By Chris Carter. Warnings

Transcription

1 By Chris Carter Stop hair loss, re-activate dormant hair to increase hair density, slow down ageing, reduce cell oxidation, reduce stress hormones, improve mental well-being, increase self confidence and improve overall health. This ebook is for private use only. It is illegal to resell or redistribute the ebook or its contents. You may reference the ebook's contents but you must provide citations. Warnings This ebook is not intended for use by pregnant or nursing women, anyone with a health condition, the elderly or frail or anyone under the age of eighteen. It is advisable to consult your doctor before beginning any new regime.

2 Welcome to the program My name is Chris Carter and I am the author of this program. What you're about to read is no ordinary book. This is a succinct accumulation of the very best methodology for promoting hair growth and improving mental and physical health. Regrowing your hair is something that most people believe is impossible. Regrowing your hair is extremely difficult. But it's not impossible. Anyone who tells you it's impossible simply doesn't know how to do it. And that is almost everyone: because there are so few people in the world who have done it. But believe me, it is possible. Don't listen to people who tell you otherwise, for they are either closed-minded or short-sighted: Do you think hair loss will be a common problem a thousand years from now? No, it will be non-existent. No one will need hair transplants; everyone will have perfect hair. People will live much longer and the quality of their lives will be far greater than it is today. The instructions in this book are ahead of their time and that's one of the reasons why it's an exceptionally good book. In fifty years from now most people in the developed world will be using these or similar methods for improving and maintaining a high standard of physical and mental health. It's just that I have been forced to develop and use these methods earlier than most people because I made mistakes in my early life that reduced my health. I have reversed those problems by developing some sophisticated methods. What I'm about to explain to you is a method for fundamentally changing your body's cells, your mind, your scalp and even your circulatory system, so that these biological facets of your life work for you rather than against you. Before we begin though I want to tell you one thing: don't waste your time. Time is one thing than can never be reclaimed. Once lost, it is lost for good. Don't waste your time doing this program half-heartedly. In fact, don't waste your time at all. Live it to the fullest. Part of that is creating your optimal self: your healthiest, fittest, most clearminded and focused self the best you that you can be. Let's get started. 2

3 The Legal Bit This ebook is intended to be used for educational and information purposes only. The author does not advocate nutritional supplementation over proper medical advice or treatment and this sentiment will never be expressed through pages of the ebook or web pages hosted on nicehair.org. If using any pharmaceuticals or drugs given to you by a doctor or received with a prescription, you must consult with the doctor in question or an equally qualified Health Care Professional prior to using any nutritional supplementation. If undergoing medical therapies, then consult with your respective Therapist or Health Care Professional about possible interactions between your Treatment, any Pharmaceuticals or Drugs being given, and possible nutritional supplements or practices described in this ebook or on nicehair.org. The author does not assume liability for any actions undertaken after reading this ebook or visiting nicehair.org, and does not assume liability if one misuses instructions or supplements. The author does not ensure that unforeseen side effects will not occur even at the proper dosages, and thereby does not assume liability for any side effects from supplements or practices described in this ebook or pages hosted on nicehair.org. 3

4 Step 1: Flood your body with hormonebalancing, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative super-nutrients I'm going to tell you a story about an American scientist called Dr Terry Wahls. Dr Wahls used to suffer from a disease called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Her movement was extremely restricted, she was wheelchair bound, tired all the time and things were looking bad. Before long she was undergoing chemotherapy and it looked as though she may never leave her bed again. But she was very clever. She studied her disease in detail until she understood the root cause of it. She asked herself, what precisely is it that's causing her brain and body to behave like this. She discovered that the mitochondria in her cells were dying. So she set about healing them. She worked out exactly what mitochondria need to be healthy and then she went on a mission to provide her body's cells with precisely what they needed to return to a healthy state. She flooded her body with those nutrients every day. She experimented with various special combinations of nutrients that were designed to feed her mitochondria. Eventually she determined the correct combination of foods. As time went by something incredible started to happen. Her cells began to heal. Her movement started to return. Her energy levels started to improve. 4

5 A year later she no longer needed a wheelchair. In fact, her health improved dramatically. The improvement was so dramatic, she was able to ride her bike five miles to work every day and live a normal life again. Within one year she had dramatically changed her life. And she did it without medication, without special therapy and without some miracle cure. She did it by healing her body at a cellular level. You can watch Dr Wahls TED Talk here. Why have I told you this? What Dr Wahls did was remarkable. But it was based on pure logic. She found the root cause of her problem and she treated it. She gave her body what it needed to heal itself. She didn't attempt to constantly treat a symptom. She found the root cause and eliminated it. 5

6 Dr Wahls story inspired me. It made me think: If someone can understand the underlying cause of MS and figure out how to eliminate that cause, it must be possible to do the same thing for hair loss, which is simply a symptom if an underlying problem. So that's exactly what I did. What is the root cause of hair loss? We knew that a drug called Finasteride can successfully reduce levels of the hormone DHT in the scalp enough to prevent DHT from causing hair loss. So we knew there's a causal link between DHT and hair loss, for most people. But why do some people display the symptoms of high DHT levels, such as extreme body hair growth, while not experiencing scalp hair loss? It seemed a piece of the puzzle was missing. So I examined every item of hair loss research I could find until I had enough pieces of the puzzle to form an overall picture clear enough to determine what was missing. And here it is. I'll explain more about the science behind this method later, but for now, let's get started with the basics. 6

7 This method is based on research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Division of Molecular Neurobiology at the University of Cincinnati, Dr Terry Wahls of the University of Iowa and much much more. The discoveries these teams made, which I m about to show you, are some of the greatest breakthroughs in hair growth research. Flood your hair with hair growth nutrients and begin hormone balancing Before I developed this method I had an average diet: Toast or fruit for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, meat and vegetables for dinner. It's probably similar to your diet. That wasn t the problem. In fact you could follow a terrible diet your whole life and not lose your hair. You can just about do everything wrong with regard to your health and still not lose your hair. That s because there is a far more powerful force at work in your body: your hormones. this is the key to perfect hair, clear skin and calm focus In this guide I'll be showing you how to reverse the damage done by your imbalanced hormones and how to flip the switch so your hormones work for you instead of against you. The first step is to begin intensely nourishing your body: your skin, your hair, your brain, your circulatory system and your organs with a specially designed combination of nutrients, which will go to work helping your body rebalance and return to a healthy state a state more like that of someone who has perfect skin, full, thick, healthy hair and a relaxed, focused mind. Let's get started. Imagine if from now on you started consuming a large dose of the perfect combination of super healthy foods every day. The exact foods that heal your body, balance your hormones and feed your hair. Imagine if you could flood your whole body with super 7

8 healthy nutrients all day and all night so they could feed and protect your cells, so your cells could go to work healing your whole body. We re going to start by drinking a special hair growth smoothie twice a day. Please note: we ll be wading through some fairly jargon-full scientific studies in this section. Don t worry if some of this seems over complicated. I ll be explaining everything in plain, simple English in good time. Ingredients You ll need: A small bag of baby leaf spinach, watercress and rocket, like the one pictured (this is for the for minerals (particularly iron), antioxidants, enzymes, probiotics, fibre and vegetable protein). You can vary the greens you use, but start with this combination. You can also buy frozen vegetables, which is far more economical. If you re female and experiencing hair loss, drinking this smoothie every day may be all it takes to kick-start hair regrowth, just due to the nutritional content. Here s an extract on a study that found a distinct inverse correlation between hair loss levels and iron levels -- in other words, the less iron found in the body, the more significant the hair loss. Note that ferritin is another way of saying blood iron levels. The relationship between iron body status and different types of hair loss has been investigated in a number of studies, however, with relatively discrepant findings. Therefore we conducted an analytical case-control study to assess 8

9 whether diffuse telogen hair loss in women of childbearing age (15 to 45 years old) is associated with iron deficiency. Using the analytical case-control methodology, we studied 30 consecutive women with documented diffuse telogen hair loss in comparison with 30 women without hair loss. Study subjects had no history of nutritional supplement intake or chronic underlying diseases, and had normal thyroid function and inflammatory profiles. Biochemical investigations were performed in all study women. The mean ferritin level and trasferrin saturation was statistically significantly lower in patients with diffuse telogen hair loss than in subjects without hair loss (16.3+/-12.6 vs /-50.1, ng/ml; P< and 20.3+/-9.7 vs /-11.8 percent; P=0.006, respectively). Also, total iron binding capacity was significantly higher in patients than in control group (367.8+/-58.2 vs /-60.1 microg/dl; P=0.004). Of nine patients with iron deficiency anemia (Hb <12 g/dl), eight patients had telogen hair loss (odds ratio: 10.5, 95%CI: ; P=0.013). Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for diffuse telogen hair loss was 21.0 ( ) at serum ferritin levels < or =30 ng/ml. Women with iron deficiency status are at a risk of telogen hair loss. The important role of serum ferritin in hair loss is becoming more evident. In women without systemic inflammation or other underlying disorders, serum ferritin levels below or equal to 30 ng/ml are strongly associated with telogen hair loss. Department of Dermatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Several studies have shown a strong link between iron and hair loss. This is one of the the purposes of the hair growth smoothie: We re replenishing your body with all the nutrients it could be deficient in due to stress, hormonal imbalance or other reasons. Since research suggests links between specific nutrient deficiencies and hair loss, we re eliminating that possible cause of your hair loss. As we progress through the program we ll systematically eliminate all of the possible causes, one by one. It's important to note that poor diet is highly unlikely to be the reason some people have nutrient deficiencies that cause hair loss. It's more likely that a hormonal imbalance or other reason (of which there are several ) has caused the nutrient deficiency, which has led to hair loss. In this program we'll be replenishing any possible nutrient deficiencies and removing the underlying problems that have caused the nutrient deficiencies. This is incredibly important if you want to reverse your hair loss and be healthy. 9

10 Bergfeld has been doing this for years. And she s finding that whatever the cause of hair loss for both women and men having too little iron in the blood makes it worse. Wilma Fowler Bergfeld, MD, via MPB Research Next... A handful of low sugar berries like cranberries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I use a bag of frozen berries, which is quick and easy. Cranberries and strawberries are some of the best sources of a micro-nutrient called iodine. Iodine is key for promoting healthy thyroid function. So by drinking this smoothie twice per day you're giving your thyroid gland the nutrients it needs to be healthy. A clear link between iodine and hair growth has been observed by farmers: Sheep farmers noticed that iodine-poor soils produced iodine-deficient plants, which produced iodine-deficient sheep. These sheep, consequently, produced the 10

11 least amount (and poorest quality) of wool. It stands to reason that human beings are just as effected by iodine-poor soil and plants as animals are. And hair loss may be related to this decline. One 2001 study published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, & Leprology described the use of iodine as a treatment for patients with alopecia (hair loss), and found hair re-growth in a number of patients. Dr. Edward Group DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM (2015) As a scientist of hair growth the above observation is extremely useful. Why? It's very difficult to observe the causes of decline in hair growth in humans because there are so many variables to take into account. However, sheep exist in a very simple environment: a field. Sheep go in. Sheep go out. Repeat. Repeat many many times. This experiment makes observations, such as decrease in iodine levels and it's effect on wool growth relatively easy to record. And therefore we can use this information to draw conclusions about nutrient consumption and keratin growth. The low sugar fruits are also a good natural source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are key for hair growth. In Step 2 I'll be showing you how to apply the world's most powerful natural antioxidant directly to your scalp. In Step 1, we're using the smoothie to increase your oral intake of antioxidants. It's vital that we protect the cells in your scalp from oxidative damage (free-radical damage). Studies have shown an association between oxidative stress and alopecia. Patients with alopecia generally exhibit lower levels of antioxidants in their scalp area as well as a higher lipid peroxidation index. Tocotrienols belong to the vitamin E family and are known to be potent antioxidants. Hence, a study was conducted to investigate the effect of tocotrienol supplementation on hair growth in volunteers suffering from hair loss. Twenty one volunteers were randomly assigned to orally receive 100 mg of mixed tocotrienols daily while 17 volunteers were assigned to receive placebo capsule orally. The volunteers were monitored for the number of hairs in a predetermined scalp area as well as the weight of 20 strands of 1 cm length hair clippings at 0 (before supplementation), 4 and 8 months. The number of hairs of the volunteers in the tocotrienol supplementation group increased significantly as compared to the placebo group, with the former recording a 34.5% increase at the end of the 8-month 11

12 supplementation as compared to a 0.1% decrease for the latter. Nevertheless, the cumulative weight of 20 strands of hair clippings did not differ much from the baseline for both supplementation groups at the end of the study period. In conclusion, this trial demonstrated that supplementation with tocotrienol capsules increases hair number in volunteers suffering from hair loss as compared to the placebo group. This observed effect was most likely to be due to the antioxidant activity of tocotrienols that helped to reduce lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in the scalp, which are reported to be associated with alopecia. Effects of Tocotrienol Supplementation on Hair Growth in Human Volunteers, 2010 Lim Ai Beoy,Wong Jia Woei, Yuen Kah Hay. A raw egg yolk... A raw egg yolk (for vitamin D, biotin, other B vitamins, choline and other nutrients that support hair growth). This is one of the best natural sources of hair growth nutrients. 12

13 Vitamin D stimulates hair growth: Vitamin D analogs (D2 and D3 supplements) reversed hair loss in mice, and cancer patients who have lost hair due to chemotherapy reported significant improvements after the use of vitamin D supplements. Through their direct action on keratinocytes (the cells found responsible for inactive vitamin D receptors), vitamin D analogs stimulated hair growth in mice. Bollag, W. B. (2012) Vitamin D deficiency is likely to be one of the more common nutrient deficiencies among hair loss sufferers due to long periods of life spent indoors. Another common, yet rarely considered vitamin deficiency is B12. As this vitamin has a vital contribution in the making of new oxygen-carrying blood cells, the hair follicle isn t properly nourished in case of B12 deficiency (apart from oxygen, vital nutrients and minerals are also carried into the blood stream, straight to your body cells). This results in the gradual deterioration of the hair shaft, beginning with loss of strength and possibly leading to the death of the follicle (root), which is the living part of your hair. One egg yolk contains over 60% of your recommended daily Vitamin D intake and just over 100% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin B12. It s also rich in biotin and choline. Next: A scoop of branch chain amino acids... 13

