Look Younger: Hair Ingredients For Aging Locks

by : Ni’Kita Wilson

Missing the vibrant, buoyant locks of your youth? Make sure these key ingredients are in your hair care arsenal.

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Our hair is dead. But there is such a thing as aged hair.  It’s a phenomenon we’ve all experienced, especially when we look at an old photo of ourselves and wondered, “where’d my shiny, bouncy hair go?”

The irony is that your vanity is probably cluttered with anti-aging products to roll back the years on your skin, but on your hair, you’re relying on the same products you were using when that old photo was snapped.  Shave years off your locks with these look-younger hair ingredients.

Ingredients for Shinier Hair

Our biological systems slow down with age.  We see the results when our skin begins to sag, age spots appear and deeper wrinkles set in. It’s also responsible for the loss of shine in our hair. The key to overcoming this vibrancy-killer is to condition well and use maintenance products packed that promote shine.

Check the labels for ingredients like phenyl trimethicone and dimethicone, which have the ability to make light bounce off each hair strand in the same direction. It’s similar to shining one flashlight straight ahead, and then shining one hundred flashlights in that same direction. The effects of those one hundred flashlights will be much brighter. Using products that contain these ingredients will make your overall hair appear infinitely shinier.

Ingredients for Thinning Hair

5-alpha-reductase is an enzyme that converts testosterone into 5-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT plays a key roll in sebum production and hair growth. So, excessive DHT production means oilier skin andthinning hair. Ingredients that control 5 alpha-reductase have been shown to reduce DHT production, and prevent premature hair loss. That’s how the drug Minoxidil works. But there are cosmetic ingredients that give Minoxidil a run for its money.

Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 and Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract work together to help anchor strands of hair in the scalp, making it a little harder for them to escape. This dynamic duo also calms irritated scalps, which can be a trigger for premature hair loss.

The fatty acids in saw palmetto berries have been shown to reduce 5 alpha-reductase. It’s also a potent anti-inflammatory, which reduces irritation on the scalp. Think of your scalp as a garden; if it has bad soil then it won’t yield a good crop. So it is with our scalp; if it’s inflamed or unhealthy, it’ll have a negative impact on hair growth.

Most of us don’t feel our age, and use products to keep us looking more youthful. We concentrate on our face and hands; let’s give our crowning glory the same attention!