Caring For Hair And Nails

Both the hair and nails are made of keratin, a modified skin tissue, and both are present to protect us from harm. The hair and nails benefit from good nutrition, and care with essential oils can improve their appearance.

Teenage Hair:
Hair problems for teenagers will often mean greasy hair. Greasy hair needs frequent washing with a suitable shampoo to prevent the excess oil from causing spots around the hairline. However, the rubbing action on the scalp stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum and can make the problem worse. If you have greasy hair, shampoo it no more than once a day. Add an astringent essential oil to an unperfumed shampoo for your own aromatherapy treatment at home. Take care to apply the shampoo to the hair and not the scalp. Hair loss can also be a problem for some young women. This can be brought on by the stress of exams and personal worries, and also by harsh treatment of hair that is already weak, such as dragging it back too tightly from the forehead with hairbands. Mixing essential oils with your shampoo can help to strengthen weak hair. Handle hair with care, and ease it forward slightly before adding hairbands and accessories.

Conditioning:
The condition of our hair is crucial to how we look, and good hair treatment brings its own rewards. Hair should be trimmed regularly - with no more than 1 cm (1/2 in) removed - to keep the ends strong. This is especially important with long hair: the more often long hair is trimmed, the faster it will grow and the better it will look. If your hair is in poor condition, use a separate conditioner: products which aim to combine a shampoo with a conditioner are rarely effective as they cannot do both jobs well. Add the essential oils (see table below) your hair need to an unperfumed, basic conditioner. Apply the mixture to your hair and scalp after shampooing and towel-drying. Cover with a plastic bag to keep in the heat, and leave for 30 minutes before rinsing well.