14 Full spectrum BCAA powder (these are amino acids amino acids are the building blocks of hair keratin). This is what your body will use to grow more hair. There is a lot of strong evidence suggesting that supplementing your diet with amino acids (particularly cysteine and lysine) increases hair growth. 14

15 The amount of cysteine in a hair fibre is an indicator of the hairs health. Cysteine is considered to be one of the main factors involved in hair growth. In a paper regarding evidence based guidelines in the treatment of hair loss for both women and men, various amino acids are mentioned with a special mention for cysteine. The paper cites a study in which there was a significant mean change of total hair count in both male and female patients after a treatment containing cysteine. The participants had to take an oral supplement that contained cysteine, copper, zinc and histidine 4 times a day for 50 weeks and the treatment group had remarkable results with their anagen rate. Another study regarding the influence of cysteine on hair growth showed very promising results. 48 volunteers with ages between 21 and 38 years old participated in the study. 12 of the subjects were asked to take a dietary 15

16 supplement based on cysteine as well as a topical solution made with serenoa repens, also known as saw palmetto. One group used both while the control group only used the lotion. At the end of the 50 weeks of treatment, the results showed an increase of hair mass from 20% to up to 30% as well as an increase in hair number up to 27%. The group that also followed the dietary supplement had a 50% increase in hair growth. Chris Carter, nicehair.org (2016) We're adding cysteine to the hair growth smoothie for these very reasons. It wouldn't hurt to do precisely what the participants did in the study cited above: by using a cysteine supplement. Cysteine is incredibly good for your body in several ways, including protecting cells from free radical damage (it's a potent antioxidant) and improving the health of the liver. It's arguable that you would see faster and more significant hair regrowth if you added a cysteine supplement to your diet on top of the amino acid blend we're adding to the smoothie, but it's not vital. Next, Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA)... 2 GLA softgels (GLA is a natural "DHT blocker" and key for hormonal balancing). This will 16

17 provide 300mg of GLA per glass of smoothie. You can also use pure borage oil or other cheaper versions of the above supplement. Aim to supplement your diet with approximately 300mg of GLA per day. Ignore the fact that it says Women s Health on the supplement pictured above. GLA helps balance women s hormones but it s also perfectly healthy to be used by men. This is one way in which we will help your body to naturally reduce excess blood DHT, which is the hormone that causes male pattern baldness. This is natural and free of side-effects unlike the popular hair loss drug Finasteride. Four middle-aged males with rapidly progressing baldness were treated orally with either 6g of evening primrose oil or 6g of a mixture of evening primrose oil and concentrated fish oil (20%) per day. The primrose oil provided approximately 90mg of 18:3n-6 (gamma-linolenic acid, GLA) per gram and the fish oil 180mg of 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) and 120mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per gram. After delays of 4 to 8 weeks, all four individuals reported unequivocal hair growth, with extension of hair growth to previously bald areas of the scalp, and a strengthening of growth in those areas where hair was present but thinning. TREATMENT OF MALE PATTERN BALDNESS AND OF UNWANTED HAIR GROWTH FIELD OF INVENTION patent. A reasonable amount of research has been conducted on Gamma Linoleic Acid for reducing hair loss caused by DHT. There is strong evidence to support GLA reducing the action of the enzyme 5 Alpha Reductase (5AR), which is key for us because 5AR is the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT, which is the most significant cause of hair loss. Therefore by naturally inhibiting 5AR we can safely and effectively reduce DHT. Although the androgens, testosterone (T) and its highly active metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT) play a role in the development and progression of prostate cancer, the mechanism(s) are unclear. Furthermore, 5 alpha-reductase which catalyze the conversion of T to DHT, has been a target of manipulation in the treatment of prostatic cancer, hence synthetic 5 alpha-reductase activity inhibitors have shown therapeutic promise. To demonstrate that nutrients derived from dietary sources can exert similar therapeutic promise, this study was designed 17

18 using benign hyperplastic cells (BHC) and malignant tumorigenic cells (MTC) derived from Lobund-Wistar (L-W) rat model of prostatic adenocarcinoma to test the effects of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and their 15-lipoxygenase metabolites on cellular 5 alpha-reductase activity. Our data revealed: (i) that incubation of MTC with [3H]-T resulted in marked conversion to [3H]-DHT when compared to similar incubation with BHC; (ii) that DHT-enhanced activity of 5 alpha-reductase was inhibited 80% by 15S-hydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, the 15-lipoxygenase metabolite of GLA, when compared to 55% by 15Shydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid, the 15-lipoxygenase metabolite of EPA; and (iii) that their precursor fatty acids, respectively, exerted moderate inhibition. Taken together, the study underscores the biological importance of 15-lipoxygenase metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in androgen metabolism. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, TB-192, One Shields Avenue, 95616, USA. The study referenced above demonstrates that GLA can significantly inhibit the action of 5AR on testosterone. What does it mean for us? It means we can get similar results to the world's most effective FDA approved hair loss medication, Propecia, without the extreme side effects. And if you're a man you may also significantly reduce your risk of prostate cancer. Next, curcumin... 18

19 Curcumin is not easily digested by the human digestive system. Therefore we need to use a bio-available version of standard curcumin. In doing so we can consume the equivalent of a thousand times more curcumin. Curcumin, AKA Turmeric, is simply a root, similar to Ginger and looks like this: We re using curcumin for it s anti-inflammatory effect. I previously mentioned that the hormone DHT is by far the most significant cause of hair loss and by reducing DHT it is highly likely that an individual will see a reduction in hair loss. We'll be using several approaches in this program to reduce DHT. But DHT has knock on effects in the scalp, which increase the severity of the hair loss. It s vital that we combat these knock on effects if we want to reverse hair loss. DHT > Inflammation > Fibrosis 19

20 In step 2 of the program we ll be using advanced techniques to heal fibrosis (scarring) in your scalp. Several studies have shown a clear link between fibrosis and severe hair loss. In order to prevent further fibrosis and enable your scalp to begin to heal, we need to reduce inflammation. Curcumin has been demonstrated to be safe in six human trials and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity. It may exert its anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of a number of different molecules that play a role in inflammation. Department of Stomatology, University of California (2003) The last ingredient we need is a B vitamin called niacin... We need mg of niacin but don't add this to the blender. Niacin will cause your blood to flush to your skin. Then, using the inversion method, which I ll explain shortly, you ll force the nutrients to flood to your scalp, intensely nourishing your hair. Twice per day; first thing in the morning and before dinner you re going to drink the hair growth smoothie. Don't eat anything for as many hours as possible before drinking the smoothie -- that's why first thing in the morning is an ideal time. 20

21 As a result you ll be eating a whole bag of fresh baby leaf greens per day, 600mg of GLA, a raw egg yolk, the equivalent of 1000 grams of turmeric, all the amino acids your body needs to create hair keratin and a load of naturally derived antioxidants, which will be delivered relatively quickly to your bloodstream: making your circulation strong; your hormones balanced; and your body filled with nutrients that are incredibly good for your hair and skin. This is incredibly good for you. It's much better than taking hair supplements. It s loosely based on the method by Dr Terry Wahls used to cure her MS. Now just think; if someone can use a strategic diet to cure MS, imagine what this method, based on the same principals, is going to do for your hair. In essence, we re taking everything your body has lacked for so long and the precise nutrients your body needs to heal and putting it all into one easy to drink smoothie. Let's move on to the plain English! The research I've cited in this first step may seem a little overwhelming, or perhaps like a foreign language! Fear not. I ll be explaining exactly how to apply the key findings from these studies in simple, plain English. However I felt it s important that you know these instructions are not plucked out of thin air -- everything in this program is based on solid scientific research that s shown real-life positive results on promoting hair growth. However, you'll be using the findings from many breakthrough research studies, all in one synergistic program. If you apply what you re about to read, you should see a significant positive impact on your hair. How to make the smoothie 21

22 Get a blender, or even better a Nutri-Bullet style blender. Take the bag of watercress, rocket and baby leaf spinach (approximately 60g or 2.2 ounces), and add the whole bag to your blender. Feel free to use more by the way. You can t really eat too many greens! And feel free to use frozen greens to save money. Crack open an egg and discard the white (you can use this later (cooked) but we don t want too much raw egg white in the smoothie because it restricts biotin absorption). Add the yolk to your blender. Don t worry if you get some egg white in there. Add two GLA softgels. If you want you can use a liquid GLA supplement. I just find the softgels easier. If you choose to use softgels, make sure you blend the mixture very well, to make sure the softgel casings are disintegrated. Add a scoop of the full spectrum BCAA powder. These are the building blocks of hair keratin. The BCAA powder will also make it tasty because it s flavored using natural orange flavor. Squash the ingredients down. Add water to cover three quarters of the ingredients. This will make it easy to drink. 22

23 Blend it... 23

24 Put the mix into a bottle, or keep it in your Nutri-Bullet. This is enough for two drinks: One first thing in the morning and one before dinner. It should be about enough for two medium sized glasses per day. How to use it to feed your hair As soon as you wake up, drink a glass of fresh water. Then go and drink your smoothie. 24

25 Drink half of your mix and take 50mg of niacin. You ll have to get a niacin supplement like the one pictured and snap each tablet in half because the smallest amount you can get is 100mg. Wait minutes until you start to feel the niacin flush. Niacin causes your blood to flow to your skin. Your skin will start to feel hot. It might feel uncomfortable at first but you ll get used to it. This is very good for your circulation, your brain, your cells and your mitochondria. If you have pale skin it will go red in places. This is a good sign that the flush has worked. If you don t feel your skin get hot; increase your dose to 100mg when you drink your smoothie tomorrow. Experiment until you get the right amount for your body size. 50mg is a good base level to start at. When you feel the flush, use the inversion method for two minutes or more. To do this you need to get your head low down so blood rushes to your head. You can do this anyway you like. For example, hanging your head off the end of your bed. I use a yoga move called the Downward Dog. Try to hold it for two minutes, or longer if you ve got time. If you re watching TV on the sofa try putting your feet up so your blood flows to your head. However you achieve the inversion method, make sure you feel your head fill with blood. 25

26 Now those nutrients are being forced into the blood vessels that connect to your hair. This is key. Do this twice per day for the next 40 days or, even better do it for the rest of your life. It s incredibly good for your hair, skin, hormonal balance, cells, brain and memory. In the evening you ll have to take a little more niacin to get the flush because there will be food in your system, which will reduce the rapidity of the niacin absorption. 26

27 You may think doing this for two minutes per day can't possibly be effective. But it is and here s why: The micro blood vessels in the scalp of a hair loss sufferer are likely to be in very poor health because they are underused. Use of minoxidil shows us that improving blood flow to your scalp reduces hair loss and promotes hair growth. To illustrate this, observe the picture below of a man who held his hand above his head for 40 years in dedication to his religion. Notice that his hand looks dead due to lack of blood circulation. In fact he can no longer move his hand. It is effectively dead because it has been neglected by his body. It hasn't received a blood supply and therefore the cells have received no energy supply to keep them alive. Now, imagine your scalp is that man's hand. It's been starved of nutrients for a long time. The blood vessels have become weak and unhealthy. High levels of the hormone DHT and low levels of the hormone IGF-1 are preventing full, healthy hair growth. Now we're going to flood your scalp with hair growth nutrients twice a day. And in step 2 we'll reverse the hormone levels by decreasing DHT and increasing IGF-1. By forcing nutrient fuelled blood into your scalp, we're essentially revitalising your scalp. 27

28 It's like an exercise for your weak scalp. In step 2 you'll see how we're going to increase blood circulation in your scalp all through the night, while you sleep. The building blocks of hair keratin The nutrients we've discussed so far, plus several others, support hair growth. In addition to these you have the branch chain amino acids (BCAAs). These are the building blocks of hair keratin. So, in essence, you re delivering the raw materials your body needs to grow hair, straight to your scalp, twice per day. You're also flooding your whole body with a cocktail of super healthy nutrients. These nutrients are also very good for your skin. But don't worry, they won't cause body hair growth. In order to use these nutrients to increase hair growth in your scalp we have to 'flip a hormonal switch' in your scalp, which enables hair to start growing again. This is what we'll be doing in Step 2. 28

29 We'll begin that process in your body first though. Reducing DHT and Increasing IGF-1: Isoflavones and Capsicum In prior studies it has been shown that the oral combination of Soy Isoflavones Extract and Capsaicin, in the form of Cayenne Pepper, stimulated hair growth in 90% of both men and women with both hormone driven and autoimmune hair loss - MPB Research There is strong evidence that soy isoflavones play a role in hair growth. A study on mice (Zhao et al., 2011) showed that dietary isoflavones increase insulin-like growth factor-i production and promote hair growth. In the study, which lasted 3 weeks, isoflavones were administered to mice; causing a significant increase in the immunohistochemical expression of IGF-I in hair follicle derma papilla cell. Hair regrowth, hair pigmentation and enhancements in the hair follicle morphogenesis were also observed suggesting that isolavones supplementation might promote hair growth. Another study (Naoaki, 2007) showed that the administration of capsaicin and isoflavone promotes hair growth both in mice and humans with hair loss. The volunteers with hair loss who followed a capsaicin and isoflavone regime showed significant hair growth after 5 months of administration due to an increase of IGF-I production in the hair follicles. The mechanisms by which Soy Isoflavones extract impacts Androgenetic Hair Loss are well established. The singular consumption of soy lowers DHT by 15%. The COMBINATION of Soy Isoflavones and Green Tea lowers DHT by 80% in animal models, and as discussed in a recent update, confers specific anti-inflammatory benefits on androgen induced inflammation. Soy Isoflavones also facilitate Equol production. Equol is, as you may already know, an anti-androgen that essentially handcuffs DHT, neutralizing its effects. A subset of the Asian population are genetic Equol producers, who not surprisingly, have no MPB. Studies have shown that the sole inclusion of dietary soy or Isoflavones will eventually after several months, turn genetic Equol non-producers into Equol producers. The cosmetic benefits of Soy Isoflavone consumption don t stop there. Recent studies have shown oral Soy Isoflavone consumption stimulates collagen production and firms 29

