TEXT

Pop star Nicki Minaj released more photos of her thinning hair on social media yesterday. In photos uploaded to Instagram and Twitter.com, Nicki is seen wet and topless after apparently taking a shower. Many of Nicki’s 17 million Twitter followers swooned and admired Nicki’s mid-back length. But hair care experts are not impressed.

While cosmetologists applaud Nicki for disposing of her wigs and weaves, they contend that Nicki’s ends shows signs of breakage and thinning which can easily be repaired with the proper diet and vitamins.

Nicki Minaj thinning hair

According to Blackhaircaremedia.com: “Thinning hair is an ailment that plagues women more often than we care to acknowledge. The average person loses approximately 100 hairs every day, but all too often, that number goes up and hair volume decreases due to an array of factors, including stress, hormonal fluctuations and diet. Here are some tips for women dealing with thinning hair.”

Nicki Minaj thinning hair

BHC Forum provided the following tips for Nicki and other women who deal with thinning hair daily:

1. Check your diet: focus on essential fatty acids that are key to scalp and hair health (such as Omega-3 fatty acids and ceramides), which are commonly found in fish and nuts, as well as foods rich in vitamin B, found in fruits, vegetables, beans and lean meats.

2. Consider taking a supplement: While results aren’t instantaneous, a supplement, such as hair-growth wonder Viviscal ($59.99 for 1 month supply, viviscal.ca), may be an option to consider. Viviscal in particular is drug-free and full of marine protein, zinc and biotin, which are all essential to hair growth. The catch is that you will need to take the supplement for several months before seeing results.

3. Use products with active ingredients: The standard drugstore shampoo or conditioner may not be helping your hair loss battle, so add some products that are more results-oriented to your arsenal. Revita High Performance Stimulating Shampoo & Revita.COR Conditioner ($31 and $32, respectively, dslaboratories.com) are packed with active ingredients ranging from antioxidants (like copper peptides) to biotin, caffeine and emu oil, all set out to work together to optimize hair growth conditions to bring back to the mane you once knew!

4. Relax: Easier said than done, but stress is believed to stunt hair growth and trigger hair loss. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle to worry or stress about thinning hair and then lose more of the hair you’re worried about, so try calming your thoughts with meditation and breathing exercises.

Hair care tips

1. Eat Brazil Nuts/Walnuts
Eat a small handful of of these nuts every day. The selenium and zinc stop hair shedding and breakage and promote a healthy scalp.
2. Drink/Supplement With Licorice Root
This makes hair grow longer and thicker by helping to balance out the thyroid gland (which regulates hormones). An unbalanced thyroid can lead to some early thinning of the hair.
3. Use Blackstrap Molasses As A Sweetener
A healthy sweetener, molasses contains a variety of minerals that promote your health. Particularly, high in iron, it feeds hair and gives you shiny healthy locks.
4.Ensure You’re Getting Your Omega 3/6/9’s
Our bodies don’t produce these nutrients, but we need them to keep our connective tissue healthy — this includes keeping our hair, skin and nails strong (and breakage-free).
5. Use Almond Oil
Apply to hair, wrap in a bun and leave on for two to four hours for a deep-conditioning treatment. You can add some honey to the mix as well — this adds extra minerals to the hair. Shampoo the mix out and rinse with apple cider vinegar (this will boost your locks’ shine). Follow with a light conditioner. This will help repair damaged, over-processed hair and split ends.
6. Take A Silica Supplement
We lose collagen as we age. Silica contains a significant amount of collagen, which gives our skin its elasticity and keeps hair lustrous. Pop one of these supplements to prevent hair thinning and to make hair look healthier.
7. Treat Hair With Coconut Oil
Coat your hair with coconut oil before going out in the sun or salt water or even chlorine. It acts as a sunscreen and also protects hair from damaging elements that can fade hair colour. Wrap in a bun and shampoo out. The heat from the sun makes the oil penetrate the hair for a deep-conditioning treatment.
8. Add Rosemary Oil To Your Shampoos
Add 20 to 30 drops of a high-quality rosemary essential oil to your shampoo and conditioner. This will help your hair grow faster.
9.Use Tea Tree Oil For Dandruff
Tea tree oil added to your shampoo and conditioner will help with dandruff, flaky scalp and oiliness. To soothe your scalp, add a few drops of lavender oil to your shampoo.
10. Eat Breakfast!
Women who skip breakfast usually have hair thinning and excessive shedding. Eat protein in the a.m. — egg whites or cottage cheese are great for this.
11. Dig Into Dark Leafy Greens
Their vitamin A and C content will help revive limp, lifeless hair.
12. Learn About Biotin
This mineral strengthens the follicles and helps with excessive shedding as well as thinning hair.