How to prevent Ana hairloss

 Loosing your hair during a restricted low calorie diet it's a common side effect, today I'm going to give you some tips and tricks I have learned over my 13 years battling Ana, i am no expert but i can tell you what i know, and you can always do your own research.

Our body is a complex system, and sudden changes in diet trigger a series of reactions, like hair loss. The first reason for Ana princesses, is insufficient nutrient intake. When you start an Ana diet, minerals and vitamins are drastically reduced, causing a condition called telogen effluvium (I may have missed spelled); where hair prematurely enters a "resting" phase, bassically, the sudden restriction makes your hair think it's time to shed...excessive amounts, and without enough nutrients your body isn't able to regrow.

So, how do we prevent this? The times that you do eat, focus on key nutrients to make sure your body can nourish without gaining weight:

     ♡ Protein: your hair is composed out of protein; it's testriction can weaken hair follicle followed by hairloss. Include things like chicken, fish, and legumes to avoid follicle deat.

     ♡ Iron: low levels of iron are a common side effect of Ana, it can difficult oxygen delivery to hair follicles, adding things like asparagus, spinach and black olives and you will  most likelly see a difference in your hairloss.

     ♡ Biotin: it's a vital B-vitamin for hair growth, it's crucial to maintain the keratin structure that makes up hair. Foods like eggs, berries and brocoli are some of the richest biotin foods, they're easy to add to your Ana diet, plus they're a comunity go-to.

Now that we've got the basics out, i must warn you, taking supplements seems like the easy way out, but too many of the same nutrients it's like shooting yourself, it will most likely cause more hairloss. You can either eat the nutrients or take a supplement, which in most cases isn't as effective. So, when this happend to me, god knows i struggled, i found a routine to help my hair out:

     - Don't hurt it even more, when hair that’s thinning or falling out it becomes super fragile and easily damaged, so be gentle and don't pull at it when washing, drying or styling.

     - Use a gentle shampoo low in alcohols to prevent extra dryness in your scalp.

     - Apply conditioner after e.v.e.r.y. shampoo. It coats your hair, reducing breakage and split ends, plus if ypur shampoo is too drying it will give back that healthy shine, even if it's temporary.

     - Dry your scalp first make sure it's not dump or it might become itchy, don't rub or twist your strands, instead squeeze them inbetween the towel.

     - When brushing your hair start on the ends and slowly go up, make sure you don't leave any knots (it can mat easly).

That's all for todays blog, i hope you learned something you didn't or at least reminded you of better habits. The next post will be a bundle of some of my favorite recipes, some mine and some i've found on the internet over the years. So, stay tunned and follow my tumblr @princessofsanddunes for updates and random rants.

XOXO