30 facial skin. - MPB Research (hairloss-research.org) 30

31 Step 2: Reverting Your Scalp to The Youthful State it Was in Before Hair Loss Began Everything you're doing from Step 1 is great. But it won't make your hair regrow. Now I'm going to show you the key. These observations suggest that DHT may decrease IGF-I production in dermal papillae by inhibiting sensory neuron stimulation through interaction with the androgen receptor, thereby inhibiting hair growth Zhao J, Harada N, Okajima K, 2011 In Step 2 I'm going to show you how to use the 'Alternation Method'. This method uses a special technique that mildly (and temporarily) damages the scalp skin and then encourages healing. Through the use of a very special combination of natural ingredients, you'll change your scalp environment, so that it behaves like a youthful scalp one which grows hair. In the first step you started feeding your hair internally via the blood stream. Now you're going to deliver natural anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatories, DHT blockers, circulation boosters, an IGF-1 booster, energy boosters and natural hair growth enhancers directly into your scalp to heal it and supercharge hair growth. The problem with just about all hair loss treatments, is they attempt to promote hair growth, but they don't heal your scalp. When you start to lose hair, it is almost always the result of a serious change in the scalp, caused by increased DHT. This change will not heal itself. Therefore no hair loss treatments will be effective. You must heal the significant damage done to your scalp by DHT, in order to 'flip the switch', effectively turning hair growth back on. By mildly damaging the scalp we encourage increased blood circulation right at the surface of the scalp, increasing the supply of nutrients to the hair. Studies show that by mildly damaging the scalp in this way, the body reacts by focusing energy on repairing the scalp and therefore increasing cell production. 31

32 Unfortunately, the scalp will only produce skin cells in order to heal the damage. However, if we introduce a special combination of natural ingredients, we can encourage the scalp to develop hair matrix cells. This combined with increased blood flow and reduced inflammation as well as the increased internal consumption of key hair growth nutrients (from Step 1) triggers the reactivation of dormant hair follicles, thus thickening the hair! It's a remarkable process. We need a special tool for this, called a Dermaroller (pictured). A Dermaroller is a small rolling pin type device, which is covered in tiny metal needles. It is designed to provoke the body to heal scars and is often used to reduce the appearance of stretch marks, scars resulting from surgery and acne scars. However we are going to use the principles of the Dermaroller to encourage increased cell production and increased circulation in the scalp. First of all you'll need a Dermaroller, or equivalent device. You can purchase these on ebay for around $20. That may seem expensive but it really is worth it. It will last a long time and for your $20 dollars you will achieve more with the technique you re about to learn than you would spending thousands of dollars on equivalent treatments, such as Minoxidil or a laser comb. What Dermaroller Needle Size do you Need for Hair Regrowth? The needle size you need is a minimum of 0.5mm. Bigger is arguably better, but 0.5mm is the minimum size you need to achieve the increase in blood circulation and cell production around the dormant hair follicles. Any smaller and the results will be less significant and any larger than 1.5mm will not achieve better results. Here's what one of the researchers recommends based on their research: After evaluation of all of the biopsies in Dr Schwarz s study, new collagen fibers 32

33 were only found close to the corium and not deeper than 0.5 to 0.6 mm. Although the Dermaroller model MF8 has 1.5 mm long needles, no significant new collagen and elastin formation could be found in the sub-dermal tissue. 6 weeks after micro-needling, collagen and elastin fibers are increased by 1000% and to a depth of 0.5 to 0.6 mm. Although we do not know much about the mechanisms of the Dermaroller and how its needles induce such a dramatic amount of collagen in a short session......we have scientific proof that the needling procedure triggers new collagen fibers, new melanozyts, stimulates re-vascularization, hair growth, evening in scars (Camirand), re-pigments stretch marks, fills depressed acne scars, softens scars and so on. Quality needles do not damage the skin in the sense of a classical injury. The pricking channels close within 60 to 90 minutes and infections therefore are unlikely. Incidentally, you can see how (based on the above) the Dermaroller is also an excellent anti-ageing tool for the skin, increasing collagen and helping reduce the appearance of wrinkles it's therefore also great for use on the face and I highly recommend it. Types of Dermaroller 33

34 You can use any type of standard Dermaroller titanium, stainless steel, gold it doesn't matter, providing it's the standard Dermaroller shape as pictured above. There are lots of variations in materials and colours, but they all do the same thing. Can you get infections? Providing you wash your Dermaroller properly every time you use it, you are highly unlikely to get an infection. No one on the program has ever suffered from a scalp infection as a result of using the Dermaroller. Proper hygienic cleaning of the Dermaroller is explained later in this step. Can it pull hairs out? The Dermaroller makes tiny holes in the skin, but it will not pull hairs out. This special use of the Dermaroller will increase your hair growth it will not cause any hair loss. However, if you have long hair and you find that the hairs sometimes get tangled in the Dermaroller, try holding your hair down flat with one hand and rolling with the other hand in the same direction as the hair. The Hair Growth Tonic We're going to mix 10 natural ingredients together to make a powerful, natural Hair Growth Tonic. The ingredients we're using are quite remarkable in regard to the effects they've been shown to have on hair growth. 34

35 Below are the volumes of ingredients to be mixed into a 60ml bottle. The easiest way to do this is to buy a 60ml bottle of castor oil or liquid melatonin. Over the next month, use just the melatonin or castor oil on your scalp. Massage the oil into your scalp every evening (or as often as possible) until two thirds of a 60ml bottle is used. Then you'll have 20ml of castor oil or liquid melatonin left over in the bottle. Now you can add the other ingredients to the bottle in the below quantities: Ingredient Volume to add to a 60ml bottle Castor oil 20ml Liquid Melatonin 20ml Red Velvet Deer Antler 10ml Liquid Vitamin D 5ml ECGC 2 capsules Carnipure 2 capsules Taurine 2 capsules Capsaicin 2 capsules Pure caffeine 1 capsule Retinol 1ml These ingredients are powerful hair growth stimulants. Castor Oil for Ricinoleic acid: a PGE2 Antagonist The key to castor oil's effectiveness is it's main ingredient, ricinoleic acid, which accounts for more than 90% of castor oil s constitution. Hair growth is spurred by a lipid compound named Prostaglandin (PGE2) and it could be best described as a catalyst. While its presence in high concentration promotes growth of hair, its depletion causes hair loss and eventually leads to baldness. Castor oil s principle component ricinoleic acid has been scientifically proven to stimulate the production of Prostaglandin (PGE2) when applied to the scalp. Enhanced 35

36 production of this lipid, particularly in bald spots, enriches hair follicles and encourages regeneration of hair. Owing to being extra-hydroxylated, ricinoleic acid renders castor oil resistant to several types of bacteria and fungi. Thus, massaging it on the scalp on a regular basis keeps the hair follicles free from such contagions and prevents the scalp from becoming infected. The high viscosity which is also a result of the hydroxyl provides a thick coating that encompasses the hair and smoothens out the roughness and brittleness in the process. Red Velvet Deer Antler In my opinion this is a fairly remarkable discovery in the field of hair growth science. Liquid deer antler supplements (like the one pictured) are made from the velvet that covers the antlers. Although this velvet contains many other beneficial ingredients for hair growth, the key ingredient we want is IGF-1, or Insulin Like Growth Factor 1. This is the crucial breakthrough step in the Alternation Method. By mildly damaging the scalp skin using the Dermaroller and then increasing IGF-1 levels in the scalp, we provoke an increased rate of hair regrowth during and post wound healing. Here's an abstract from a hair loss study put together on this topic: In order to investigate and evaluate the effects of red deer antlers on hair growth in the full-thickness wound healing model, Sprague-Dawley rats were given incision wounds through the full thickness of their dorsal skin and deer antler was applied for 40 days. [...] At post-injury days 16, 32 and 40, longer and more active new hair appeared around the healing wound of antler-treated skin. Histological studies showed that the antler extract markedly increases the depth, size, and number of hair follicles. Expression of IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor) mrna was detected by RT-PCR and real time RT-PCR. The result showed that the expression of IGF-I (days 16, 32, and 40) was obviously up-regulated in antler-treated skins compared to control skins. Similar results were seen in the ELISA analysis to quantify the IGF-I expression. These results support the notion that wound healing can cause hair growth by enhancing the expression of IGF-I. Deer antler extract appears to have the potential to promote hair growth and could be used in hair 36

37 growth products. Red Deer Antler Extract Accelerates Hair Growth by Stimulating Expression of Insulin-like Growth Factor I in Full-thickness Wound Healing Rat Model Melatonin Melatonin has strong antioxidant properties making it a prime candidate in combating the oxidative stress associated with general hair loss and androgenic alopecia (AGA). Human hair follicles are able to synthesize melatonin and express melatonin receptors (Kobayashi et al, 2005; Fischer et al, 2008). Studies have shown that these receptors are all in the hair sheath, which aids in the regulation of hair growth and stabilisation of the hair shaft. Further, it has been noted that melatonin can interact with androgen and estrogen receptor mediated signalling pathways. This observation may be highly relevant, given the role of androgens and estrogens in hair growth control (Fischer et al, 2008). Fischer et al (2004) conducted a study on 40 women with diffuse alopecia or AGA. A 1% melatonin-alcohol solution was applied once daily on the scalp over 6 months. The results showed an increase in anagen hair growth phase in the occipital scalp areas in women with AGA. Their frontal hair counts were unaffected. However, women with diffuse alopecia experienced an increase in frontal hair counts. This effect might be interpreted as induction of hair growth by prolongation of the anagen phase (Nixon et al 1993). Vitamin D3 37

38 Vitamin D has been shown to be very important in activating stem cells in hair follicles and regulating skin biology (Bollag, 2012). It is believed that vitamin D, which allows for calcium to be processed for the human body, triggers the regrowth process of damaged skin cells, including those in the scalp, and allows for regeneration of cells vital to hair growth (Bikle, Tu, & Oda, 2015). The link between vitamin D and hair growth has been further shown in a study conducted by Mazen, Ismail, Amr, Gammal, & Abdel-Hamid (2014), where four Egyptian families with vitamin D resistant genes were found to have hair loss and required Vitamin D supplements to treat the affects of total alopecia and hypocalcaemia. Vitamin D has also been shown to be helpful in hair growth through replacing hair follicles in rats with hair follicles pretreated with vitamin D (Aoi et al., 2012). Vitamin D is very important to cell division and the process where new cells replace the old ones that are no longer functional. It is also involved in cell differentiation and the proper functioning of the immune system. However, the regulation of calcium and phosphate levels in the human body is the first and most important purpose of vitamin D, which ensures your bones, skin, nails and hair are strong and well nourished. In the absence of vitamins and minerals, the hair follicle will shrink and changes in the growth cycle occur, which may cause your hair to become brittle and thin. Vitamin D improves hair growth and aspect in a number of ways: It activates the cells within the hair shaft It stimulates and nourishes the hair follicle. Vitamin D receptors (VDRs) have an important contribution to the follicle growth cycles. According to scientific research, inactive vitamin D receptors in mice always resulted in hair loss Vitamin D analogs (D2 and D3 supplements) reversed hair loss in mice, and cancer patients who have lost hair due to chemotherapy reported significant improvements after the use of vitamin D supplements. 38

39 Taurine There are several studies showing the benefits of taurine on hair growth and overall health, as well as its connection with the hair s natural growing cycle. Researchers studied the effects of taurine against hair loss that's been caused by various chemical stress agents. There was a positive response when taurine was added and it allowed better stress recovery. Another study conducted in 2008 (Collin et al.) analyses taurine in relation to (TGF)-β a protein that may cause hair loss. Taurine is involved in many physiological functions among which the immunomodulatory and antifibrotic functions. The researchers used taurine on in-vitro hair follicles. The observations concluded that taurine protects the hair follicle from the effects of (TGF)-β1 as well as promoting hair survival. There is further research that shows how (TGF)-β1 is linked to androgenetic alopecia as an important factor in hair growth. This particular study concludes that (TGF)-β1 derived from DPCs mediates hair growth suppression in AGA. (Kim et al.,2013) Taurine s anti-inflammatory effect might also help reduce scalp inflammation, thus helping those with scarring alopecia as well as micro inflammation that's due to external factors. There is significant evidence showing how taurine is linked to (TGF)-β1 and can be used in treatment of hair loss. One study on taurine deficiency further supports the link between taurine and (TGF)-β1 (Hagiwara et al., 2014) while another study shows that taurine inhibits the expression of procollagen type I and type III in lung fibrosis, once again linking taurine to (TGF)-β1. (Gurujeyalakshmi, Hollinger & Giri, 1998) Another study on taurine supplementation in the treatment of women with hair fragility shows the potential benefits of a systematic taurine supplementation. The study was conducted on 20 women with ages between 20 to 68 years who had fine hair and decreased hair thickness and shows that daily oral intake of taurine 150mg, Catechin 75mg and Zinc 15mg is beneficial to hair health. 11/12 women showed increased hair diameter from 0,040 to 0,045 μm while 6 other women showed an increase from 0,040 to 0,043 μm. (Tosti et al., 2007) 39

40 Caffeine Recently, advances have shown caffeine to have beneficial effects in patients suffering from AGA. The proposed mechanism which would counteract DHTinduced miniaturization of the hair follicle include inhibition of phosphodiesterase by caffeine, which increases camp levels in cells and therefore promotes proliferation by stimulating cell metabolism. A study conducted by Fischer al. used hair organ culture model to investigate the effects of testosterone and caffeine on hair follicle growth stimulation. This in vitro study used scalp biopsy samples from male AGA patients which were cultivated using different concentrations of testosterone and/or caffeine for a period of hours. Addition of caffeine in concentrations of 0.001% and 0.005% were found to counteract the suppressive effects of testosterone on hair growth, with a higher hair shaft elongation seen at 120h after caffeine administration, compared to control group. This in vitro study thus demonstrates that caffeine is a stimulator of human hair growth which may have importance in the treatment of AGA. Brandner et al. proved by their double-blind placebo-controlled trial that caffeine application causes a substantial reduction in the transepidermal water loss in men compared to women, thus improving barrier function in men. Regarding the route of delivery of caffeine, hair follicles are considered an important route for drug delivery. A recent study which assessed the follicular penetration of topical caffeine in hair follicles proved hair follicles to be faster route of drug delivery for topically applied drugs. An important requirement for the treatment of AGA is follicular drug delivery. A recent study assessed the follicular penetration of caffeine on topical application in a shampoo formulation for 2 min and showed that penetration via hair follicles was faster and higher compared with the interfollicular route and that hair follicles were the only pathway for faster caffeine absorption during the first 20 min after application. The beneficial effects of topical application of caffeine in AGA can thus be attributed to inhibition of phosphodiesterase, improvement in barrier function, follicular penetration, stimulation and promotion of hair growth. Thus it appears to be a useful adjuvant in the management of AGA. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 40

