The integrity of hair

Part 51 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

As a hair salon owner and platform artist, I can assure you I run into many varieties of hair textures, color, density and condition.  It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to obtain a quality integrity and condition of hair with just a small bit of education about what products to use, when, and how. 

Oddly, it seems many people don’t care, or are not concerned about their hair enough to seek sound advice of what would best serve their hair’s need for strength, agility, shine, condition and integrity. 

There are many clients that come into a salon or are chosen as models for a hair show with absolutely diminished ends, dull and dry lifeless hair, or color that lacks depth.  Their hair may be dry, filled with chlorine or minerals from well water, or coated with an over the counter balsam shampoo product that claims detangling but in all actuality delivers floor wax into their porous ends. 

We see people that have over processed bleached highlights that surely could have been obtained using a less alkaline product.  We see over processed perms, fine hair that fizzles down to nothing on the ends, two-tone hair from color that was applied whether over the counter or otherwise that is grown out about six inches, and blow-dryer damage. 

No different than analyzing your skin’s condition, the clothes you wear, or your makeup, you should be analyzing your hair.  Hair is definitely something that either boosts your self esteem because it is looking great and healthy, or a self esteem buster because it is lifeless and lacks integrity. 

What the average person does not know, is there is a strong importance in using a shampoo and conditioner that has a neutral cleansing zone (neutral cleansing is around a ph7 and no higher).  Many over the counter shampoos offer even higher than an 8!  Conditioners, if weightless, do not the bog the hair down.  Conditioners are important, as long as the ph is 7 or less, allowing the cuticle of the hair to lie down and smooth to reflect a high level of shine and health. 

Nothing is more rewarding than to look in the mirror and see bouncing, happy, rich looking hair that is colored with quality products, cleansed with appropriate ph level shampoos and conditioners, and then styled with products that still allow your hair to look and feel like hair, and not create stiff, dull, or brittle dryness. 

Some of you may recall a time when hair designers would add protein into the hair, and it would create a stiff feel.  We’ve come a ‘long way, baby’ with hair protein.  Advanced products now allow for liquid hair from a wheat protein that is bendable, and these proteins never build up on the hair.  Hair is in need of protein when it is diminishing to nothing on the ends, when hair is breaking easily,  when too many chemical processes have been done on the hair with non-professional products, or when damaging products have been used.  Moisture is needed on the hair when hair has been over processed, bleached over and over again, or dryness is in the family tree.  If your skin is dry, normally your hair is dry.  There definitely is a difference between necessities of protein vs. the necessity of moisture. 

As a general rule, both moisture products and protein products don’t go into the hair without the use of heat.   There are rare products on the market that you can simply place on your hair and have them activate or ‘work’ in order to change the bonds of the hair.  Many people have the misconception that if you simply ‘wash and go’ with your hair, never blow drying or never using any conditioner or products on your hair, you are creating a healthier frock.  Notsomuch!  Just because you are down to ‘basics’ doesn’t mean you are taking great care of your hair.  Have you ever heard of the concept of using moisturizers on your skin to hold in the moisture of your pores as well as keeping the damaging elements out?   Blow-drying a deep moisturizer into your hair will covalently (interior of the hair) help to build longer stronger hair once again.  Believe it or not, the very hardest thing on your hair is your own hair rubbing against itself!  Same concept as skin.  It is better to moisturize than to dry your skin in the elements more and more without some sort of protection.    

No different than going to the bread counter at your local grocery store and seeking out the nutritional value of calories, fat, fiber and sodium, so should we be considering the quality of the products we are putting in and on our hair.  Don’t be fooled with marketing schemes that prove empty results.