blood supply to them cut off.

So please don’t waste more time trying hair loss products and cures that probably don’t apply to your personal condition. Based on your hair mineral analysis, I will create a program for you that will help you get into balance and start you on the path to hair health and restoration.

SKIN

“Our skin is a mirror of our organism and by looking at it, we can judge the condition of many internal organs. From my point of view, diseases of the skin, such as dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis, do not exist independently. Any diagnosis is just a witness to the fact that the body’s systems have a problem. This problem may be hidden from view, but without knowledge and subsequent treatment for that condition, the skin problem, sadly, is unlikely to improve.” Dr. Valery Malkevich, a leading Dermatologist at the clinic of Cybernetic Medicine in Moscow, Russia

Being both beautiful and healthy should be everyone’s ultimate goal. You can’t be beautiful if you are not healthy. And you can’t buy beauty in a jar. If you want to look your best, you must take care of your whole body – from the inside out and the outside in. Our largest organ has a funny name – the integumentary system. You know it as your skin and its various accessory organs, such as the oil and sweat glands, sensory receptors, hair and nails. It is an amazing organ, and it works hard to preserve our health. Yet few of us give it the attention it deserves, excepting our face, of course, which we tend to pamper.

Skin is our first line of defense. It defends our body from a host of enemies. It breaths and feeds our cells. It helps rid our bodies of waste. It allows us to know the pleasure of touch. Our skin helps all our organs do their work properly.

Many diseases affect the skin. And, if you know how to read the signs, your skin shows you can understand what is going on inside your body. Here are a few examples of what I mean.

If the skin and eyes has become yellow, you need to urgently examine the liver and gallbladder (possible stagnation of bile and inflammatory processes).
Dairy- pallor skin can tell you about two issues: anemia– associated with iron deficiency; and breathing problems — associated with lung disease and bronchitis.
Overall paleness, combined with a bluish tinge (especially in nose and lips triangle and nails) is a clear signal of problems with the heart.
Marble looking skin speaks to fragility of blood vessels and the existence of subcutaneous bruises (hematomas).
Saggy, flabby skin is the external manifestation of chronic, debilitating, systemic disease.
Glossy skin is a sign of neurotic disorders.
Red spots on the face are most often a manifestation of a food or medication allergy.
Blood affluent to the cheeks and neck signals a propensity to hypertension, sc. «Apoplectic type».
Dry skin with a waxy glint is a sign of chronic gastritis or gastric ulcer.
Dry skin on the elbows usually tells of a general decline in immunity and vitamin deficiency, especially the shortage of vitamins group B.
Pale, mealy, swelling skin, particularly on the face and legs, signals kidney disease and other problems with the excretory system.
Bumpy skin with uneven color is a typical reaction to a surplus of slag and toxins in the organism (cellulite).

I can go on and on in giving you examples of skin responses to inner problems. We tend to ignore them because they are not painful. But if we do not appreciate those first signs and do not correct our life style, diet, supplementation, then we will pay a heavy price later. So let me share with you how you can improve the appearance of your skin (and therefore your health) by using thermo treatments (as part of nutritional program).

Thermo Treatments

Here’s how thermo treatments work. Our skin is the first organ to respond to temperature. The skin of an average-sized human adult covers approximately 20 square feet and accounts for about 15 percent of total body weight. It is composed of three layers (the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis). Each industrious square inch of the skin tissue harbors millions of cells and 1,300 nerve endings, hundreds of sweat and oil glands, and nearly 15 feet of blood vessels, which contain more than one-half to two-thirds of all of the blood in the body, plus one-half of the primary immune cells. Together, they perform a series of everyday miracles on behalf of the entire body.

Blood vessels help regulate body temperature and keep the skin nourished and oxygenated.
Oil, produced by sebaceous glands, keeps the body’s outer surface resilient, protected, and pliable.
Nerve endings in the skin communicate information to the interior of the brain and body.
Mechanisms within the skin’s cells catalyze an astonishing array of biochemical effects, including the sunlight-assisted synthesis of vitamin D essential to the body’s health.
Sweat glands relieve the body of water, sodium, and waste products.

According to Christian Northrup, M.D., author of “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom” (Bantam Books, 1998): “Many people, in this sedentary age, simply don’t sweat enough, making sweat bathing particularly desirable during these times. Antiperspirants, artificial environments, smog, synthetic clothing, and a physically idle lifestyle all conspire to clog skin pores and inhibit the healthy flow of sweat. These detrimental effects are reversed in a sweat bath. Skin responds to unusual situation right away, that is why we feel this change in temperature.”

When you lounge in a sweat bath, heat-sensitive nerve endings produce acetylcholine, a chemical which alerts the 2.3 million sweat glands (about 100 on 1 sq.cm or 0.15sq.inch) embedded in the skin. But not all of them respond. The apocrine sweat glands, located in the pubic and armpit areas, are activated mostly by emotional stimuli. They carry a faint scent whose purpose is believed to arouse the sex drive. Nevertheless, the endocrine sweat glands, by far the most abundant, respond to heat. Usually we see active sweating after about 8-10 min (for a trained body it happens faster – 3-4 min). The highest point of sweating occurs when the body temperature is about 41 degree C (105.8 F).