41 Green tea (EGCG) extract We investigated the effect of topical epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on testosterone (T)-induced hair loss in mice. Marked hair loss was observed at the Tinjected site, and topical EGCG significantly reduced the hair loss (P < 0.05). TUNEL staining showed apoptosis of follicular epithelial cells in the T-injected groups where topical EGCG was found to significantly diminish T-induced apoptosis (P < 0.05). Topical EGCG down-regulated the T-induced expression of androgen receptor but did not down-regulate 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) and three β-hsd expression. Analysis using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) on serum and tissue samples revealed no significant difference in T and dihydrotestosterone concentrations between the T-injected and T + EGCG groups. Thus, we found that T injection in a mouse model induces hair loss by apoptosis of the hair follicles rather than through the androgen metabolic pathway and also saw that T-induced apoptosis of hair follicles was reduced by topical EGCG. Kim YY, Up No S, Kim MH, Kim HS, Kang H, Kim HO, Park YM, 2011 Acetyl-L-Carnitine Research has conclusively shown that in balding areas of the scalp in both men and women, the membrane potential of the hair follicle is significantly diminished, in response to an androgenetically mediated reduction in potassium channel function within the hair follicle. Mitochondrial membrane potential improves to some degree with supplemental Carnitine and even more so with Acetyl-L-Carnitine, which actually strengthens the functioning of mitochondria itself. Dr. Thomas Whitfield, of Oxford University and Oxford BioLabs found that Lcarnitine stimulates energy production and cardiolipin synthesis within the cell membranes of hair follicles. It transports nutrients to dysfunctional potassium channels and helps to restore functionality. 41

42 In a recent experiment with balding human hair at the University of Lubeck in Germany, Carnitine was shown to promote hair growth, stimulate hair shaft elongation and reduce hair cell death. The authors of this study concluded, "Our findings suggest that Carnitine stimulates human scalp hair growth by up regulation of proliferation and down regulation of apoptosis in follicular keratinocytes in vitro. They further encourage one to explore topical and nutraceutical administration of l-carnitine as a welltolerated, relatively safe adjuvant treatment in the management of androgenetic alopecia and other forms of hair loss." Carnitine has been significantly upgraded in the last 2 years, resulting in forms that are more bio-available, even conferring documented cognitive benefits. Acetyl-L-carnitine is the acetylated ester of the amino acid L-carnitine. Acetyl-Lcarnitine is an endogenous mitochondrial membrane compound that helps maintain mitochondrial bioenergetics increasing Potassium Channel function and lowering the increased localized and systemic oxidative stress associated with aging. Although Acetyl-L-carnitine and L-carnitine are absorbed into the bloodstream efficiently and are effective at carrying long-chain fatty acids across the membrane into the mitochondria where they are burned for energy production, Acetyl-L-carnitine also guards against oxidative damage. Acetyl-Lcarnitine exerts protective effects against such neurotoxicity and oxidative stress. Dr. Whitfield has had encouraging results in phase 2 trials (18 month point), released in October of There were 59 participants, men and women affected by Androgenetic Alopecia. Hair counts increased an average of 49.2% Hair thickness increased 38.7% Terminal hair change, (vellus to terminal) 36.4% In all, 87% have reported cessation of hair loss. 42

43 Capsaicin Sensory neurons release calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on activation. We recently reported that topical application of capsaicin increases facial skin elasticity and promotes hair growth by increasing dermal insulin-like growth factor-i (IGF-I) production through activation of sensory neurons in mice and humans. Raspberry ketone (RK), a major aromatic compound contained in red raspberries (Rubus idaeus), has a structure similar to that of capsaicin. Thus, it is possible that RK activates sensory neurons, thereby increasing skin elasticity and promoting hair growth by increasing dermal IGF-I production. In the present study, we examined this possibility in mice and humans. RK, at concentrations higher than 1 microm, significantly increased CGRP release from dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRG) isolated from wild-type (WT) mice and this increase was completely reversed by capsazepine, an inhibitor of vanilloid receptor-1 activation. Topical application of 0.01% RK increased dermal IGF-I levels at 30 min after application in WT mice, but not in CGRP-knockout mice. Topical application of 0.01% RK increased immunohistochemical expression of IGF-I at dermal papillae in hair follicles and promoted hair re-growth in WT mice at 4 weeks after the application. When applied topically to the scalp and facial skin, 0.01% RK promoted hair growth in 50.0% of humans with alopecia (n=10) at 5 months after application and increased cheek skin elasticity at 2 weeks after application in 5 females (p<0.04). These observations strongly suggest that RK might increase dermal IGF-I production through sensory neuron activation, thereby promoting hair growth and increasing skin elasticity. Department of Translational Medical Science Research, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kawasumi 1, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya , Japan. Before you go and buy all these ingredients... There a lot of ingredients listed here. Fortunately there's a cost-effective way of buying them. 43

44 Ingredient Volume to add to a 60ml bottle Castor oil 20ml Liquid Melatonin 20ml Red Velvet Deer Antler 10ml Liquid Vitamin D 5ml ECGC 2 capsules Carnipure 2 capsules Taurine 2 capsules Capsaicin 2 capsules Pure caffeine 1 capsule Retinol 1ml Because you'll only need 2 capsules of each of the supplements per two to three months supply of the Hair Growth Tonic, you can buy sample amounts of the supplements. Search Amazon, ebay or any large health website for the supplements. For example, if I search Amazon.co.uk (the British Amazon store) for taurine supplement, then filter by price, low to high, I'll see the top result costs less than one British pound: However, it's worthwhile buying full size tubs of capsaicin, isovlafones and ECGC (green 44

45 tea extract) supplements, because we're using these supplements orally in the first step of the program. This is particularly significant if you have pattern hair loss (the most common for of hair loss): The singular consumption of soy lowers DHT by 15%. The COMBINATION of Soy Isoflavones and Green Tea lowers DHT by 80% in animal models, and as discussed in a recent update, confers specific anti-inflammatory benefits on androgen induced inflammation -MPB Research Therefore, if you have pattern hair loss, which is caused by DHT, the combination of isoflavones, cayenne and ECGC will not only reduce scalp DHT and inflammation to healthy levels, it will also be incredibly beneficial for your overall health. Using the Hair Growth Tonic Before using the Hair Growth Tonic all over your scalp, it is advisable to do a test patch overnight to see how your skin reacts. If you've used hair gel, hair wax or other styling products in your hair during the day, wash your hair and scalp before using the Dermaroller. Make sure your hair is clean and dry before using the Dermaroller. In the evening before bed, roll the Dermaroller over your scalp several times covering all of the top of your scalp. 45

46 How to use the Dermaroller Go over the every part of your scalp four times (as shown in the diagram above), making sure to cover all of the areas where the hair loss is occurring. Concentrate on the areas of your hair that are thinning most. How much pressure should you apply? Here's my rule of thumb: Apply enough pressure so that you cause you scalp to bleed about one in ten times that you roll the Dermaroller over your skin. The reason it's called the Alternation Method is because the Dermaroller damages the top layers of skin provoking a healing reaction that sends blood right to the surface of the scalp, bringing with it the raw materials needed to repair damage. All of those nutrients you're consuming in the morning and during the day will be delivered to your hair, strengthening it, making it grow and prolonging the growth phase. When used in combination with the Hair Growth Tonic the damage done to your scalp will gradually heal. Now apply the Hair Growth Tonic After using the Dermaroller, squeeze several blobs of the Hair Growth Tonic onto your scalp and massage it into the skin really well. Slowly massage the tonic deeply into your 46

47 scalp. The tonic will absorb into your scalp, feeding and nourishing your hair follicles. Use the Hair Growth Tonic sparingly. There is no need to use loads. Over the next 24 hours your scalp may be just the slightest bit uncomfortable although this will hardly be noticeable. The needle punctures heal very quickly. The wounds are not visible and no one will notice anything, even if they look really close. Wash out the Hair Growth Tonic In the morning, wash your hair with a good quality shampoo. For some good examples of shampoos see these lists on nicehair.org: Best Shampoos for Hair Loss Organic Shampoos that Don't Contain Sodium Lauryl Sulphate I also highly recommend using a shampoo that contains ketoconazole once a week. See here for a list of shampoos that contain ketoconazole: Shampoos that contain ketoconazole When shampooing your hair, slowly massage the shampoo into your scalp to deeply cleanse the pores. If you use conditioner I recommend checking out these quality conditioners. If you use hair gel or wax I recommend checking out these products. How to clean your Dermaroller It s very important that you keep the Dermaroller as clean as possible. Follow this simple cleaning procedure after using the Dermaroller: 1. Spray anti-bacterial spray (pictured) or alcohol spray into the inside of a mug or glass and rinse. 47

48 2. Spray anti-bacterial spray all over the Dermaroller and place the Dermaroller into the mug (pins at the bottom). 3. Leave for a minute for the anti-bacterial to kill any bacteria. 4. Pour boiling water onto the Dermaroller, swish it around in the mug and leave for a minute for the bubbles of air to release from the Dermaroller. 5. Remove the Dermaroller from the water and rinse thoroughly. 6. Then place the Dermaroller back in it's case. How often should you use the Dermaroller? Use the Dermaroller twice per week, before bed. Apply the Hair Growth Tonic every time, straight after using the Dermaroller. 48

49 Conclusion to Step 2 and recap Here's a useful summary of the key points to make it easier for you to digest and use the information: 49

50 Item Use Niacin (50mg) First thing in the morning on an empty stomach. L-Carnipure (250mg) v Nicotinamide Riboside (250mg) Hair Growth Smoothie (1 glass: Watermelon juice and/or low sugar fruits + egg yolk) Dermaroller Before using Hair Growth Tonic, twice per week. Liquid Melatonin Massage into your scalp before bed, every night. Red Panax Gingseng Emu oil or Borage oil Red Deer Antler 50

51 Step 3: Train your mind to relax your body and optimize your health Take a look at this extract from the end of an infographic, titled, Is Hair Loss on the Rise? published on nicehair.org in 2015: View full infographic here. 51

52 When I say to people that stress may be causing their hair loss they are sometimes dismissive because they don't consider their lives to be particularly stressful. However, I'm not talking about 'obvious stress', such as that you might experience during a car crash. As you can see from the infographic above, the volume of information being processed by our brains has increased dramatically in our short lifetimes. This is a phenomenon never before observed in human history. I suspect that there may be consequences to this increased brain work (or the stress involved in processing the extra information coupled with reduced rest time). This increased brain work impacts mental stress. The reduction in 'down time' means the brain gets less rest and less time to process memories because it is so frequently processing new inputs. A study conducted in 2003 found that laboratory mice that were subjected to higher than average stress levels suffered greater rates of hair loss than those under normal conditions. Stress may seem to only effect the way you feel but it can also have an impact on your physical health. High levels of stress can cause increased production of adrenaline and cortisol hormones, which are designed to help you get through dangerous situations. Over millions of years the human body has evolved some sophisticated ways of dealing with problems in life. In potentially dangerous scenarios, for example when hunting a large animal, the adrenal gland produces increased amounts of adrenaline. This helps the body react faster and produce more power in the muscles. In stressful situations the heart rate increases and breathing increases in order to get more oxygen to the muscles where it is needed. These types of reflexes are remarkable and essential systems that have helped humans survive in the wild. However, we no longer live in the wild. And society has developed faster than our body s have evolved. We live in a different world now. Instead of hunting for our food we work and buy our food from shops. However our body s still have the same systems in place for reacting to stress that have evolved over millions of years. Now though, we experience the stress, but most of us don t get the release provided by the extreme exercise that the body anticipated was required from the stressful situation. The result is that the stress levels build up and may remain at a consistently 52

53 elevated level. How does stress cause hair loss? Increased and sustained production of adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones in reaction to stress, without release (for example daily work related stress) drains the body of nutrients particularly B vitamins. The sorts of nutrients that are used by the body to deal with stress are the same ones that are needed to maintain healthy skin and hair. This is why you can often notice when someone has been through a prolonged period of stress in their life: their hair will often look dry and brittle and their skin might be greasy or slow to heal. Stress causes muscles to become tense particularly the shoulders and neck, which are the avenue to the scalp. Once again this is caused by the feeling that there is a need to protect oneself from imminent danger. Tense muscles shield our vital organs and bones better than loose muscles. This drains energy and can reduce blood flow to the scalp. Good blood circulation in the scalp is essential for hair growth, as new hairs require nutrients carried by the blood. If the blood flow is restricted this can have an impact on hair growth. The impact stress has on hormonal balance almost certainly has some effect on the hair, since hormones are so closely linked with hair growth. It's possible that during prolonged periods of stress, excess hormones are excreted via the skin, in the form of sebum. In fact, we know that sebum contains DHT. Since the scalp is the part of the body containing the largest pores, it is a likely outlet for DHT containing sebum. What can you do to stop the stress? You could stop yourself from feeling stressed by avoiding stressful situations, but that is not a good idea. By avoiding stressful situations you might reduce your stress levels in the short-term but in the long-term you will probably build up an increased fear of stressful situations. It s far better to train yourself to deal with stress in a relaxed and calm manner. You can do this by altering your minds thought patterns, so that you react to stressful situations by being calm and confident. You can even train your mind to find stressful situations fun, exciting and something to look forward to. This is a far better way to deal 53

