Emerson Salon – Capitol Hill Seattle

Our hair is a very important part of our bodies, in more ways than one. Sure, it’s gorgeous and can be an excellent accessory, and can also be a great way of expressing your personal style, but did you know your hair is also a great indicator of your overall physical and emotional health?

Your hair can be one of the first and best signs of how your body’s doing. When you’re healthy, balanced and relaxed, your hair will be lustrous and shining. However, when you’ve been ill, or are stressed out, there can be many negative effects on your hair. “I once had a friend whose hair was going grey because she had a really stressful job,” says John, one of our stylists, “She left to go to a different job, and right away the graying stopped.” If we’re under a lot of stress, either mentally or physically, our hair can get dull and even start to fall out.

Typically, when we go through a period of high stress, our hair will go into the telogen phase, which means it stops growing, and about three months later, it will start to fall out. So if you notice an abnormal amount of hair loss, think back a couple months- it’s likely that you’ll find that you had been going through something stressful at that time. Hair can also get thinner and fall out when you are going through a great physical stressor such as childbirth, illness or surgery, since the body takes energy away from growing hair to focus on healing.

Fortunately, there are a lot of easy ways to combat stress and keep your hair looking healthy and beautiful. The easiest thing to keep yourself balanced is regular exercise and a good diet. Vitamins are really important for the health of your hair, so go heavy on foods rich in Vitamin B, like greens, fish, cheese and eggs; Vitamin A, like spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and melons; and Vitamin C, like citrus fruits and strawberries. All of these, as well as vitamin supplements, will keep your body balanced and keep your hair looking rich, as will foods rich in calcium, like cheese, milk and yogurt.

There are also many products that can help revamp your hair. “Conditioning treatments like Kevin Murphy’s Born Again and Staying Alive can help stressed hair by making sure your hair and scalp is in balance,” says our stylist Lancer. “You should definitely tell your hair dresser what’s going with your hair- hair professionals are the best treatments for damaged or unhappy hair.”

Stress will come out in different ways for people, and can be remedied by different treatments. “When I’m stressed, my scalp gets itchy,” says Andrea, our receptionist. “John just did a Moroccan Oil Dry-No-More Scalp treatment on me- and gave me a killer head massage- and I feel great!”

Whether your hair needs a boost of life to get it going again, or if you just want to make sure it’s at it’s healthiest, our stylists are always here to answer your questions and make sure your hair is always as beautiful as it can be. Give us a call and make your appointment today!

Post by Amelia