What helps? Thanks.

You can do a few things do reduce hair breakage:

1) When you get out of the shower, blot your hair with your towel instead of rubbing vigorously. This will reduce the friction on your delicate hair.

2) Use a wide toothed comb to get knots out, and be gentle. A spritz of leave-in conditioner on the ends will help you work the comb through tangled areas. "Infusium" is by far the best.

1) If you blowdry your hair, make sure that you don't do so while its soaking wet, when hair is at its weakest. The tension from your hairbrush combined with heat damage from the hairdryer can cause your hair to snap. Give your hair a 15-minute "pre-dry", you can do your makeup or grab some breakfast while you wait.

3) Be gentle with your hair if you do blowdry and take a few extra moments to make certain you are not over-pulling your hair as you style. As your hair dries, it begins to gain back its tensile strength, so baby it while its wet.

4) If you like pulling your hair back in tight ponytails or other constricted styles, you may want to stop (or at least give your hair a few days rest in between). The constant tension on the hair can cause it to weaken and eventually break off.

5) Use a good, intense conditioner at least once a week to help strengthen any damaged areas.

6) Since beauty always comes from within, make sure you are feeding yourself right. Do a search on the Internet for foods that help aid with hair strength. I have been taking Flax Oil for the past 6 months and my hair has never been stronger (Flax oil is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for shiny, strong hair).

Hope this helps! :bouncing:

Yes! That helps a ton. Thank you! What brand of Flax do you take? I would like to pick some up.

I use the Omega Nutrition brand of Flax seed oil. They're usually found in health food stores everywhere. I used to take one tablespoon a day, but found out I could get away with one teaspoon (so that's what I've been doing). If you've never tried flax oil, it is, ahem, an aquired taste. Mix it in some orange juice and swallow quickly! But I would never give it up - my skin is healthier, I no longer have dry eyes, and my hair is amazingly shiny and strong. I've got 4 of my friends hooked on it too :)

Oh ok....so you take the oil? What's the difference between the oil or just the pills?

There's just one difference, but its very important:

You would have to take about 4 pills to reach the equivalent of one teaspoon of oil. The pills carry only about 1/4 teaspoon of oil each, AND they're more expensive than the bottle of oil due to individual capsules, extra packaging, etc.

Therefore you'd be paying more and receiving less benefits. After the first time I bought the oil (and almost gagged on the taste), I went back to the health food store and inquired about the pills. The nutrionist there told me that the pills were really just meant for travel convenience (cause you probably wouldn't lug a bottle of oil in your carry-on!) and since they are encapsulated in a gel coating, you don't have to refrigerate them (again for convenience).

Oh, that reminds me - the flax seed oil bottle must be refrigerated at all times and used within 6 weeks of opening - and at a teaspoon a day, it lasts about 6-7 weeks.

So basically its a better decision to get the bottle. When I go on vacation I never bother to buy the pills, cause a week here or there without flax oil isn't going to kill you. But just to give you a better picture, the oil here (I'm Canadian) is about $11.99, and a bottle of 100 pills is $17.99. But that $11.99 will last me at least 6 weeks, whereas for the same benefit, the $17.99 would only give me a little over 3 weeks (equivalent - 1 tsp/day - 4 pills). So its clearly a better route to go for the big stuff!

Great. Thanks. Can you tell me what other benefits it has as far as health? And do you think the brand is a concern as far as the best quality?

Here's a quote:

"Flax Seed Oil is a rich, vegetarian source of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids beneficial for allergies, cardiovascular health, cholesterol levels, circulation, eczema, eyesight and eye health, immune function, learning ability, nerve problems, osteo-arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, viral illness, weight management, diabetes, blood pressure, inflammation, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, acne, dry skin, hair vitality, energy levels, PMS, mood swings, and liver problems."

Another benefit which is not listed, but may actually have some merit, is hair growth and re-growth. I have very fine hair, but since taking the flax, I find it thicker and shinier. My older brother (who's hair is starting to thin out in the crown) commented on the fact that my hair doesn't look so "anorexic" anymore. So of course he asked me what I was doing different. I could only attribute the change to the flax, so he got on it about 2 months ago. Already a lot of the hair that looked like it was gone for good has returned!! So needless to say he went to the health food store and sang its praises. The nutritionist said that he's had lots of customers commenting on the same thing, but no official study has been conducted to prove the correlation. So although thinning hair may not be your concern, pass this tidbit on to others!

For brand quality, I would go to the health food store and ask the nutritionist what he/she suggests. Every health food store in Toronto carries Omega Nutrition, and its consistently recommended to most people I know. If you go on their website, you can order a free catalog (which explains in detail their products and benefits). I myself do not have the catalog, but my friend got it and said it was worth a read.

Just make sure you buy "cold pressed" flax oil, as heat kills its nutrients and stuff.