54 with stress. Instead of avoiding stress you are changing the way your mind deals with stress. Stop the stress or accept the hair loss You can try any number of hair loss treatments, but if stress is a major factor in your life, in order to stop the hair loss you need to eliminate the root cause of it in this case, stress. The great news is, it is possible to train your mind using the audio programs that come free with this book! By training your mind to think positively about stress, over time it s possible to change the way you deal with stress so that it no-longer causes such a negative reaction in your body. And this is not mumbo jumbo; this is simply logic. An experiment conducted by NASA has revealed something amazing about how the human brain adapts. We re going to use exactly the same remarkable process to make your mind clear, focused and calm in any situation, so that stress no-longer negatively effects your physical health. NASA needed to know if the environment of space would have some unexpected negative consequences that would endanger the astronauts or their mission. Would they black out and be unable to function? Would they experience some psychotic event that would leave them incapacitated? NASA scientists outfitted each of the astronauts with a pair of convex goggles which flipped everything in their field of vision 180 degrees. In other words, their world was literally turned upside down. The astronauts had to wear the goggles 24 hours a day, 7 days per week even when they were asleep. Although they experienced physical symptoms of anxiety and stress initially elevated blood pressure, respiration and other vital signs they gradually adapted to their new realities. On the 26th day of the experiment, something amazing happened for one of the astronauts. His world turned right-side up again even though he continued to wear the goggles 24 hours a day. Between days 26-30, the same thing happened for each of the remaining astronauts. Deb Cheslow, #1 International Best-Selling Author 54

55 Why have I shown you this story? Currently your life is most likely a certain way. You get up, go to work, come home, have dinner, etc, etc, repeat. And your brain may have become very accustomed to this reality. Very, very accustomed. And this is natural human behavior it is necessary for survival to adapt quickly. Now we're going to use your brain's remarkable ability to adapt quickly, to change the way you think and even to change the way you perceive reality. Why? By being relaxed, your body will operate at optimum efficiency. It will devote its nutritional resources to keeping your body in great shape, meaning you will not age as quickly. Being in a relaxed state and being a relaxed person who allows worries and problems to calmly flow over him or her self is probably the key to being healthy. A healthy body starts with a healthy mind, so in order to make your body healthy you must first make your mind healthy. And in order to make your mind healthy you must first understand why it has become unhealthy, so that you can begin to reverse the process. Why do some people deal with stress and other negative emotions badly? Some people react more extremely to situations than others. For example one man might get very angry if his football team loses, while another might be annoyed but the anger would pass without affecting his body particularly. In many cases this is fine. We're all different and we all react differently. However some people react too extremely or even irrationally to certain situations. The problem is, those of us who react badly to stress and other negative emotions, have trained our minds over many years, to work in a negative way, which actually causes damage to the body that needn't occur. In order to solve this problem you have to unlearn the negative thought processes and 'reprogram' your mind to make yourself react more calmly to negative thoughts. By doing so your body will operate in greater harmony with your mind as a team, rather than as enemies. Bad experiences and 'negative affirmations' 55

56 They say a comedian experiences about the same level of trauma during a live set as the average car crash victim does during a car crash. Some comedians will be ruined by this stress and it may force them to quit at an early stage in the career, while others will get over this stress, until it hardly affects them. When you experience something stressful, or a situation in which you did 'the wrong thing' in your judgement, you reflect on that experience and affirm (or reaffirm) a conclusion in your mind. Some people will conclude something like, well I made a mistake, but I learned from it, so next time I'll do it better. While other people will conclude something like Jeez, I'm rubbish, I really can't do that very well. I better not bother trying that again. The first statement is the kind of statement made by someone who lets negative thoughts go by without paying too much attention (deals with them positively). The second is made by someone who is highly effected by negative thoughts, at least for that particular type of scenario (deals with them negatively). The problem is, the more often you come to negative conclusions, the more affirmed they become in your mind until your mindset is negative with regard to that experience. Some people might be extremely brave when it comes to life threatening situations, but the daily pressures of a work scenario may cause them terrible stress, or if not conscious stress, it may cause their body to become very tense. This is an entirely different kind of stress. It affects the body in a different way. It affects the hormones in a specific way, that for one reason or another leads to hair loss. The exact relationship between human psychology and hormonal balance is not fully understood by anyone, but we can come to some solid conclusions by observing as many hair loss sufferers as possible and as many people with thick healthy hair as possible. When doing this, it is difficult to come to conclusions because you will see that some people, who have led very stressful lives still have full heads of hair, while others who are not hugely stressed are going bald. It seems that the way stress affects hair and overall health is to do with the way different people deal with stress differently and how that affects their hormones differently. The answers are not clear cut. However, one conclusion can be made: changing the way you deal with stressors so that you are less tense, you worry less, you breath deeply and calmly, your heart rate is slow and steady and you feel calm and relaxed in yourself will almost certainly help prevent or even completely stop your hair loss, if negative thoughts and feelings are a big factor in your life. 56

57 How to change your mindset to make yourself a calm, relaxed person Because you have spent years thinking in a certain way, you may have affirmed some very negative thought patterns in your mind that make you deal with stressors badly. You need to change these thought patterns from negative ones to positive ones that make you feel good, calm and relaxed, rather than stressed, worried or angry. These thought patterns can be expressed as statements. For example, one statement might be: I hate presentations. This is the kind of statement many people (re)affirm in their minds. The result is that every time they're about to do a presentation they build up worry about it by affirming this negative statement until the event becomes stressful. You may notice other people, who don't mind performing presentations, will say things like, I quite like presentations, I find them quite fun. These are both self-fulfilling statements. The more we make these kind of statements the easier or harder presentations get. It's all based on past experiences and the way we come to conclusions about how we dealt with those experiences. We either affirm negative thoughts or positive thoughts that are strongly associated with specific experiences. The great thing is, you can actually 're-program' your way of thinking by using positive statements, or 'positive affirmations'. And that is what you are going to learn to do now. Using positive affirmations to change your way of thinking If you are someone who deals with stress badly, for years you have thought and spoken negative affirmations to yourself whether they have been expressed in words or not. Now you are going to repeat positive affirmations to yourself in concentrated doses, flooding your subconscious mind with healthy, positive thoughts. This will literally change the way you think and the way you react to stressful situations. First of all you will flood your mind with positive statements that help release the old negative statements that have led you to deal with stress badly. Then you will flood your mind with new positive affirmations that will change the way you think, making you a calmer, more relaxed person that deals with stress and pressure calmly. 57

58 Method In a moment you'll see a list of positive affirmations. These are recorded into an MP3, which is available to download from Download the MP3s to your phone or computer. Listen to them before you go to sleep and follow the instructions. Try to listen to the recording again on your way into work or first thing in the morning when you wake up. It's OK if you fall asleep listening to it. Try to listen again on your way home from work or when you get home. After a week or so of doing this you should get pretty familiar with the statements, but they probably won't be second nature yet. Remember the astronaut that started seeing reality upside-down? Think about him while you're going through this process. Try to think about the affirmations whenever you can and repeat them to yourself in your head throughout the day (whenever you're walking somewhere, in an elevator, driving, or doing anything that doesn't require your complete attention). Your aim is to make yourself start saying these statements to yourself in your head without realising you're even doing it. This will take a little time maybe a month. But believe me it's worth it when you laugh to yourself because you've just realized you said one of the statements because you truly believe it, not just because I've told you to say it! In a month from now you'll be walking down the road or driving your car or something, you'll breath out, relax your shoulders and say something like, I'm so completely relaxed, calm and in control. That's when you know it's working. How to use the audio Put your headphones on. Relax. Take a few nice slow deep breaths. Consciously relax your muscles as you breath out. Get as relaxed as possible. Step 1: Clear your mind Empty your mind completely. Just look at the back of your eyelids look into the darkness. Think about nothing. 58

59 Thoughts will creep into your mind without you realizing. That's fine. As soon as you realize you're thinking about something, stop thinking about it and focus on nothing just the darkness of the back of your eyelids. Tell yourself, my mind is clear, if it helps. Keep repeating, My mind is crystal clear and I am completely focused, if it helps you to stop thinking about things. Try to clear your mind of all thoughts for at least ten minutes. The longer the better. Step 2: Imagine your perfect life Once you've cleared your mind completely, start imagining yourself in your perfect life. Imagine you have a perfect full head of hair. You're perfectly healthy. You feel great. The sun is shining. There's a perfect breeze. Everything you ever wanted is yours right now. You feel amazing. Try to really imagine how great it feels to have a full head of thick shiny hair. Run your fingers through it and smile. Try to imagine this perfect scene as clearly as you can and in as much detail as possible. Step 3: Listen and repeat the positive statements You'll hear the positive statements spoken on the audio track. Listen to them and repeat them to yourself in your head in the gaps between the statements. Try to say them to yourself as convincingly as possible say them like you truly believe them. While you're repeating the statements, continue to imagine your perfect life a life in which all of your dreams are true. I feel great I feel amazing I feel superb I feel absolutely brilliant I'm on top of the world Life is getting better and better everyday 59

60 Everything is coming together I can do anything I put my mind to I am a magnet for positive energy Positive energy fills my whole body Positive energy is flowing into me from all over the universe Every cell in my body vibrates with positive energy and health Today, I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy My ability to conquer my challenges is limitless; my potential to succeed is infinite Today, I abandon my old habits and take up new, more positive ones My future is an ideal projection of what I envision now Obstacles are moving out of my way; my path is carved towards greatness I wake up today with strength in my heart and clarity in my mind I am fearless All fear is released from my body I feel great My mind is at peace Calmness washes over me with every deep breath I take Being calm and relaxed energizes my whole being All negativity and stress are evaporating from my body and my mind I feel my body and mind filling with positive energy Every day I am more and more at ease All is well in my world. I am calm, happy, and content 60

61 I breath in relaxation. I breath out stress Every time I breathe out I feel myself relaxing further I am in complete control of my body and mind My mind is at peace My mind is calm My mind is crystal clear and focused I am focused I am in control I feel great I feel healthy I think positively I feel completely relaxed My shoulders are loose and relaxed My neck is loose and relaxed I am composed and calm As I breathe out I feel all my muscles relaxing My stomach muscles relax as I breath out calmly I breath naturally and calmly As I breath out I feel all of my muscles relaxing from head to toe I am completely relaxed and feeling wonderful Nutrients are flowing to my scalp, feeding my hair My hair is growing thicker 61

62 My body is getting healthier I feel my hair getting thicker and thicker I can feel the energy in my scalp, making more hair grow I can feel hairs reactivating in my scalp My hair is getting thicker everyday I am feeding my body with nutrients that make my hair grow New hairs are growing on my scalp every day Every day my hair is getting healthier I can feel the blood flowing to my scalp and feeding my hair Hair follicles in my scalp are reactivating My scalp is alive with energy I can feel my scalp tingling with energy Blood is flowing to my scalp I nourish my body with healthy food I am making myself incredibly healthy My body is healing, and I feel better and better every day With every breath out, I release stress in my body I sleep soundly and peacefully, and awaken feeling rested and energetic I am surrounded by people who encourage and support healthy choices Even when there is chaos around me, I remain calm and centred A calm inner peace fills my mind and body I am always in control of my mind 62

63 I stay focused and calm at all times I am clear-headed I focus on good I am a good person I always make the right decisions I sleep well knowing that I'm a good person I treat others with respect I am the person I want to be Step 4: Remember your life's greatest moment After the statements have finished, continue listening to the MP3, but now think back to a time when you felt your very best. Perhaps it was after you landed a dream job, or maybe it was after winning a big game of football. Maybe it was after you proposed to your partner and he or she said yes. Whatever it is, try to clearly remember every moment of it. Remember how great you felt. While you're imagining this moment or scene, repeat the affirmations that you can remember to yourself over and over. Feel the moment. Try to remember it as clearly as possible. And every time you remember it, try to remember more details about how great it felt. Once you're reliving that moment in your head, tell yourself the affirmations you can remember in your head. Repeat them over and over for five to ten minutes. Repeat the process outlined above every morning when you wake up, every evening when you get home and every night before you go to sleep. Leave the silent subliminal MP3 playing on repeat overnight. That's it! What's the purpose of all this? Remember back to the astronaut again. After 26 days his reality changed because he continually pummelled his mind (both consciously and sub-consciously) with an altered perception of reality. You're going to do the same thing. 63

64 As well as listening to the MP3 in the morning and evening, try to listen to the silent subliminal MP3 while you sleep and at any other time you have the opportunity to listen to it. This audio track is almost silent to human beings. It's been converted into a frequency that you can't hear but the vibrations are still received by the ear drum, meaning the messages by-pass your conscious mind and go straight to your subconscious. Your aim now is to alter the way you perceive reality in the same way as the astronaut did. Within a month or so reacting calmly in stressful situations. Persevere with this technique. And use it for any other goals you have. Use the visualisation of your perfect life to imagine everything you want. Whether it's more money, your dream home, perfect skin... whatever it is, you can adapt this technique for any goal you want to achieve. There are several other techniques I have researched for training your mind. I go into these in less detail below: The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) EFT can be used to reduce stress, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions. It's a very simple, quick and easy technique based on acupuncture and positive affirmations, which has been scientifically proven to improve both mental and physical health. It comes under the less reputable branch of medicine known as alternative or holistic health. However, scientists have studied it and found that it works. Some people believe that it works because the person practising the technique simply believes that it will heal them, while others believe the technique does exactly what its creators say it does. It's probably a combination of both. The developers of EFT are giving away an instruction manual on how to use the technique for free. You can download a copy here. They make their money by selling videos and training sessions, but you should find most if not everything you need to learn about and start practising the technique in the free manual. Fundamental practices that reduce stress levels 64

