Is My Hair Unhealthy?

I haven't added a post under my Salon Chair tag in quite a while.  Today's post talks about the two biggest culprits of unhealthy hair and what you can do to fix them.  Enjoy!

Porosity
--What it is: the ability for hair to hold water

--What it means: You may think hair holding water would be healthy because the ability to retain water sounds "moisturizing".  But when it comes to hair, only porous hair holds water.

Porous Hair = Unhealthy Hair!

--How do I know if my hair is porous?:

• Your hair is colored and/or lightened (bleached)
• You heat style your hair when it's not fully dry
• You chemically treat your hair with relaxers 

• Test it: take a strand of hair and place it in a cup of water.  Does it sink or float?  Sink = porous.  Float = Non-porous

--How do I fix it?:

• Porous hair means that parts of the cuticle are raised and open.  Those are the scale-like pieces we see on hair when it's under a microscope.
• So to repair the cuticle, you can invest in a keratin treatment to help add structure back to the hair.  
• You can also invest in deep conditioning treatments to help restore moisture to your dried out strands.
• You can also cut back on the coloring, bleaching, and heat styling to allow your hair to repair itself.

Breakage

--What it is: hair that breaks off mid strand and/ or numerous split ends.  Breakage results in what you might call "baby hairs".

--What it means: The average person loses about 100 hairs a day.  If you are losing more, then breakage might be the culprit.  

Breakage = Buh bye hair!

--How do I know if my hair has breakage?

• The amount of hair you lose on a daily basis is excessive
• The ends of your hair always look ragged, even after trimming
• The amount of "baby hairs" you have around your forehead or at the nape of your neck is quite a bit

--How do I fix it?:

• Breakage occurs because the cortex of the hair is weak.  This can be caused by a poor diet or not getting the right amount of vitamins.  Be sure to eat foods that contain Omega-3's and fatty oils found in avocados and fish.

• Taking biotin can significantly improve the strength of your hair.  It is a vitamin that is taken daily.
• Repairing the cuticle of your hair (see above) will ensure that the cortex of your hair won't be damaged further.  Deep condition and avoid heat styling.

Breakage and porosity are the two biggest reasons why many people have unhealthy hair.  Learning what they are and how to fix them will ensure you have the best hair possible!  If you have any questions, shoot me an email!