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Hair has a lot of enemies. That's why it keeps growing. Sunlight, chemical treatments, packing tape that your brother sticks in your hair because he thinks it's a great joke - all hard on your hair. Certain grazing animals have teeth which grow throughout their lives because the grasses they eat contain a lot of silica, which grinds down teeth and the initial parts would soon be worn out. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 People have hair which keeps growing to keep our heads covered, even if our hair should be broken or pulled out. You only need see a bald person who was outside with no hat or sunscreen to understand the severity of the sunburn you can get on your scalp. Sunburn leads to water loss from skin, unhealthy skin, potential for infection. Not to mention an overheated scalp can make an overheated person and hair may help us modulate the temperature of our heads. Where we keep our brains. Our constantly-growing hair is always growing and replacing itself because nature expect...

I’m writing this because I have sensitive skin and allergies and so many hair and skin products are “off-limits” to me because they contain preservatives which make my skin itch, burn, turn bright red, break out in a rash. Actually, I'm writing it because 3 more products I love have started to make my skin itch and that annoys me because now I have to come up with new homemade recipes or search for something non-itchy and not-expensive. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 One of the best-known skin offenders are preservatives related to formaldehyde. You know, a part of the recipe for embalming fluid. Yep, it’s that nasty. I’m not going to mention the formaldehyde in hair smoothing or straightening products (except that I just did)! These are sources of formaldehyde which are not only skin-contact problems, but also unhealthy to breathe for the person having their hair straightened and for the stylist doing the work. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013 You won’t find pure formaldehyde in your hair (or...

This post is timely to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere - to our friends and family in the Southern Hemisphere - hope you are enjoying spring into summer! Humidity is water vapor suspended in the air. How humidity is measured: Dewpoint – the temperature at which the air is saturated with as much water as it can hold, and so dew (or fog) forms. Dewpoint tells us the most about how dry the air is. Unless a new air mass moves in, the dewpoint can stay the same all day. This is what you want to watch to know just how moist or dry the air is. Dewpoints below 50° F (10° C) are “dry.” In the 50s  (10-15° C) is “comfortable” 60-65° (15- 18° C) is “muggy” 65-70° (18-21° C) is “humid” 70° (21° C) and greater is “oppressive” – rainforest-y - you feel you need to grow gills This is important for hair because dewpoint tells you how much moisture is in the air. Except for hair which has a very strong curl pattern, low moisture in the air tends to lead to flatter, less defined wavy or curl...

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.