Gisele Bundchen
Brazilian bombshells like Gisele Bündchen, Izabel Goulart, Barbara Fialho, Bruna Marquezine and Isabeli Fontana have indeed been naturally blessed with gorgeous genes. However, if they’re like most Brazilians, they have been working hard at maintain their looks. There’s a strong beauty culture in South American country, making beauty care as much as an obsession as football. From an early age, females learn how to take care of their appearances and this includes an over and above preoccupation with hair that sees them putting in a whole lot of time and effort to get mesmerising, perfect tresses. So with this fixation on hair care and the fact Brazil shares the same hot, humid and sticky climate as the Middle East, we can’t think of a better locale to turn to for tips on head-turning hair this summer.
Izabel Goulart
You’ve all heard about keratin, but with their focus on natural beauty, Brazilians have several naturally derived hair solutions that can easily be added to your beauty regime. Here are four of the best ones for healthy, shiny and smooth hair.
Brazil Nuts: Slow hair growth is often due to a lack of some essential nutrients. Well, it turns out Brazil nuts contain just the right ones to nourish your hair and scalp. Selenium, which is found in high amounts in the tasty nuts, is a particularly effective trace mineral that encourages hair growth and fights hair fall. As there are such high quantities of selenium in Brazil nuts, you just need to eat about two per day to improve slow hair growth.
Brazil nuts, mostly grown in South America’s dense Amazon forests, also do an amazing job at leaving hair soft and glossy. Brazil nut oil, loaded with omega 3 fatty acids, is an affordable treatment that increases the production of sebum in the scalp that conditions your hair naturally, leaving it shiny and healthy.
Cupuaçu butter: Cupuaçu butter, which comes from pressed seeds from trees found in the Amazon rainforest, is an amazing moisturiser due to its powerful water absorbing abilities. As well as being hydrophpllic (water loving), it also prevents moisture loss. So the butter’s long-lasting and deep hydration properties and ability to replenish moisture makes it the perfect choice for people with brittle, damaged or dry hair looking.
Soft, creamy and lighter than shea butter, Cupuaçu butter, with its abundant nutrients, minerals and essential fatty acids, is nourishing, strengthens hair, promotes a healthy scalp and forms a protective barrier against harmful UV rays. What’s more, it promotes elasticity, softness and a gorgeous healthy shine.
Buriti oil: Buriti fruit oil is a natural wonder from the wetland regions of the Amazon and central Brazil. The oil comes from the fruit off the buriti palm tree, which is treated as sacred and also known as the “tree of life” because it contains the nutrients and antioxidants needed to sustain us. The moisturising and nourishing oil gives the hair and scalp all it needs to stay healthy and soft and is perfect for soothing dry, damaged and colour-treated hair.
The fruit’s pulp is the treasure as it is bursting with essential fatty acids. These are excellent at preserving elasticity while producing collagen and elastin, which provide moisture for the scalp. They also revitalise hair. The oleic acid is particularly great for adding a natural sheen to dull and faded hair, while the linoleic acid will help to combat hair loss. Plus, buriti oil contains lots of carotenoids, in fact it’s one of the highest sources of beta-carotene, which is helpful for healthy hair growth. Additionally, buriti fruit is high in vitamins C and E, with the latter being helpful in slowing down the growth of grey hairs. The oil can also prevent split ends, is a great detangler and can help calm frizz.
Pequi oil: Pequi fruit, also known as Caryocar brasiliense, is an edible fruit that is popular in the central-west parts of Brazil. The oil, which is actually comprised of numerous other oils, is probably best for women with curly or frizzy. This is owing to the yellow-orange fruit’s high concentration of oleic acid. (Since oleic acid is slightly heavy, it is more likely to flatten the cuticle.)
Barbara Fialho
Highly emollient and a rich source of essential fatty acids, the oil, which has traditionally been used for treating eczema and skin lesions, also fights brittle, very dry, rough or damaged hair when used as a deep nourishing and conditioning treatment. The results include moisturised tresses with restored vitality that feel smooth and silky and have a lustrous shine thanks to the oil’s lipid-rich hydrating agents. Pequi, which incidentally is one of the best smelling oils, also removes split ends effectively. Additionally, the oil offers UV protection because it contains lots of tocopherol and vitamin A, which have antioxidant properties.
