sade087

First of all, you need to know that your hair’s cuticle – the layer of protein “scales” which form its outermost layer have an additional covering called the epicuticle, composed of protein and fatty acids. An additional layer of protection. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Chlorine in water from your tap or in swimming pools diffuses through the cuticle of your hair. This causes hair proteins to break down beneath the epicuticle, but these proteins are too large to move out of the epicuticle – so frilly bubbles appear as the inward moving water and chlorine swell the hair and the degraded proteins cannot escape, despite the pressure caused by the swelling. This is difficult create when you want to photograph it! I have seen it before and I have a great picture which I cannot reproduce because it is in a copyrighted text. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Chlorine in your water or swimming pool breaks down your hair’s protective outer layers. This robs the hair of its ability to hold water (stay hydr...

Did you know that in the normal, healthy scalp the number of hair follicles in the "telogen" or "resting and falling out" stage is the higher in fall than at any other time of year? About 20% of your hair follicles have ceased growing and are preparing to fall out in fall, compared to about 10% in very early spring. So if you are losing more hair now (late October) through December, this is normal. Source:  Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair  Robbins, 1994. 3 rd  Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York

You know it’s coming. Winter. If you live in the more Northerly latitudes, especially away from the oceans, this means cold, dry air, indoor heating and generally a desiccated time for your skin and hair. Itchy skin, rough, cracking hands, chapped lips, windburn… ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Dry, rough skin on feet This is going to be similar to the “sensitive skin” post because dry skin is sensitive skin – it’s more vulnerable to tearing and injury, loses more water, you want to scratch the itch which damages skin. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 The ability to respond to dry environments is where skin and hair diverge. Skin can try to respond to this but hair cannot. The stratum corneum (upper layer of skin) contains “Natural Moisturizing Factor” a blend of lipids and humectants (fats and water-attracting chemicals) which attract and hold water - the key ingredient that keeps skin soft, flexible and moist (as opposed to cracking, peeling and flaking). When the air gets dry, your skin starts b...

The wind is crazy here this week. We're stuck between a high and low pressure system and the pressure gradient (always moves from higher pressure towards lower pressure) is zapping the moisture out of the trees, grass, soil... And skin and lips. I love it when meteorology and skin/hair care can be combined in one paragraph! Windburn, sunburn, and dry air can make your lips dry, chapped, and peel. To deal with flaking, peeling lips, brush them. If you have an extra-soft toothbrush, very gently brush your lips in small circles with a dry toothbrush. Firmer toothbrushes need to be moistened first. You'll find your lips are softer and smooth and much easier to keep soft with just a little lip balm (avoid the very waxy kind) or skin lotion. Once per day is enough. If you wear lipstick, this will make your color go on smoothly and not tend to dye the dead skin but wear off the healthy skin, leaving you with blotchy color.

If full-strength, inexpensive shampoos are harsh on hair, stripping off natural oils and leaving the hair without protection so that it can lose moisture and other vital components, then is the only solution to buy shampoos with mild detergents? What if they're all too expensive or smell bad? Can there be a compromise in a market in which vilifying ingredients and marketing the more-expensive alternative is lucrative and not necessarily beneficial to the customer? ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 As I tried to show in this post , yes and no. If a “mild” detergent is highly concentrated in a shampoo, it will still be harsh (cause the hair to swell and remove too much oil). It’s the same with hot peppers, a lot of red chilies (pretty hot) are going to make your eyes water as much as a little Serrano (super-hot). ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Yes, I know - some people don't use shampoo at all and it's much better if you shampoo every other day or less often. But some of us need to remove...