65 Regular good quality sleep You should aim to get 7 8 hours sleep every night. This is very important. If you can do that persistently it will help reduce stress levels. This is also very important for your health. Your cells regenerate at night time. If you don't give your body time to regenerate while you sleep, you will age faster. Furthermore your body cleanses itself at night while you're sleeping. If you don't get enough sleep your digestive system will become sluggish and your body will be less capable of absorbing nutrients. Research conducted by Dr. Van Cauter, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, found that: "Metabolic and endocrine changes resulting from a significant sleep debt mimic many of the hallmarks of ageing. We suspect that chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset but could also increase the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and memory loss" (Van Cauter, 1999) It's not only important to sleep for the right amount of time, you need to sleep well. If you are struggling to sleep well it may be due to stress and you can see how this can be a vicious cycle. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine have found a reason why middle-aged men often struggle to sleep. It's not just because of what they worry about. Rather, it's due to "increased vulnerability of sleep to stress hormones," according to Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas. As men age, it appears they become more sensitive to the stimulating effects of 'corticotropin-releasing hormone' (CRH). When both young and middle-aged men were administered CRH, the older men remained awake longer and slept less deeply. People who don't get enough of this 'slow-wave' sleep may be more prone to depression. If you find it hard to sleep solidly for between seven and eight hours without waking up several times, try listening to the affirmations before bed and playing them silently while you sleep. The delta wave bio-ryhthm will help induce sleep and the affirmations will infiltrate your subconscious further relaxing you. In summary, it's very important that you: Sleep for a good number of hours every night (between 7 and 8) Consistently sleep in the same pattern (same times for the same amount of 65

66 time) Sleep deeply If you are finding it difficult to consistently sleep well you need to change your habits. You need to wind down earlier, perhaps reduce your caffeine intake and get more exercise during the day. If you are one of the people who finds it hard to sleep well, the audio files should help you a lot. Keep persisting with them. As you improve the way you deal with stress, you will also improve your sleep. At Tel Aviv University, Dr. Avi Sadeh conducted a study of students. He found that those "who tended to focus on their emotions and anxiety during the high-stress period were more likely to shorten their sleep, while those who tended to ignore emotions and focus on tasks extended their sleep and shut themselves off from stress". In other words, by improving the way you deal with stress as an individual (by not focusing on the negatives but instead being positive and focused on getting things done) you will improve your sleep. Exercise It goes without saying you should be doing exercise. But not just any old exercise. You must exercise when you feel frustrated, angry or worked up whenever possible. These feelings are interlinked with hormone production that makes you want to release energy and stress. The hormones are used by the body to improve athletic performance (to help you survive) and also to help attract members of the opposite sex, by making men more manly and aggressive (caused by elevated testosterone). You may be experiencing varying levels of both of these causes of excess hormone levels. Either way the result is the same. However if you do not act on the impulses your body and mind are giving you, the excess hormones must be processed and eliminated by the body, and you know what that means. It's essential that you do at least twenty minutes of sustained, heavy exercise, three times a week. Remember though, the more you exercise, the more nutrients you will need to consume particularly protein and B vitamins. Furthermore, be sure to replace water lost from sweating in order to keep yourself well hydrated. Foods you can eat to help reduce stress 66

67 There are foods that you can and should be eating that will help regulate your mood and keep you calm. Most importantly essential fatty acids and B vitamins. You'll learn all about these in the nutrition chapter. 67

68 Step 4: The Scalp Skin Reset In Step 4 we're going to strip away years of built up cosmetics, pollutants, dead skin cells and sebum from your scalp, clearing the pores and completely renewing your scalp. The objective of this process is to get your scalp back into the condition it was in before you started losing your hair. By the end of Step 4 your scalp should be fresh and the pores should be unclogged, providing the perfect environment for hair growth. Let's get started To begin with we're going to do something that may seem quite extreme, but is a very powerful technique for improving the long term health of your scalp and hair. What we're going to do is apply a mild, natural acid to your scalp, in order to break up the dead skin from the surface of the scalp, clear your scalp's pores, kill mites and fungi that may be present in your scalp and break down embedded sebum. What is 'embedded sebum' Sebum is the oil that secretes through your skins pores via the sebaceous gland. People's skin sebum levels vary from dry to oily. This is perfectly natural and nothing to worry about. However, due to bad scalp cleansing practices, use of gels, waxes, hair sprays and other cosmetics over many years, the scalp pores can become blocked and a build-up can occur on the scalp. For example, using cosmetic products like gel on your hair and not shampooing before going to bed is a bad practice. Dead skin cells, sebum, cosmetics and air pollutants can combine and build-up on the scalp and in the pores. Ideally we want to take off several layers of skin during this step -- but don't worry, the scalp is very thick and we're only going to exfoliate a tiny fraction of the skin taking away dead skin cells, pollutants, built-up cosmetic chemicals and built-up sebum. Apart from the balls of the feet, the heels and back, it's [(the scalp is)] the thickest part of the skin. The top layer, or epidermis is of average thickness but the dermis, which is the stronger layer of skin underneath, is thicker. Whereas facial skin may measure 1mm, the skin on the scalp is 68

69 about 2mm. (Dr Christopher Rowland Payne, consultant dermatologist at The London Clinic) How to remove the embedded sebum based plaque The hard bristle boar brushing that you're already using is a great first step toward exfoliating your scalp. But the best way to remove embedded sebum from your scalp and to clear the pores is to use a 'salicylic acid peel' product. These peels are commonly used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, clear the skins pores and reveal younger looking skin. We're going to use the same skin peels that are used on the face to exfoliate your scalp. This is perfectly safe and will do your scalp a lot of good. However you should not complete a scalp peel if you have a flaky or inflamed scalp. Do you have a flaky scalp? If so please read the following carefully... If you have a flaky scalp (or bad dandruff) you should not begin the exfoliation at this stage. You need to cure the infection that is causing the flakiness before you can progress with the next steps in the ebook. There are several ways of treating a flaky or inflamed scalp because there are several possible causes. It's usually caused by a bacterial or fungal infection. This can be treated using apple cider vinegar and/or ketoconazole shampoo. If you suffer from dandruff, start-off by washing your scalp well with a ketoconazole shampoo twice a week until you have used an entire bottle of shampoo. 69

70 Nizoral (pictured) is an example of Ketoconazole shampoo. For more examples see ketoconazole-which-is-the-best Ketoconazole kills fungi and yeasts by interfering with their cell membranes. It works by stopping the fungi from producing a substance called ergosterol, which is an essential component of fungal cell membranes. The disruption in production of ergosterol disrupts the fungal cell membrane, causing holes to appear in it. The cell membranes of fungi are vital for their survival. They keep unwanted substances from entering the cells and stop the contents of the cells from leaking out. As ketoconazole causes holes to appear in the cell membranes, essential constituents of the fungal cells can leak out. This kills the fungi and treats the infection. If the ketoconazole shampoo is not effective at clearing up your dandruff, move on to the next stage: an apple cider vinegar rinse. Mix apple cider vinegar and water in a one-to-one ratio. Apply the vinegar rinse to your scalp after shampooing. Be warned that the vinegar is quite pungeant therefore it is sensible to apply the rinse in the evening for example, when you are not planning to go out later. Massage the vinegar into your scalp well for a few minutes. Leave the vinegar on your scalp for at least five minutes, then rinse with water. Do this every day for two weeks. If you need to miss a day, that's fine continue as normal the next available day. The vinegar will kill the bacteria responsible for your flaky scalp. It's important that you use a special type of apple cider vinegar for the best results. You ideally need an organic, unfiltered and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar that contains something called the mother. A perfect example is Bragg's (pictured). After around two weeks your scalp should be healed. If it is not, it is possible that you have demodox mites, eczema or other skin condition that cannot be treated by the Ketoconazole or apple cider vinegar. You should visit your doctor and have your scalp examined and treated. 70

71 Once the condition is treated you can continue with the ebook instructions. If your scalp is not flaky or inflamed you can continue with the instructions as normal. By the way, even if you don't have a flaky scalp it is well worth using a ketoconazole shampoo twice a week because ketoconazole is a mild 5-alpha reductase inhibitor: using a shampoo like Nizoral twice a week may help reduce DHT production in your scalp. You'll learn more about DHT later. Hairs grow from roots, which are down-growths of the epidermis (the surface layers of skin). On the scalp, healthy hairs are thick and strong. Their roots bud down through the dermis into the underlying subcutaneous fat where they can lie 4mm below the skin's surface. The skin peel we're going to be using will peel only a tiny fraction of skin from your scalp. And due to the nature of the acid we're going to use there is no way that the peel will dislodge hairs at the root, or cause damage to the hair, providing you follow the instructions. It may seem scary to apply an acid skin peel to your scalp but it is perfectly safe and in fact the acid we're using is quite common in many shampoos. The shampoos pictured below are just a few examples of shampoos that contain salicylic acid. John Frieda Avalon Organics Shea Moisture Neutrogena Safety Warning While it is perfectly safe to use salicylic acid on your skin, please do not stray from these safety warnings: 71

72 1. Do not leave the salicylic acid on your scalp for more than twenty minutes unless specifically instructed 2. Always leave at least ten days between completing skin peels 3. If you feel a strong stinging sensation on your scalp after applying the salicylic acid, wash it out immediately 4. If your skin becomes irritated or peels a lot (you see lots of skin flakes a day or two after completing the peel) do not complete another peel 5. Do not complete more than three peels within a month. If you complete three peels within a month, leave at least two months before completing another Don't expect anything dramatic to happen After completing a skin peel, you should not notice any significant peeling of your skin. You should not see lots of flaky skin and your skin should not feel painful. In fact nine times out of ten you won't notice any change in your skin after completing the peel, except perhaps a little flakiness a day or two after completing the peel. The salicylic acid peel we're going to use is very mild and as a result often people don't notice any peeling or flakiness. The temptation then is to complete another peel and leave the salicylic acid on for much longer. If you feel you need to complete a peel for longer to clear your scalps pores, be sure to wait ten days first to see if and how your scalp changes several days after completing the peel. How this specially designed skin peel process gets your scalp back into 'hair growth mode' By mildly damaging the surface of the skin in this way we are not only getting rid of years of built-up cosmetics, dead skin cells and unclogging the pores, we are also achieving three very important objectives. 1. Removing DHT from the scalp 72

73 'DHT' is the most significant cause of hair loss. By removing several layers of skin and built-up oil we are also removing DHT from the scalp. DHT is present in sebum. Sebum builds up in the scalps pores. We need to remove several top layers of skin to remove as much DHT as possible. 2. Increasing blood circulation in the scalp Because we are mildly damaging the scalp using the acid we are provoking the body to react by increasing blood circulation at the surface of the scalp. By increasing blood circulation at the surface of the scalp we are also increasing the supply of nutrients to the hair, providing the hair with the building blocks it needs to grow. The increased blood flow will also help remove DHT from the scalp. As you progress through the book you will see how we reduce DHT levels in the blood. Once we have reduced the blood DHT levels, the blood flowing through the scalp will collect and remove DHT rather than depositing it. 3. Increasing cell production and growth The mild damage to the scalp triggers the body to concentrate healing in the scalp, which triggers an increase in cell production and hair growth similar to what we are already achieving with the Alternation Method. By the way, I recommend taking a break from using the Dermaroller for the ten days following completing a peel. You can still use the boar brush to exfoliate your scalp but consider going easier on it if your scalp feels sensitive. If you're concerned about applying a skin peel to your scalp, don't be. Here's a picture of my hair while I was completing a scalp peel (left picture you can see the salicylic acid on my hair line). Months later, after completing the techniques in this ebook, you can see my hair is already a lot thicker: 73

74 Let s begin the peel First of all you need to purchase some salicylic acid. You can buy salicylic acid skin peel products online there are hundreds of products available, designed for peeling skin. To begin with, choose a product with a 10% concentration of salicylic acid. You can purchase a bottle online for around $10 on ebay or from many health and beauty stores. For some people a 10% peel will work fine, but for others a stronger 20% peel will be needed. However, to be safe, start with the lower strength 10% concentration. You will also benefit from using a very small amount of the coconut oil to protect the hair from damage during the peel. Although the acid will not damage your hair, the alcohol in the peel solution may have a drying effect on your hair. The coconut oil prevents any protein loss from the hair. The ability of coconut oil to penetrate into hair cuticle and cortex seems to be responsible for this effect. Coated on the fibre surface, it can prevent or reduce the amount of water penetrating into the fibre and reduce the swelling. This, in turn, reduces the lifting of the surface cuticle and prevents it from being chipped away during wet combing. (Aarti S. Rele and R. B. Mohile, The Journal of Cosmetic Science, April 2002) 74

75 Before applying the acid to your scalp, apply coconut oil to your hair to form a protective coating. You'll learn how to do this when we get on to the peel process. First though you need to do a skin test. Test the Salicylic Acid Product on Your Skin First Once you have purchased your salicylic acid product you need to test it on your skin (as you should with any chemical you apply to your skin). The best way to test the product is to apply a small amount to a visible portion of your scalp. If you have a receding hair line, this would be the best place to test the acid. If not, test it between your chin and your neck, or where it advises in your products instructions. If you have sensitive or very fair skin, leave the salicylic acid on your skin for no more than one minute. You should feel a very mild stinging sensation after 30 seconds or so. If you feel a strong stinging sensation, wash the peel off immediately with lots of water. If it starts to sting before one minute you probably do have sensitive skin or dry skin. In which case when it comes to doing the first proper peel you will only have to leave the acid on your scalp for about one minute in order to clear the pores and break down the top layers of skin. Although your scalp skin is likely to be much less sensitive than other areas of skin (such as your neck), so you should find it stings less than the test patch meaning you can leave it on for longer. If the test area isn t stinging after one minute, leave it on for a little longer. If you find after three minutes it s still not stinging much at all, leave it on. If after ten minutes it s still only mildly stinging, wash the acid off the test area. In some cases people find the acid stings after just a few seconds. In other cases people can leave the acid on their scalp skin for thirty minutes or even longer without feeling much more than a cool tingle. However for your first test peel, ten minutes is the maximum you need to leave it on for. Observe the test patch Over the next week observe the test area closely every day using your mirror under a good light. Observe the skin to see how it changes over the week. You may notice it go red (if you have pale skin). It s likely though, that you won t notice much at all. If you re concerned about anything me at support@nicehair.org. 75

