What about your internal beauty?

Our hair helps us to have that finished look that most of us love, but self-care is even more important because your hair is an excretory tool and can be seen as a barometer for your body, and I use this, with some clients, as a diagnostic tool. I am saying this because I encounter people who only look at the external beauty when their skin shines.

Have you ever thought about the importance of your skin as a first line of defence, to prevent toxins and pollution from entering the body? The immune cells in the skin fight the pathogens from entering your body, so in essence the skin provides protection. It absorbs, secretes, regulates and provides sensation. The hair is an appendage of the skin, so if your body has an issue and there is excretion like sweat, it will affect the hair, particularly if it is too acid.

The body regulates its temperature through sweat, but the person who looks for healthy hair should know that if you exercise every day, your self care regime should include washing your hair regularly to get rid of the perspiration from the hair, and regulate the pH balance to as normal as possible, just a simple wash.

We should also know that, if there is too much secretion you will get pimples, but if there is not enough, then you experiencing dryness. So here you can see, why balance is so important.

The skin offers us sensation, there are so many nerve ending in the skin that detect sensations such as coldness to the point of experiencing what we call “goose bumps” and heat to the point were we sweat excessively.

Then there is absorption, the pore of the skin takes in anything that you put on it, or come in contact with, like moisturisers, toxins, vitamins, acid and even water.

Imagine, using bug spray in a room, and remaining in the room.

Apart from inhalation, it will penetrate and absorb into your skin, as your skin is the largest absorption organ.

What about your internal beauty? That is when you take the time out of your busy schedule to visit a friend, or go to the doctor just to make sure everything is in good order. We live under so much stress, and believe it or not, it affects how your hair grows. Illness, medication, bad health practices, and nutritional deficiency, can disrupt the hair growth cycle.

I am seeing more 18-year-old people suffering with major hair loss, and when I say major, I mean hair loss that is normally visible in people who are past 40 or 50 years of age. So, the question is; why is this event taking place and why at such an early age? This led me to start looking for illnesses and toxins (etc). To my surprise, the consistent event in all of the lives of all these teenagers was studying. They were under so much stress to keep up with homework and school.

Today, society demands more from our young people, but selfcare should be as important as passing subjects. A little multivitamin is important; Super Bs, and Vitamin C. What I am saying is a nutrient rich diet should be followed at all times.

Take care of your skin, take care of your hair and remember selfcare is the best.

Germaine Williams-Beckles is a doctor of trichology (DT TCT) and a nutrition consultant (NC), Rayogee Wellness Lifestyle, Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain, geesexclusive.

com, 627-4659. Email your questions to queries@geesexclusive.

com