The Hair Conversation: 2012

Here follows my (Catherine's) personal response to an online article entitled "Heads up on great haircare"

Heads Up says: Walking into a hair salon or supermarket can be intimidating when it comes to selecting the correct products.

There are five major products that you will need in your everyday routine and everything else thereafter can be considered an extra. You might think a commercial advertising the latest shampoos and conditioners are the right way to go, but here's a heads-up on what you really need and why.

Catherine says: So essentially I believe this article would be better entitled "Five Hair Products Recommended by an Anonymous Writer" because that's really what it ends up being. The article's writer is not mentioned but seemingly writes as if you should just take their word for it... Okay? (No, not really. Who are you?)

Shampoo

Heads Up says: This is the most important part of your hair styling routine.

Catherine says: I'm not so sure shampoo is "the most important part of your hair styling routine". I'd prefer to say it is important for grooming or personal hygiene reasons, but in terms of hair styling, it is simply a pre-requisite.
(What is important for hair styling then? Well, you either need to develop mad skills in hair styling, regularly visit a fab hairstylist or come to terms with a low-maintenance look.)

Heads Up says: Shampoos act as the building block in the routine by removing build-up, cleansing the hair, opening the cuticles to allow the conditioners and treatments to go into the hair shaft and also by providing much needed nutrients to damaged or brittle hair.

Catherine: I'm sorry to say but your hair is not like grass. You can't add nutrients to it like fertiliser to help it get healthier :(

(If you need to manage hair that's damaged the key is to learn your lesson and avoid those things that damage hair. After which you need to be patient and may need to use either gentler products on your hair or else, counter-intuitively, use stronger products in order to achieve the best results. What you end up using would best be personally recommended by a professional and not an anonymous writer, because one size does not fit all)

Heads Up says: Most people think 2-in-1 shampoos do the trick, but the truth is it's a waste of time. You can't put a body wash and a body lotion on at the same time and expect a great result.

The body wash will always be more over powering, but it won't be 100 percent as effective. Same goes for shampoo and conditioner. So, select products according to what your hair needs:

Dry, brittle hair does not need a shampoo that deep cleanses. Rather use a mild product with extra conditioning.
Fine hair may need a volumising shampoo, but regular or mild shampoo meant for fine hair is the correct type. Check the bottles or ask a professional.
Thicker, course hair may need a cleansing shampoo once a week especially if it's long and styled with product. Remember to incorporate a deep cleansing product once a week to remove build-up.

Catherine says: I'm sorry, but yet again who is this person who can speak for all haircare products everywhere? You may not use a body wash and a body lotion at the same time but if you have dry skin, surely you would prefer to use a creamier, less drying and more moisturising cleanser? You could therefore say that such a cleanser would help to maintain the condition of your skin whilst cleansing and so can be said to have conditioning properties, hence 2-in-1.

(For your best haircare recommendations, consider who is advising you and what their priorities are. Unfortunately many people think that giving haircare advice is easy when in fact it requires a lot of information in order to give appropriate advice. This requires your time, patience and good communication with a professional. Don't be that silly person who considers an expert as a person that you "call at the last minute to share in the blame")

Conditioners

Heads Up says: This is very important no matter what type of hair you have. The main reason we use conditioners is to soften the hair, calm down the cuticle and to nourish and detangle hair.

It also provides for a great deal of your hair's nutritional needs, though most women end up skipping this step to try and maintain their hair's volume. Conditioners are mostly meant for your mid-lengths and ends and should be left on for at least one to three minutes.

This cannot be used as a treatment, although a treatment can be used as a conditioner in some cases. By avoiding the use of a conditioner you leave you hair vulnerable and open to damage when being dried or combed after washing.

Catherine says: This is mostly true. Conditioners are not for everyone though. The general rule is that the longer your hair, the more you need.

Treatment

Heads Up says: This is the final "must" in your hair's cleansing routine. It's the product that enhances your hair's health and encourages it to hold on to the nutrients you've just supplied it with.

It encourages shine, strength and manageability as well as growth if applied correctly and used regularly. This should ideally be used once a week and should be left on for five minutes.

Catherine says: Not everyone has to use a treatment so I'm not sure about claiming it's a "must".

(Don't be hoodwinked by "snake oil treatments" that claim to fix your hair. The truth is that a hair treatment is there to add extra moisture to dry, damaged and worn out hair. It's like a super-conditioner. It may also provide extra protection against damage and if it contains essential oils it may legitimately promote healthy hair growth.)