Sweat is clear and odorless. Any odor is created by dead bacteria inside pores or toxins eliminated from cells. Under the influence of heat, our skin gets more blood (becomes red), sends impulses into nervous centers, regulates body temperature by excreting sweat through more opened pores, and gets rid of dead cells.

It is interesting that while we think of our digestive system as being the body’s way of ridding itself of waste, our skin actually gets rid of one third of that waste. Even without a sweat bath, approximately 1 liter (2.11 pints) of insensible perspiration evaporates each day though our skin. Thermo treatment improves this process.

How much sweat we lose depends on individual conditions, on the time we spend in sweat bath, and, of course, the temperature and humidity there. (And by the way, you can get rid of those nasty-smelling bacteria and toxins, also.) Time spent in a sauna or steam room can raise the surface (not the inner) temperature of skin as much as 10 degrees C (50 F) for a short period of time. The majority of bacteria can’t survive a temperature higher than normal body temperature 37 C (98.6 F). So they die (are cooked) and are carried away from the pores by sweat. That is why it is important to rinse your body right after a sweat bath. Who wants to carry dead bodies around? 🙂

While we are sweating, our skin becomes softer and it is much easier to get rid of dead cells on its surface. By using exfoliating rubbing gloves and a natural exfoliant like sea salt, we can improve this process. Instead of paying for microdermabrasion or chemical peels for the entire body, which can be harmful (and expensive), especially for sensitive skin or skin which is prone to hyperpigmentation, we can use a more natural way to improve our cells’ renewal process. The removal of dry, dead cells can help the skin look smoother and softer, unclog pores, increase production of intercellular lipids, and improve the skin’s ability to retain moisture. After exfoliation we see an increase in product penetration and facilitation of a deeper delivery of ingredients into the epidermis. That makes for effective use of any kind of serum, cream, or lotions just after those baths.

I will give you later some very popular healthy home remedies from our ancestry which you can prepare by yourself to feed your skin, rather than buy expensive products. You know the kind – they promise everything, but usually make very little difference. (There are exceptions, of course, when you buy really good products from a trusted professional who really cares about you.) When skin texture improves and is not as rough, it makes the application of makeup easier. But a stimulation of blood flow and acceleration of the cell turnover rate bring new cells to the surface more rapidly. This is more important, because with age we lose this renewal ability. The average CRF (cells renewal factor) for babies is 14 days; for teenagers 21-28 days; for middle age people 28-42 days; for 50 and older 42-84 days. So, by changing our CRF we can slow down the Wheel of Time.

If right after the steam room or sauna you use cold water, pores and blood vessels contract harshly. When you go back in, they open again, as much as they can. Repeating the process a few times is a very effective gymnastic for the skin and all the blood vessels inside it. After this procedure the skin becomes smooth, elastic, and resilient. The technique works especially well for people who have lost weight and after pregnancy, and of course for all who lose skin tone with age. As a result of more active affluence of blood into the skin, it gets more oxygen and nutrition. That stimulates activity of enzymes, permeability of cell membranes, and the ability of leukocytes (immune cells) to absorb and dissolve microbes.

Affordable, Effective Treatments

It’s interesting to see so many new services in the beauty industry aimed at improving blood and lymph circulation in the skin. It’s not surprising. Healthy skin (and body) requires blood and lymph circulation. The majority of people know that. It’s why different types of facials, massages, laser procedures, light therapy, and other procedures are so popular among those who care about having a nice, healthy appearance. A rapidly growing number of spas offer great combinations of different treatments that can make us look younger. Unfortunately, not everybody can afford them, or not as often as we need them.

That is why I want as many people as possible to know how to take care of their body (without spending big money) by using what they already have in their health clubs or at home. You can build in any small space in your home a near infrared sauna. Infrared waves are extremely effective as a thermo treatment because they penetrate much deeper into your body than any other heating waves. The sauna may cost you around $100, if the space you use is small enough to heat with 4 lamps. You can find all the information about how it works and how to build it in very interesting book written by Lawrence Wilson, M.D.: “Sauna Therapy for Detoxification and Healing”.

By using this very safe, affordable, and effective mode of thermo treatment you will see a difference in how your skin feels and looks. And please, stop using those antiperspirants. They clog your pores and don’t let toxins come out with sweat. Antiperspirants containing aluminum are the worst. They not only trap toxins inside your body, they add one more very toxic mineral.

Hair mineral analysis shows that almost everyone today carries a high level of aluminum. Aluminum toxicity has many bad consequences. I is no small wonder breast cancer is spreading rapidly. Believe me, if you sweat a lot in the sauna, you will not need those antiperspirants. Your lymph nodes will not be full of “trash,” and you will not sweat like before. The day I need to look and feel my best, I go to Lifetime Fitness Club, where I’m a member, and spend as long as I can in the steam room and sauna. My friends and I always get compliments after using my “beauty treatment” in the sauna or steam room. I’m sure you will too.

Later we will talk about tips you can use to help your skin do its job more effectively and, of course, to look more attractive from my book, “The Very Old Forgotten Wisdom”.