I hope that you aren’t expecting some miracle solution that will help you grow ten inches of hair in a month. Unluckily, growing hair takes time and lots of patience. If you hear someone claim that they can do it otherwise, I’d be very cautious before taking their advice. However, there are several things that you can do to attain healthy hair and speed up the growing process - if you’re willing to pay the price.

You may have noticed that women from the same family often have the same hair growth patterns. If you should see a woman that grows hair well, the chances are that the other women in her family grow hair well too. The same is true for women who cannot grow hair well. This is because heredity many times plays a big role in how our hair grows.

You may be saying, “My family members just aren’t hair growers, so I’m stuck, right?” Not necessarily. Many times family traits are inherited because nutritional habits are also passed down. Nutritional deficiencies can be inherited just the same as hair color. The good news is the cycle can be broken, but it takes patience. With proper nutrition, deficiencies can almost always be reversed, but sometimes it takes several months or even years to completely reverse.

Even if you don’t have a deficiency, proper nutrition and supplements can be used to boost you hair’s growth rate. If you want to add foods to your diet that will help hair growth here are a few you may want to try:

Barley: This nutritional grain is good for a number of things, but its high content of niacin, a B vitamin, is essential for healthy hair.

High protein foods: Without enough protein, hair is forced into the resting phase, and is shed prematurely. Try adding more lean meats, beans or lentils to your diet. Protein is composed of the amino acids necessary to grow new cells - including hair. (Have you ever noticed how beautiful a Hispanic woman’s hair is? It’s because of the high protein from the beans in their diet).

Avocados, nuts and seeds: These contain high vitamin E, necessary for healthy hair.

Raw oats and bean sprouts: These contain silica, a very important mineral that is a must for growing healthy hair.

Sufficient fat: Many people automatically turn their noses up when fat is mentioned, but certain amounts of fats are necessary for health in general and for healthy hair. The key is finding the right kinds of fats. EFAs (essential fatty acids) found in foods such as fish, and pumpkin, are extremely important for healthy hair. Also, find a good balance from other plant and animal sources.

Luckily, modern science has made it possible to get proper nutrition very easily without having to eat several pounds of the foods that contain the nutrients we need. This is through nutritional supplements. Even when taking nutritional supplements, make sure that you’re getting ones of a good quality, or they just won’t benefit. Make sure the supplement manufacturer has a reputation for good quality.

Here’s a list of the supplements that will help you grow great hair:

VITAMINS: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Biotin, Inositol, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12.

GET GREAT VITAMIN SUPLEMENTS

MINERALS: Calcium, Potassium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Iodine, Selenium, Copper, Silica, Zinc, Sulfur, Chromium

BUY COLLOIDAL MINERALS

HERBS: Sage, Chamomile, Catnip, Burdock Root, Horsetail

If you have very curly hair, you may have a hard time growing hair. Curly hair rarely grows long, so this doesn’t mean that you have a deficiency. Curly hair is beautiful in its own way, whether it’s long or short.

There are several health situations that can keep your hair from looking its best. Thyroid problems, gastrointestinal issues, and even hormone imbalances. If you don’t notice at least some improvement in your hair’s quality after several months, you may consider an underlying health problem.

Curly Hair is totally different from straight hair. Its formation is different and its needs are different. Like short hair styles of any other type, short curly hair styles make a statement. Maintaining Curly hair demands a different approach. It begs for understanding.

And it’s not for reasons of fashion alone that that you need to look at curly hair in a different light. There are just two ingredients you need to ensure at the very outset - the right hair cut, and the type of care that your curly hair really, really needs to retain its style.

Curly hair styles that look wonderful are the natural result of combining those two essential ingredients - the curly hair cut, and the curly hair care.

Curly short hair styles are sexy and cute. Curly short hair styles signal a confident woman. They give her sex appeal, too, if they suit her. Curly hair short styles can look gorgeous or they can look horrible. In both cases, the reason is face shape.

But happily most people will prefer to work with the face they have. That’s where hair styles come in, after all. A woman’s hair is more than a mere accessory as its essential to her to look striking.

Going to the hairdresser can be a menacing experience, especially if you aren’t sure what you want. Ease your nerves by doing some research ahead of time, browse women’s magazines or the internet for examples of the style you’re looking for, and don’t be afraid to bring a few pictures into the salon with you. Sharing these pictures with the hairdresser will give him or her visual idea of what type of cut you’re interested in.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that just because a particular haircut looks good on Jennifer Aniston does not mean it will look good on you. Different cuts are flattering for different face shapes; determining what shape yours is can help guide you in the right direction. Tie your hair back in a ponytail and look straight ahead into a mirror. Focusing mainly on your jaw line, see if your face is round, oval, heart-shaped or square.

According to famous hairstylist John Frieda, your jaw line is the most important factor in deciding what length your new cut should be. Look at your profile in the mirror. If you have a sharp angle where your jaw turns to meet your ear, you’re lucky–you can pull off almost any length of hair. If your jaw is long and sloping, avoid wearing your hair up or pulling it back, and stay away from really short styles as they will expose your jaw line. Before selecting a style, however, let the hairdresser know what type of routine you keep and how much time you have to spend on your hair each morning. Choppy, layered cuts, for example, require much more prep time than straight cuts. Very few women have exact, ideal proportions in their countenance, but read on and you’ll learn ways you can use your hair as a frame to fool the eye into thinking you do.

