3 Science-Backed Solutions To Maintain Your Healthy, Luscious Looking Hair As You Age

As people age, it is inevitable that our hair becomes grayer, lesser and coarser through time which leads to insecurities and an attack to our self-confidence. Fortunately, dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research of the dermatology department at Mount Sinai Hospital has given science-backed solutions to keep our hair luscious and healthy! 

Check out these three DIY tricks you can do at home to keep your locks lush: 

1] Thicken your head of hair with peppermint. 

Recent research finds that all-natural peppermint oil is an even better solution that the gold-standard treatment minoxidil that dermatologists recommend to help follicles produce longer and thicker hair. Dr. Zeichner claims the reason it works magic on your hair is because “peppermint oil blocks the production of DHT, the hormone associated with hair thinning.”

How to: Mix a drop of peppermint essential oil with 1/4 cup fresh water and spray the concoction all over the scalp everyday. 

2] Consume walnuts to boost hair shine. 

“Shine is determined by the cuticle of the hair, which is made up of plates of keratin that sit like shingles on a roof. As production of this cuticle weakens with age, hair can appear dull and coarse,” says Dr. Zeichner. Walnuts are brimming with omega-3s, a fatty acid that powers keratin synthesis in the scalp, which makes the follies produce smoother hair strands. 

How to: By merely eating a handful of walnuts everyday, you will have ingested enough “omega-3s to ensure hair follicles have what they need,” says Dr. Zeichner.

3] Laugh away the grays.

“By the age of 50, about 50 percent of women will be 50 percent gray,” reveals Dr. Zeichner. It’s common knowledge that stress is a major factor or grading hair. In fact, Harvard researchers have recently proven that stress is a major enemy on pigment-producing cells in follicles by blocking them from producing hair color. As strange as it sounds though, by laughing and lessening stress in your life, you can prevent gray hair! This is because hilarity increases oxygen intake and triggers the brain to release a bounty of feel-good endorphins which lessens the stress. Another study found that by simply laughing at a joke can already reduce the cortisol stress hormone in the body by up to 39 percent!

How to: Fill your day with happiness and laughter.