sade087

Part I dealt with the whys and wherefores of deep conditioning or intense conditioning. Now we're getting into the nuts and bolts. How deep? It's probably a misnomer to call a rich conditioning treatment or a high-protein treatment "deep conditioning." Most of the things you put on your hair act on the outer surface - the cuticle. Ingredients like oils and emollients and cationic conditioners that soften, add flexibility, seal in moisture, increase lubrication, proteins that form water-hugging films are intense conditioners . ©Sciencey Hair blog 2014 But some ingredients actually do penetrate into the cuticle layers and may go even deeper than that. Those ingredients include Cetrimonium bromide and Cetrimonium chloride, panthenol, hair-penetrating oils , amino acids and peptides. If your hair tends to get too soft with conditioners - these are ingredients you might want to include in deep conditioners in small quantities or not at all. But if you need extra softnes...

Note: This series applies to Protein Deep Treatments too! This is the first of a two part post. Today's post is about how deep conditioners work and who needs one. Part two is about how to use a deep conditioner to get the most out of it. Deep conditioning on wet hair is applying conditioner to freshly washed hair to leave on for a few minutes (or longer). You could put a deep conditioning treatment on unwashed hair, but because you'll get the best result from having the conditioning treatment in complete, unfettered contact with your hairs. It's better to deep condition clean hair and get rid of the dust and dirt and pet hair, twigs, leaves and other junk first. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2014 A pH level of 7 (or at least around 7 and above 5) has been shown in laboratory testing to promote the most adherence of conditioner to your hair. It is best to stay between pH 6 and 7.  Most store-bought conditioners will already be in this range. If you start adding acidic or alkaline i...

Ever hear this one: "Rinse your hair with ice cold water to close the cuticle to make it shine." Ever try it?  And then there's the opposite - that very warm water makes your hair's cuticles "open up." I don't get along with the notion that "cuticles open and close" like doors or window blinds because it implies that the cuticles have some method of creating their own motion. They don't.  If a cuticle is "open" it's actually elevated from the hair surface as a result of the whole-hair swelling in water or other solutions, or it is damaged by chemicals or friction and broken but has not yet torn completely off. I had to test it myself and I'll admit my tests are not complete (if I wanted to spend all day working with 50 to 100 hair samples and perfectly controlled conditions that would be ideal - but I'll leave that to people who get money to do this sort of thing). The "Cold Water Makes Hair Shine" notion is ...

Updated: June 2016 There are any number of serious reasons your hair can suddenly start to fall out - illness, thyroid disease, nutrient deficiency, extreme physical stress or many other diseases or medications. These are important to consider. Hair loss is a signal of something wrong. I'm skipping the more serious problems and going right to the things you put on your hair! Let's talk about friction. You need friction to stop on roller skates, on a bicycle, in a car. Smooth ice = low friction and you just keep going when you try to stop. Rough pavement = plenty of friction to slow your motion and your tires wear down over time. Friction is an issue for anybody with more than a half inch of hair because there is a lot more to hair care than moisture or protein or whatever the bottle or shampoo or conditioner says a product is for. Some people have healthy hair that doesn't need a lot of extra help staying hydrated, but it does need extra lubrication. The longer your hair is...