Heat protector

Heads Up says: Whether you heat style your hair or leave it to dry naturally, you still need a heat protecting product to guard your hair against all elements including mechanical and environmental damage.

It doesn't matter if it's in a spray or cream form as long as it contains little to no alcohol, specifies it's a heat protecting product and is oil and silicone free.

Oils heat up and melt onto the hair and silicones leave a residue and build up that can be damaging to the hair if not cleansed off properly. Your heat protectant should never be in the form of a mousse as this usually contains alcohol.

Stick to a light simple product and never substitute conditioners for leave in sprays – it is not the same thing. It should be applied after your conditioner is rinsed out and can be left in during styling.

Catherine says: Honestly where do I start? I'd be more concerned about getting bubblegum stuck in my hair than silicone. It's really not that bad.
In my opinion, whether you purchase and use a heat protection product or not is up to you, and not "Anonymous Heads Up Writer". Considering if your hair is delicate and easily damaged, or if you subject it to damaging conditions, you can analyse what kind of heat protection you would require.

(These days modern technology drastically reduces the need for heat protection products. If Anonymous had kept up to date with their homework, you'd know all about that already)

After care

Heads Up says: [Leave-in conditioners] are also known as styling aids. They can be silicone based, anti-frizz spray, creams, balms etc. The main purpose of this is to tame any fly-a-ways, complete the rest of your style and to maintain a healthy glow on your hair.

Never apply this to wet hair because it's not a heat protectant. If it's meant for after care, then use it just for that.

Silicones are meant to be applied to mid-lengths and ends, hair sprays should be used at least 15-20cm away from the head and balms and gels should be heated in your hands before applying it to your hair.

Once you've applied this, try not to apply heat after. It just burns your cuticles and creates damage.

Catherine says: This is mostly okay, but yet again the writer goes into one-size-fits-all recommendations... I will rather say do not stress, you may in fact apply leave-in conditioner to damp hair, if that gives you a better styling result then do so by all means. A leave-in conditioner can be a great help in taming curly/frizzy hair and if you can get in on before the frizz finds you then all the better I'd say!
With regards to burning your hair.... You can smell if your hair is burnt. No smell, no burn.

(The only time I've ever smelt hair burning while styling is when it gets caught in the motor of a hair dryer so please don't let fear-mongers freak you out about burning your hair. It is rare, if not impossible.)

My last words: Please do your hair a favour and learn what the best way to look after your own personal hair type and chosen style is and don't pay attention to "anonymous experts" who have no vested interest in you except to possibly sell you something.

Some people have said that if you pull out a gray hair, more gray hairs will grow in it’s place...

In other words, they are trying to dissuade you from doing it by saying you are only going to make the problem much, much worse.

The truth is, that eventually, more gray hair is inevitable but in the meantime you are pulling your hair out prematurely which may or may not result in immediate problems but with time, can cause other problems.

What’s happening is that the follicle, a little cove in your skin where the root or bulb of the hair grows from, matures to the point where melanin (pigment/colour) is no longer produced by the melanocytes (cells which produce pigment/colour). The follicle is part of your scalp and goes through a pattern of growth, cessation of growth and then a resting phase which allows the hair to fall out, followed by a phase of growth again (Hopefully! Unless it gives up the ghost).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/

If you pull the hair out in the growth phase of the follicle, then a new hair will begin to grow out again but it won’t grow as long as it would have as it is closer to it’s non-growth/fall out phase. If you damage the follicle when pulling out the hair, it may cause the hair to grow back differently or even not to grow back at all, leaving you with permanent hair loss.

When two to three hairs do grow from the same follicle, this is actually not the norm, but it may be provoked by hormones, genetics and stress (which causes an imbalance in the hormones). This is known to occur with body hair but I’m unsure how true it is of the hair on your head as they are different types of hair.

So essentially, it is unlikely that more than one gray hair will grow where you have pulled a single hair out, but most likely a gray hair will begin to grow again in that same spot. You may however unwittingly damage the follicle permanently and cause hair loss or cause a mutation in how the hair is formed.

Pulling out hairs is also a sign of stress and anxiety which are linked to hair loss, so my recommendation would be to deal with the underlying thoughts and feelings that you have instead of potentially causing more problems and stress with a ‘solution’ that isn’t really a solution at all!

The Hair Conversation

Labels

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Heads Up on Great Haircare

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Pulling out gray hairs?

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

All Pretty & Bright

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