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Healthy Beauty AGING HAIR

Having a “bad hair day” can go far beyond unruly tresses and affect attitude and self-esteem. Appear-ance matters to us, and hair plays a major role in how women feel about their looks. As years go by, a wom-an’s hair can go from being her best feature to becoming one of the chal-lenges of aging.

Aging Hair

Caring for

By Pamela Boaz

(continued on page 62)

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Healthy Beauty AGING HAIR

The changes a woman may see in her hair, particularly during and after meno-pause, are the result of less melanin, kera-tin, and sebum in hair.

• Color Change: Hair changes to gray when pigment cells that produce mel-anin, the chemical that gives skin and hair color, begins to disappear. Re-searchers estimate that after age 30, your chance of going gray rises 10 to 20 percent each decade.

• Structure Change: One theory about why hair becomes coarser is exposure to oxidative stress. The idea is that free radicals damage not only pig-ment cells, but keratinocytes, or cells

that create keratin—a fi brous protein that gives hair its strength. Keratin production also diminishes with age, making hair appear limp and lifeless.

• Moisture Change: Hair tends to be-come dryer with age because the scalp produces less sebum, the natural oil in skin.

• Hair Loss: Beyond aging and hormon-al changes, genetics also play a role in determining the amount of hair you have.

While the changes in a woman’s hair are inevitable, putting up with unattractive hair is not. By following a healthy hair regimen and using age-appropriate prod-

Salmon, avocado, walnuts,

spinach, blueberries, Greek

yogurt, poultry & other foods

contain biotin, known for its

role in the health & beauty

of hair.

ucts and style, a woman can enjoy beau-tiful hair, regardless of her age.

Keys to Healthy Hair• Shampooing can be drying to hair,

so try focusing on the scalp and avoiding the ends of hair to decrease damage.

• Deep conditioning becomes more important after age 50. Use condition-ers containing keratin to strengthen hair and prevent breakage. Sham-poos and conditioners which con-tain shea butter, panthenol, hydro-lyzed yeast extract or sweet almond oil work well with the hair’s natural

moisture balance. A bit of pure nat-ural jojoba oil added to your regu-lar shampoo or conditioner can be benefi cial, as are products with an-tioxidants and protein.

• Favorite brands or certain types of styling product may not be as ef-fective over time. Change to ingre-dients and products that better suit your hair’s current needs.

• Collagen supplements and Vita-min C can reduce hair’s dryness and brittleness.

• Hair masks, which offer concen-trated moisture, can be applied as often as every other week and made inexpensively from ingredi-ents already in one’s home.

• Diet offers another way to improve the health and appearance of ag-ing hair. Include salmon, avocado, walnuts, spinach, blueberries, Greek yogurt, poultry and other foods which contain biotin, known for its role in the health and beauty of hair.

Tips to Prevent Hair Damage• Choose hair cuts that enhance thin-

ning hair. Among those recom-mended are a bob, either classic or choppy; a mid-length cut with angled layers around the face; or a short, layered crop with bangs.

• Treat hair gently. Avoid over-han-dling and anything that pulls your hair, such as ponytails, braids, buns, up-dos, and rollers.

• Turn down the temperature of hair dryers and reduce frequent use of dryers and curling irons to make styling less damaging.

• UV rays also dry your hair, cause color to fade, and destroy shine. Wear a hat when you’re in the sun or use leave-in sun protection.

• Chlorine is damaging to hair. Rinse your hair in fresh water before go-ing into the pool because wet hair soaks up less chlorine. Consider wearing a swim cap.