How Staying Fit Affects Hair Growth

A matter that is imperative for the body, mind, as well as hair, and many other areas, working out and staying fit is an act that comes with a host of benefits. While most people work out in order to lose weight, get fit, or relieve stress, many fail to consider how exercising can affect your hair health. A secondary benefit to a common action, although you may not be working out in order to increase your hair health, keep in mind that doing so can absolutely impact your hair for the better. With that said, the following is an overview of the ways in which staying fit affects the health and growth of your natural hair.

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Unclogging Hair Follicles 

Generally speaking, most of us work out in order to work up a good sweat. Known to help shed pounds and remove unwanted toxins from the body, sweating offers a host of positive benefits to the body. In terms of hair health, these benefits still exist. When sweating from the scalp, this helps to unclog the hair follicle and thus, leaving space for new hair follicles to grow.

Increased Blood Flow to the Scalp 

The next way in which staying fit can affect your hair growth, exercising has also been known to increase blood flow within various areas of the body, including the hair and scalp. Thusly, this also increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients going to the hair and scalp. This helps to nourish the hair and roots which ultimately gives way for an increased rate of hair growth.

Increased Production of Sebum 

Yet another way in which working out promotes hair growth, exercising has been known to increase the production of your hair’s natural oil, sebum. A substance that protects the hair follicles by increasing moisture, the increased levels of sebum that occur as a result of working out help to prevent dryness of the hair and therefore stops shedding and breakage over time.

Stress Reduction

An element that most adults can benefit from, stress reduction is important for every healthy, well-adjusted adult. A fairly well-known fact, exercising regularly has the ability to improve one’s mood as well as keep mental disorders such as seasonal depression at bay. Moreover, given that an abundance of stress is said to cause hair shedding, by reducing your stress levels, you will also be inadvertently reinforcing your natural hair health.

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Cortisone Production 

Another fairly well-known fact, the body produces cortisone, which can negatively affect the body in a number of ways. One of which, cortisone has the capacity to prevent the hair from growing. On the bright side, working out has the ability to reduce cortisone levels and thus can give your natural hair growth capacity a much-needed boost.

Best Exercises for Hair Growth 

Now that we’ve established the many ways in which working out and staying fit can positively impact your hair health and help increase growth, let’s discuss which exercises are best for promoting hair growth overall.

• Cardio– Whether you enjoy running, walking, jogging, dancing, cycling, or any other exercise that can help get the heart rate going, cardio workouts are great for producing large amounts of sweat which is imperative in order to boost your hair growth.
• Yoga– Known to help correct chemical imbalances within the body, another potential cause of hair loss, by regularly doing yoga workouts, or at least, certain poses, you will effectively increase your rate of hair growth. A low-impact method of working up a sweat, doing yoga can also work wonders for the growth of your hair. Popular poses such as the downward facing dog, the plow pose, the shoulder stand, and other similar poses are said to promote hair health by increasing the flow of blood the hair and scalp.

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An action that can benefit the mind and body in an array of ways, working out is not only excellent for the body, but for the health of your hair as well. While many believe the sweat produced during working out to be detrimental to natural hair, the opposite is actually true. Furthermore, although many believe they must belong to an expensive gym, hire a personal trainer, or carve out large amounts of time daily in order to get and stay fit, this is far from factual. In fact, by doing a few exercises a day within a 15-30-minute time frame, can work wonders for your body as well as your hair. Either way, before making any drastic changes to your workout regimen, consult with a trusted physician or fitness professional.