76 The most important safety advice is this if the acid stings your skin uncomfortably, wash it off immediately. The stinging sensation should be noticeable but it should not be too uncomfortable to bear. It should just be a mild tingly fresh sting. If you feel anything stronger than a tingly sting, rinse the acid off off well and shampoo your scalp. In cases where the peel is too uncomfortable to leave on for more than 30 seconds, the peel treatment is not needed because it means the pores are not clogged and the skin is not coated in sebum as a result the acid is absorbing quickly because there are no barriers to it's absorption. The peel will still be very beneficial for all the reasons I mentioned, but you won't need to leave the acid on for very long. Beginning the First Full Scalp Peel Once you re happy with the test peel results you can start your first full scalp peel. At least half an hour before beginning the peel, apply the coconut oil to your hair, as follows: Thoroughly wash your hair and scalp and dry with a towel to remove any dampness (it doesn t need to be bone dry but make sure it s not damp). Apply a very small amount of coconut oil to your hair to coat the base 2-3 inches of hair. Run your fingers through your hair and rub the coconut oil in. Don t massage the coconut oil into your scalp avoid getting the coconut oil on your scalp as much as possible, as this will act as a barrier between the acid and the skin. Ideally you should wait roughly 30 minutes or more for the coconut oil to absorb into your hair. Once you re happy that you ve coated your hair with coconut oil and you ve left enough time for it to absorb, you can start to apply the acid to your scalp. The best way to apply the salicylic acid to your scalp is with a pipette. You may find that your product comes with a pipette. If not you can purchase them online on ebay for less than a dollar per pack. Let s Begin the Peel If you have short hair, spike your hair up. If you have long hair, part your hair down the middle. If you have shaven hair, very thin hair or no hair you will have no trouble applying the acid. If you need to part your hair to access your scalp with the pipette you will need to apply the acid to the parted area, then part your hair again to the left and 76

77 right of the middle parting two or three times until you have covered your scalp in little droplets of salicylic acid. Fill the pipette with acid from the bottle. Point the pipette downward without pinching it make sure none of the acid drips out. Now, touch the end of the pipette onto your scalp and gently squeeze so that a very small drop comes out onto your scalp. Elevate the pipette, move it half an inch or so away from the first drop and squeeze another small drop onto your scalp. Repeat this process until you have about small drops of acid spread out across the top of your scalp, without pouring any onto your hair. You should be able to do this in a few minutes you can squeeze out two or three droplets per second, so the process should only take a few minutes. You will inevitably get some acid on your hair but don t worry; it won t damage your hair. Salicylic acid is used to break down oils and skin tissue but at this concentration it will not damage your hair. Once you ve covered your scalp with small droplets, rub the acid in with your fingers until it covers the top of your scalp and then wash your hands. The acid will not damage your hands at this concentration, but wash them as soon as you've finished rubbing the acid into your scalp. Leave the peel on for one minute. You should feel a very mild stinging sensation, or a cool tingling sensation. This is normal and means the peel is working. However if you feel a painful stinging sensation, wash the acid out immediately. If after one minute the acid feels like it s burning (stinging quite badly), wash it out. If it s still not stinging after one minute leave it in for ten minutes. If it s still not stinging after ten minutes, wash it out. If it starts to sting uncomfortably before ten minutes, wash it out. Many people find that the acid stings their scalp for around thirty seconds and then the stinging dies down. If you find this occurs, leave the acid on for ten minutes and then wash it out. To wash the acid out, first rinse your hair and scalp with water for about a minute while gently rubbing your scalp with your fingers. Then wash your scalp by massaging with shampoo and rinsing. Directly after completing the peel, drink a pint of water. Some salicylic acid may absorb into your skin. This is nothing to worry about and is common during normal face skin peels. However it is good practice to drink lots of water during the day you complete the peel. 77

78 Increase exfoliation after completing the peel You can help increase the exfoliation by brushing your scalp with your hard bristled boar brush, as described in Step 1. To do this brush your scalp firmly about fifty times (or for about a minute) each day starting from two days after completing the peel. For the two days immediately following completing the peel don't use the boar brush and don't apply any chemicals to your scalp (such as minoxidil for example). Give your scalp a chance to reject and remove the dead skin cells. After two days you can continue to use the boar brush and any other treatments you might be using, such as minoxidil. Measuring the success of the peel Over the next seven days observe your scalp under a good strong light every day. You might notice your scalp go red (if you have light skin) and you may even see the skin peeling. Observe your scalp daily to see if the the skin is looking fresher. The aim of the scalp peel is to exfoliate the skin. You want to remove the top layers of dead skin and clear out the pores. Ideally you want to see your scalp skin flake off this is the best sign that the peel has worked. If you don't see the skin flake a few days after completing the peel you probably didn't leave the acid on for long enough. However it may not be very noticeable. The skin sheds naturally every day and isn't usually noticeable at all. The peel will help increase the shedding but you probably won't notice any peeling unless you left the salicylic acid on for a reasonable amount of time. This is OK and doesn't mean it didn't work your skin will still exfoliate even if it's not obvious. During the week after completing the peel you can wash your hair and scalp as you usually would. After one week, wash your scalp well, dry and examine it closely under a strong light. If your scalp skin doesn't look fresh you may need to complete one or two more peels. If you are satisfied that your scalp skin looks fresh and renewed move on to the next step. It is important that your scalp skin skin looks fresh and new that is the best indicator that the scalp peel has been a success. If after completing a ten minute peel using the 10% concentration you notice no change in your scalp you may need to complete another peel a week later. It's a good idea to complete two or three peels over the course of a month anyway to fully clear your scalps pores. Before you go any further than three peels, support@nicehair.org to discuss your progress. Some people do need to leave the peel on for longer to achieve satisfactory 78

79 results, but it's best to talk about this before doing it to make sure you're on the right track. Drink lots of water after completing peels and during the next day. Salicylic acid can be absorbed into the blood where in rare cases it can cause mild poisoning, but this is usually only in cases where people leave the acid on their scalps overnight. Providing you re only applying the peel to your scalp as instructed it s highly unlikely that you will experience even very mild poisoning. But to be on the safe side drink a pint of water after completing the peel. Achieving a Successful Peel If the peel has worked you should notice your scalp turn flaky a day or two after completing the peel. You can help exfoliate the dead skin flakes by brushing them away. This process can seem counter-intuitive to someone who suffers hair loss because you're stripping away skin from your scalp and it seems like you're doing damage rather than good. Actually it's hugely beneficial because you're unclogging pores, removing dirt and pollutants and getting your scalp skin into a fresh clean state, ready for hair growth. Demodox Mites, Calcification and Magnesium Here's a quote from a dermatologist who specializes in scalp skin health. Please don't let this scare you, but do let it motivate you to take action. I use a medical grade cosmetic camera scope, with extraction capabilities. The camera has a 400Xmag making it possible to view the follicle opening, hair(s) and the demodex mite. Many times there are hairless follicles containing the mites. It looks like a circular hole with 4 to 5 tails just at the surface. Watching them shoot out is rather gross to most people. The demodex mite feeds on the hair bulb, follicle walls and sebum. Calcification occurs when the mite feeds on the follicle, injuring the cell walls. When the cells heal, a scar (calcification) occurs. Demodex brevis, which lives in the sebum gland, feeds on the walls of the sebum 79

80 gland, producing more oil. There is more information on my website, scalpskinworks.com. The skin peels you are performing help kill the demodox mites and their eggs. In fact, if done properly, the skin peels strip away several layers of skin and unclog those hairless follicles that may be filled with demodox mites. This is a crucial step in stopping hair loss and regrowing your hair because calcification restricts blood supply to the follicles. And with restricted blood supply comes restricted nutrient supply and therefore malnourished and dying hair. 80

81 Summary to Step 4 To summarise what we ve done in Step 4. We have: 1. Peeled the top layers of scalp skin, 2. Unblocked any blocked pores, 3. Removed some of the DHT from the scalp, 4. Removed built-up embedded sebum, 5. Helped kill Demodex mites if they were present, and 6. Provoked the body to concentrate healing in the scalp by: 1. Increasing blood circulation in the scalp (increasing blood supply to the hair roots) 2. Increasing cell production in the scalp 3. Increasing nutrient supply to the scalp 81

82 Step 5: Increase Flexibility of the Galea Muscles We ve already done a lot to increase blood circulation in your scalp and that is really going to help increase hair growth. The more nutrients you can get to your hair the better and improving blood circulation is the best way to increase nutrient supply. Now we re going to look at the elasticity of the skin and something called skull expansion. Skull expansion is a theory that is floating around the desks of hair loss experts around the world, but unfortunately no empirical study has been conducted to prove or disprove the theory. This is probably because it would be incredibly difficult and time consuming to conduct a worthwhile study. The basic premise of the theory is that for some reason, some people s skulls seem to increase in size after those people have reached their full height and stopped growing. It is quite likely linked with calcification, however it is difficult to know for sure. It s understandable why hair loss experts think they are observing this. If you look at the Norwood Scale, which illustrates and classifies the stages of male pattern baldness you can see a clear pattern in the progress of the hair loss. The Norwood Scale If you observe instances of male pattern baldness, it s often the case that the temple 82

83 areas of the scalp are tightly stretched over the scull. This would seem to indicate that there may be some skull expansion occurring and that there may be a link between this and hair loss. I am personally undecided on the theory. Because no one has produced any empirical evidence that skull expansion occurs in adults, we cannot say for sure whether this theory is true. Either way, skull expansion is probably not the most important factor in hair loss, compared with DHT, stress and circulation. So I m not going to go into great detail on how to treat hair loss caused by skull expansion. Have a look at some old photos of yourself and compare them to how you look now. If you think that your head has increased in size then follow these instructions. If not, don t worry too much about this step of the ebook the Hair Growth Tonic and Dermaroller are already helping decalcify your scalp, reduce inflammation and improve the flow of blood. How to Treat Hair Loss Caused by Skull Expansion The reason skull expansion causes hair loss is because it increases tension in the skin, which restricts blood supply to the affected areas this is why the Norwood Scale seems to support the theory. So what we need to do is increase the flexibility the skin that has been stretched tight. To do this you need to complete a simple massage exercise every day. As well as improving the elasticity of the skin these massages will help improve blood circulation in the scalp, so whether you ve experienced skull expansion or not, these massages will help feed your hair. The massage technique is very simple. Wash your hands well using anti-bacterial hand wash before beginning. It s important that you do this because you ll be rubbing your fingers into your scalp. If you transfer lots of bacteria onto your scalp this could actually cause hair loss so make sure your hands are clean before beginning. Place your fingertips on the sides of your head (about an inch above your ears). Now push your fingers into your head and move your hands up and down to move your scalp up and down, stretching the skin. Do this all around your head from the back of your head to your forehead, moving your skin up and down to stretch it. When pushing up and down use a slightly circular motion to get increased movement of the skin. Do this firmly but not too quickly. If you look in the mirror you should see your scalp moving around quite a lot as you massage. After massaging for around a minute you should feel your scalp get quite warm. This is a good indicator that you re performing the massage 83

84 correctly and your scalp is flush with blood, which will be feeding your hair. When performing the massage, make sure you push your fingers into your scalp and move the skin when you move your hands. Don t slide your fingers over your scalp. To change the position of your hands, lift them up and move them. Don t slide them over the top of your hair/skin. After a few minutes of massaging you should move your hands a little higher so they are a few inches above your ears and continue to massage all around the head, from the forehead to the back of the head. Every few minutes, move your hands an inch up and massage again, until you re massaging the temples and around the top of the head. Remember, when you re massaging your scalp, the aim is to increase skin elasticity and blood circulation. So try to really move your scalp around as much as possible. 84

85 Step 6: Improve overall blood circulation Having strong blood circulation is great for your health. It helps with hormonal balance; it helps keep your skin and hair healthy; and it helps your body perform tasks efficiently. What you're about to learn is an ultimate guide to everything you need to know to get your body's blood circulation into peak condition. Follow these guidelines to help boost your blood circulation, further helping feed your hair and also improving your body in ways that you will learn more about in later chapters. As well as using the Dermaroller, the boar brush and the Hair Growth Tonic to boost blood circulation in your scalp, it's also a good idea to boost your overall circulation, to get the blood flowing up to your scalp more easily. What follows is the ultimate guide to strengthening your body's blood circulation. Following this guide will not only help your hair, it will also help improve your health in a number of other ways. Regular Intense Exercise OK, this may seem a little obvious. After all, you can't be healthy without doing exercise. But what's important is that you exercise until you sweat, the blood flows to your skin (flushes) and you get out of breath. You have to sustain this state for at least twenty minutes, three times a week. Cardiovascular exercise has three major benefits: 1. By sweating, your body eliminates toxins through the skin 2. Cardiovascular exercise really gets your blood pumping to your body's extremities 3. Exercise uses up hormones naturally, which helps hormonal balance You should aim to do a sport like squash, tennis, football, basketball, or an equivalent sport that involves running, if your current physical condition allows it. Make sure you sustain the exercise for at least twenty minutes, three times a week, but don't overdo it. Make sure you drink enough water to replace the fluid lost from sweating. Also, have a shower and rinse your hair and scalp after exercise. The sweat secreted onto your scalp may contain toxins that will not do your hair any good. You should feel your circulation pumping every time you exercise. The more you do it, the better your circulation gets. If you haven't exercised in a long time and you do some intense exercise you may notice your skin itch. This is actually caused because a healthy 85

