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I decided that I wanted to be able to make my gelatin protein treatment for hair in less than a minute (and not wait for it to cool) because I'm always rushing to get in the shower. Impatience can be a virtue if it means you come up with a faster way to mix up a PT! You need a microwave oven for this. Here's what you do: Mix gelatin and about 3/4 of the   cold  water you plan to use in a microwave-safe cup. Let it sit for about 30 seconds. Then microwave for 20-40 seconds. Long enough to dissolve the gelatin so there are no tiny gelatin grains (or flakes) visible. Add the remainder of the water to help cool down the mixture before adding other ingredients and applying. Recipe is in the link below. ------------------------------------------- This protein treatment recipe is STRONG! Not for the faint of heart nor for the hair protein-treatment-newbie. If you're not yet sure about how your hair reacts to protein - use a much smaller amount of gelatin than stated. This recipe d...

This recipe is a curl-enhancing, super-thick gel which doesn't require straining like flaxseed gel does. It encourages waves and curls and adds volume, but leaves hair very soft and has medium hold. Xanthan gum and Guar gum can be found in the gluten-free baking section of large grocery stores, or in natural food stores (or online). Sometimes natural food stores have bulk spices and you can buy these products in small amounts. This is a good product alone for soft hair, or can be used under a strong-hold gel as a curl enhancer, or mixed with it for more hold. It's very much like my flaxseed gel recipe #1 (mid-page) - but without the flaxseeds. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Time to make gel: About 10 minutes. It must cool a little before adding the final ingredient. Freshly made gel, cooling in the sink. You need a double boiler for the best result - put a metal or glass bowl into a saucepan with water (water should touch the bottom of the bowl, bowl should not touch the bottom of t...

I make almost all my own hair products. They are not all made from “natural” or food-type ingredients. That doesn’t bother me, I’m fairly chemical-literate. I also am allergic or sensitive to ingredients in many hair and skin products. So when I feel bad that I cannot try the new, pretty hair product that promises to transform my hair from “Plain Jane” to “Magazine Cover ” or I can no longer buy a product I liked – I remind myself of these things. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Homemade hair gel Reasons to make your own hair gel: ·        You control the ingredients. Leave out the itchy or smelly ingredients, or the   ones that cause build-up. It’s tailored for your hair and scalp. ·        You control the “hold” so you can have the same gel with medium, light, or strong hold, depending on your mood or the style you have in mind. ·        You can adapt the product to your needs for the season or oc...

First off -  think of your hair not as a fiber like yarn because hair is more complex. Think of the inside of your hair like string cheese - protein which is flexible and retains water - it will swell when wetted. Then think of the cuticle as though you glued several layers of tiny, overlapping shingles to the outside of the cheese. You've used proteins and amino acids and lipids (fats) to glue all this together. It's flexible - but it's also prone to damage because proteins and fats do break down. Your hair's porosity is probably not the same at the roots as at the ends, the ends are usually more porous. "Pores" are openings in the cuticle layer(s) - whether they are chipped or torn cuticle scales (imagine torn or ripped-off shingles), or cracked, shrunken and fused, or simply not glued down very well. Any of these situations leads to a less-protected hair cortex - which means your interior of string cheese will dry out more quickly. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013...

Is your hair fine, medium, or coarse? It's not always easy to tell. Healthy hair and dry, environmentally-stressed hair may feel and look very different. You may think your hair is coarse (wide) when it really has some fiber twists and bends (kinking) or is "medium." Dry hair is often described as "coarse" feeling because it feels rough. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Measuring is the best way to find out what the dimension of anything actually is. Hair is measured in microns. There are 1000 microns in one millimeter.  ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Hair Diameter Categories: ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Fine hair: Less than 60 microns (16 or more hairs per millimeter) Medium hair: 60-80 microns (12 to 16 hairs per millimeter) Coarse or wide hair: 80 microns or greater (fewer than 12 hairs per millimeter) To do this test, you need about 20 hairs which you have shed, and a metric ruler.  How to choose your sample: We're assuming that hairs you've shed while washing or ...

A very science-y post. Fun! ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 Dewpoint and relative humidity and how they effect hair has been swirling around my mind this spring as we have had some really variable weather. I live where winters are usually cold and dry, summer is usually hot and humid and spring and fall are combinations of everything. Dewpoint and relative humidity are not easy to understand. They're in the realm of physics - things like “saturation air pressure” that we experience every day and know what they are from experience. But when we try to measure them and predict and explain their effects on other complex systems like hair – Man! It’s not easy. Here’s what is wonky: Dewpoints getting into the “moderate” range, but dry air. You think your hair should be bouncy and defined, but instead it wants to be limp. But the dewpoint is above 40°F, you think – so what gives? When you go outside, your lips and eyes and mouth dry out and your waves and curls lose their spring or feel rough. ...