ROUND FACE

Soft, choppy styles such as layers cut around the cheeks work better for round faces than pin-straight, flat or sleek styles do. Layers that fall just around the cheekbones will shade them and cause the face to look narrower. Volume on top of the crown will create a domed look that adds height and thus elongates the roundness of the face. If you like bangs, graduated bangs cut on an angle that also fall just around the cheeks are your best bet. If your neck is also round, choppy layers that fall around the neckline will also downplay the plumpness.

OVAL FACE

The oval is believed to be the “perfect” face shape due to it’s popularity and versatility. This is the shape that all haircuts seek to achieve, and people who already have this shape can get away with almost any haircut. The only thing you’ll want to be careful about is if you’re going for an uber-short look. Your face may be a “classic oval”, but if your scalp isn’t beautifully shaped a short cut can look misshapen.

LONG FACE

The solution for a long face is to make it look shorter. This can be achieved by wisphy, see-through bangs and chin length cuts. Longer, shapeless styles and straight bobs serve only to further elongate. The fullest, thickest part of the hair should rest behind the ears and be soft and low on the crown. If your chin is pointy, make sure your hair doesn’t curve in towards it, but sweeps up and away instead.

SQUARE FACE

Square faces need to avoid short crops, symmetry, or anything geometric which will enhance the square ness; instead, go for soft curves which will soften the severity of the square jaw line. If you can get a slightly voluminous point at the crown, this will also detract from the square outline. Light, wispy, see-through bangs can also soften the features. Stay away from blunt cuts and hard, sleek lines as these will exaggerate the square shape. A cut with soft curves, slight bangs would be best for this face type.

HEART-SHAPED FACE

Faces those are narrow at the bottom and wide at the top need a cut that hides the hairline with graduated bangs and a choppy style that flips out on the ends. When the hair turns outwards rather than inwards, it equalizes the shape by giving volume around the narrow bottom of the face. If, on the other hand, your face is an upside-down heart (narrow at the top, heavier at the jaw) make sure there is fullness at the top of the head instead to balance out the chin.

Diet and physical activity have a major effect on your cholesterol. Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly can help you lower your cholesterol or maintain a normal level. Likewise, lack of physical activity and poor food choices can send your cholesterol soaring.

Foods to Beware

Saturated fat is the main food culprit for high cholesterol. Saturated fats are mostly found in marbled meat, poultry with skin and full-fat dairy products. Experts recommend limiting saturated fat to less than 10 percent of your daily calories. Lowering your consumption of saturated fats has been proven to lower LDL cholesterol.

It is also important to be mindful of the cholesterol in food. Experts say not to consume more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day. Eggs, cheese, sour cream, butter, meat and poultry all contain cholesterol.

Lastly, the trans fat in packaged baked goods like crackers, cakes and cookies, fried foods and some margarine is a worry. The latest recommendation is to keep harmful trans fat intake below one percent.

Foods to Fill Your Plate

At the same time, there is a universe of foods that when eaten in abundance can help lower your cholesterol.

Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, beans and oats all have proven cholesterol-fighting benefits. Studies have demonstrated that fiber lowers cholesterol. It also makes you feel full, which can help control weight. Experts recommend eating 25 to 38 grams of fiber daily, depending on your sex and your age. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lets oat makers put a “heart-healthy” claim on their products because of oats’ ability to decrease total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

Fish are low in saturated fat and high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower cholesterol. Experts advise eating at least two servings of baked or grilled fish each week. Wild salmon is a top choice because it is so healthful, but other good fresh fish to consider are flounder, trout, tuna and halibut. Walnuts and flax seeds are some non-fish sources of omega-3 fatty acids. In September 2004, the FDA okayed a “heart healthy” claim for foods with omega-3 fatty acids.

Soy foods such as soy milk, soy burgers, tofu and edamame (whole soybeans) may lower your risk of heart disease when eaten as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, according to the FDA. The advice is to eat 25 grams of soy protein each day, which is the equivalent of a little over three cups of soy milk.

Nuts, including almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, macadamias and pistachios, help lower cholesterol. Experts believe this is due to the combination of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats they contain. When weaving nuts into your diet, keep in mind that they are caloric.

Experts believe that polyunsaturated fats (including nuts, seeds and safflower, sesame and corn oils) and monounsaturated fats (including avocados and canola, olive and peanut oils) may help lower your cholesterol when you consume them instead of saturated fats. All the same, nutritionists advise using all fats sparingly.

Exercise

Working out on a regular basis lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol levels. It also helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, which is beneficial not only for your heart health but for your overall health. Experts say to aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise each day.

Family History

Another risk factor for high cholesterol is genetics. Some people have high cholesterol because it runs in their family. If you have a family history of high cholesterol or heard disease, it is more important than ever to eat right, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.

The inundation of cricket matches has already started affecting the career spans of promising players,’ former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar was quoted as saying in a national daily recently.‘They want to play for their country but, with the frequency of high-tension matches increasing, they are prone to injury and are struggling to do their best,’ he added.