86 blood supply is flowing through the blood vessels under your skin for the first time in a long time! If you are a heavy exerciser (you exercise intensely and regularly) please be aware that you must eat to compensate your exercise levels correctly. That means eating lots of vegetables, fruit, protein and good fats. You'll learn more about strategically eating to feed your body in the nutrition chapter of this ebook but bear in mind that exercise uses up nutrients. Intense exercise uses a lot of nutrients. If you're exercising a lot you're using a lot of nutrients up and that means there are less nutrients available for your hair. You need to compensate for that by increasing your nutrient intake. 'Hot and cold showers' This is an excellent technique to practice every day. When you have a shower, run the water on cold, then hot, then cold (and so on) alternatively approximately 3 6 times on each temperature, for approximately a minute on each. To start off only make mild changes around your normal shower temperature. As you get used to the cold make the temperature changes more extreme, but make sure not to scold yourself or make yourself so cold that you feel ill. You will find that this becomes very easy as you get used to it. Just work up to the colder temperatures gradually. At first you will think that you cannot comfortably stand under a cold shower. That's because you can't. Your circulation is too poor. However, as you gradually increase the temperature differences in your hot and cold showers and as you complete the other techniques outlined in this chapter, you will start to notice that the cold water is actually very easy to handle comfortably. You might be surprised at how comfortably you can stand under cold water after six weeks of doing hot and cold showers every day. This is a great way to build up the strength of your circulation and get the blood flowing to your extremities. To finish the shower, end on cold water in order to close up your skin's pores. This will reduce the threat of air born bacterial invasions. You can start your shower on hot or cold. The hot and cold shower is very good for your circulation. When your skin is heated up by the hot water, your blood flushes to your skin. When your skin is cold, the blood flows back to your internal organs. This turbo charges your circulation every day. You may notice after doing this for a few weeks that you become more resistant to the cold. That's because your circulation has become stronger, carrying the heat from your core to your extremities more efficiently. If you feel that this regime is too stressful, it might be that you ve trained your mind to 86

87 deal badly with mild stress. The stress reduction chapter will help train your mind to deal with stress better. By giving yourself a small shock like a cold shower every day you help build up your tolerance to stress. This helps make your mind stronger and will help you become healthier. You can use the hot and cold shower experience daily to help you improve the way you deal with stress. When you're about to turn the temperature down to cold and you're thinking to yourself, I really would rather have a nice warm shower and not freeze, use positive affirmations to spur you on. Think things like, This is nothing, I can handle a bit of cold water, I can take anything, and bring it on!. This will really energise you and get your blood pumping and make you feel good. Instead of just feeling how you feel every time you get out of the shower, you'll feel energised and really good. Give it a try, you may be surprised. At first it may seem unpleasant but as you get used to it you may actually start looking forward to the exhilaration of cold water. And then after the cold you get the nice warm water, which you'll appreciate all the more. If you're practising positive affirmations at the same time this can be a real positive boost to the way you feel each day. Circulation Boosting Herbal teas It's worth adding one or two herbal teas to your daily regime, as it's cheap, easy and effective. You can also use your herbal tea drinking time to relax and unwind, which is something you should be trying to do every day when you get the chance. Ginkgo Biloba Have a look in your local health food shop or supermarket for herbal teas that boost circulation and/or cleanse the blood. These include teas containing ginger and ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba is the one to look out for as it is known specifically for its ability to boost circulation to the extremities. This is exactly what you want. If you can't find circulation boosting teas in your local grocery store or health food store, purchase some ginkgo biloba on the internet (e.g. ebay) and make pure ginkgo biloba tea by pouring boiled water onto a teaspoon-full amount of the herb. Let the boiled water cool for about ten seconds before pouring, in order to avoid potential damage to the herb, which may reduce nutrient content. Gotu Kola 87

88 Studies have found that the herb 'gotu kola' contains a plant chemical called 'TriTerpenic Fraction of Centella Asiatica' (TTFCA). TTFCA stimulates the growth of connective tissues, such as collagen, which are needed for supporting and strengthening the walls of your blood vessels. This natural chemical also maintains the internal lining of your blood vessels by promoting the growth of cells that line them. This is important because if the internal lining of your blood vessels become damaged, blood and fluids can escape into your surrounding tissues. This can cause inflammation and swelling, potentially resulting in varicose veins. In one study, researchers found that patients taking 60mg of TTFCA twice a day for eight weeks showed noticeable improvements in blood circulation. This not only occurred in major veins but also in smaller capillaries that carry blood and nutrients to your tissues. This is exactly what you want. The herb has also been shown to alleviate stress, anxiety, mental fatigue and memory problems. It helps to stimulate brain cell metabolism and protects your cells against possible damage from toxins. All of these things make this herb a powerful tool for improving your health. You can purchase gotu kola online and in many health food stores. Cayenne Pepper Cayenne pepper is a stimulating herb made from the dried pods of chilli peppers. The main medicinal properties of cayenne are derived from a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin is the ingredient that gives peppers their heat. Other constituents of cayenne are vitamin E, vitamin C and carotenoids. Cayenne is used to treat a variety of health conditions, including poor circulation, weak digestion, heart disease, pain, sore throats, headaches and toothache. When eaten, cayenne soothes the digestive tract and stimulates the flow of stomach secretions and saliva. These secretions contain substances that help digest food. Not only does cayenne pepper improve blood circulation, it also improves the effectiveness of other herbs. You should purchase cayenne pepper in powder form as opposed to capsule supplement form. The effectiveness of the pepper will be improved if you taste it because your saliva gland will produce increased levels of saliva and your stomach will 88

89 prepare for the hot pepper. If you're a fan of spicy food you're in luck because generally hot peppers are good for your circulation. You should try to consume up to a teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder a day, either on its own, in food or mixed in water, spread over one to five servings. You'll probably have to work up to this from just a pinch as it is quite hot. The hotter the pepper the better though, so don't shy away from the heat. Remember, as with the hot and cold shower, if you find yourself avoiding the mild stress of the experience, again it's because your brain has been trained to avoid stress and to cope with stress badly. Eating cayenne pepper should help you improve the way you deal with stress further so it's well worth doing daily. Just do it! Say that to yourself. If you keep avoiding minor stresses you will never be a cool, calm person. And you will probably find that it makes you laugh and smile after experiencing it. I once ate a crisp that my friend had dunked into a sauce that was so hot I went partially blind for ten minutes due to the shock. I ran around like a headless chicken. It was so stressful it was like hell. 45 minutes later, after I had recovered I felt good. I felt really good. It may have been stressful for a short period but the stress soon subsided and I learned that I could cope with such pain. Getting through stressful situations sends your serotonin levels through the roof. That's why adrenalin junkies get addicted to danger. Little things like cayenne pepper can help you learn to deal with stress better because you get used to getting through the stress and smiling when it's over and everything is clearly all right, despite the perceived stress prior to the experience. If you feel you'd like to add this little stress buster, circulation booster experience to your daily routine, look for some strong cayenne pepper. The stronger the better. Try finding some that is around 90,000 'Scoville units'. Scoville units are the measurement of spiciness. 90,000 would be considered fairly hot. To give you some idea of how hot the hot sauce on that crisp I ate was, it was 5 million Scovilles!!! I can't describe in words the experience. You can only know it if you've tried it, but to give you some perspective: US grade pepper spray is a 2 million Scovilles! Ginger The best time to eat ginger is right before dinner, as it will help your body digest your dinner by stimulating your digestive system. It's also a blood cleanser, which will help your circulation. A slice of fresh ginger before dinner is an excellent addition to your dietary schedule. 89

90 Garlic Garlic is a very healthy food to eat regularly. It cleanses the blood and reduces cholesterol. Try to incorporate garlic into as many dishes as possible. Don't go overboard though, as excessive consumption of garlic can cause your skin to smell of garlic because the chemical that emits the strong smell can secrete though the skin's pores when you sweat! Gravity and some easy yoga positions Once a day, it's worth spending at least ten minutes quietly winding down and relaxing on your own. In fact you should do this every day. You can also use this time to listen to the audio files that are free with this ebook to kill two birds with one stone. One way to wind down and relax is to perform some simple yoga positions. You can perform some simple positions that involve lowering your head so that blood flows to it due to gravity. Obviously the blood that rushes to your head will not stay there after you finish the yoga position, but by forcing a large amount of blood to your head all at once for a few minutes it will open up the capillaries that have been largely unused throughout the day. This is a very good idea because it will force them to become more supple and will encourage regeneration due to the increased flow of oxygenated nutrient carrying blood. Here are some positions for you to try: 90

91 Position 1 (above): Put your feet shoulder width apart. Put your hands on the floor in front of you, shoulder width apart, making almost a right angle at your pelvis. Hold your arms straight so that they are in line with your back and keep your legs straight. Hold the position for up to ten minutes. This position will get the blood flowing to your head. You can turn this into a multi-part yoga move by following it with this position: 91

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94 Position 2 (above): Sit down with your legs straight out in front of you. Try to lean down so that your head is as close to your knees as you can get it. Don't worry too much if you can't get your legs straight. The important thing is that your head is down towards your legs. This position will benefit your colon and your liver. 94

95 Position 3 (above): This is a multi-position move. Kneel down with your shins flat on the floor. Put your hands at your sides. Keep your back straight. Angle your head down forwards so that your chin is touching your chest, or as near as you can get it. Hold to the count of 5. Now slowly move your head back (so your chin is moving upwards) while sliding your hands down the back of your legs until you are looking up at the ceiling, with your back arched. If you're flexible, move your hands down onto the back of your feet. Hold to the count of five and slowly move your head back to the start position. Repeat 5 times. This will loosen your neck muscles, where your glands are. This will help blood flow to your head, loosen your neck and help hormones travel through your body. 95

96 Position 4 (above): Sit on your bum with your legs straight out in front of you. Sit with your back straight. Take your left foot and place it to the right of your right knee. Now, take your right hand and place it to your left hand side next to your left trouser pocket, twisting your body to the left. Use your left hand to support the position, how - ever feels most comfortable to you. Hold for the count of five and repeat on the other side. Repeat 3 times. This will help force your digestive system to move digesting food through your intestines. 96

97 Position 5: Stand up. Keep your legs straight, with a slight bend at the knees. Now lean forward while keeping legs straight and try to get your hands as low as you can so they are holding the backs of your calves. Your head should be by your knees. Hold this position for up to five minutes. If you're familiar with Bruce Lee, the martial artist; this is one of the positions he would sometimes perform in movies. Completing all of these positions while breathing deeply and calmly will help improve your circulation and digestion as well as reduce stress levels. You might like to listen to the free audio files while you practice these positions. It's a good idea to make fifteen minutes a day where you can be on your own, with no distractions, no TV, no music and just concentrate on yourself. Breath deeply, calmly, practice the positions and take your time. Sauna, steam room, plunge pool and cold showers These facilities can produce a similar effect as the hot and cold shower but are more powerful. If you have access to these sorts of facilities it will be very beneficial to use them as much as twice a week. To get the most out of them follow this procedure. 97

98 Go in the steam room or sauna for five minutes. Then plunge into the plunge pool or take a cold shower for a whole minute. Repeat three times. You can use this system to flush toxins from your body through your skin. Make sure you rinse your hair and scalp afterwards to make sure the flushed toxins are cleaned from your scalp. It's a good idea to finish on a cold shower because it will close your skin's pores, preventing bacteria from invading your skin via the pores. Furthermore if you finish on hot you will probably continue to sweat after you leave the facility, meaning your scalp will be covered with salty sweat and toxins, which if left un - washed, may clog the pores. The Importance of Replenishing Electrolytes Some people recommend using saunas and steam rooms up to once a day. However I think once a day is too often because it can cause you to sweat too much. Sweating is a great way to remove toxins from your body but it also removes electrolytes from your body. If you sweat frequently (from regular intense exercise, saunas or steam rooms) it's a good idea to replenish lost salts (electrolytes) using a good high quality source. A excellent source of electrolytes is coconut water. If you're exercising intensely and frequently, coconut water is a great recovery drink to have directly after exercising. It replenishes electrolytes and is superb for rehydration. Don't get mixed up between coconut milk and coconut water they are different things. For more information on coconut water take a look at this article from Dr Mercola. Cleanse your blood stream to improve circulation and overall health with two simple drinks As well as improving the strength of your circulation, improving the health of your blood vessels and cleaning your blood will help improve your circulatory health. The 98

99 following methods will help you achieve this. Lemon juice in water Increase your intake of vitamin C for a short while to large amounts in order to get your arteries supple again. A good way to achieve this is to drink some organic lemon juice in warm/hot water every morning. This is very cleansing for the body so is good to do first thing in the morning. Pour about 1cm of freshly squeezed lemon juice into a glass and add water. Do this every morning for about six weeks. It's highly advisable to use a mouth wash or just a water rinse after drinking the lemon juice as the acid is bad for your teeth. Straight after drinking the lemon juice, rinse your mouth out thoroughly to wash the lemon juice from your teeth. Chlorella: Blood cleanse and heavy metal detox Chlorella is an algae that is highly nutritious. It contains a great deal of the nutrients that are beneficial for your hair, including B vitamins. For this reason alone it is worth consuming the powder drink. However the main reason for making the addition of chlorella to your diet is for it's tendency to bind with heavy metals, removing them from the body. Furthermore, studies have shown that chlorella reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol and improves the immune system. You simply mix a tablespoon or two into water and drink it. Drink a glass of chlorella mixed in water once or twice a day to cleanse your blood of heavy metals. Continue this program for around six weeks, depending on your age and health. The older you are or the worse your health, the longer you should continue to drink chlorella. It would be a highly beneficial permanent addition to your diet, so you might like to continue drinking chlorella daily for the rest of your life. However if you are only concerned with detoxing your body of heavy metals, just drink a glass of chlorella daily for 4 to 8 weeks. EDTA Chelation This is an optional step that is worth considering if you are over 40. The consumption of fatty foods (such as pies, burgers and foods that contain heavy metals (such as sea food)) causes a build up of cholesterol based plaque and heavy metals in the arteries. As this plaque builds up, lining the artery walls, it causes a 99

100 reduction in the space for free flowing blood and it causes the arteries to harden; as illustrated in the diagram below. A combination of these two factors severely impedes blood flow, especially to the extremities where blood vessels are smallest. These tiny blood vessels in the scalp become brittle and unhealthy. Blood flow to the scalp decreases to an extent where vital nutrients are unable to travel to the areas where they are needed in sufficient amounts. As a result the growth of hair is impeded due to a lack of essential building blocks. This process also causes the scalp to become unhealthy. Because the blood is not flowing well to the scalp, bacterial invasions are less likely to be fought off. The end result is a very unhealthy environment for hair growth. Cross-section of a blood vessel It is important for hair loss sufferers to have supple, clean and healthy blood vessels that promote strong blood flow to the extremities. In order to achieve this, the blood vessels need to be clean, healthy and supple. EDTA Chelation Process 100