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Updated: May 2018. It's the unofficial start of summer this weekend in the Northern Hemisphere. For a lot of us, that means humid weather and frizzy hair - whether the dewpoint is high (above 50°F/10°C) or it's foggy, dewy or rainy. Raindrops on a Monarda leaf. In the last decade or so, the creative folks who make cosmetics ingredients have developed ingredients that withstand high humidity better than some of the older ingredients for providing "hold." They are slowly working their way into products in a variety of brands. These ingredients are polymers - film-forming, even hold-providing. The performance of the product as a whole is the sum of its parts - so you do want to look for these ingredients if you really need to keep your hair together in high humidity - but keep in mind that just because they're in a product doesn't mean the product will suit your hair or your hairstyle. What is humidity-resistance?  It means a product is less likely to lose it...

Please remember that this information can and should never replace the care and advice of a physician. If you experience hair thinning, seek consultation with a medical professional who listens and will physically examine your scalp. If you take medications on a regular basis, always check for interactions between medications and supplements. Be aware that scalps can be sensitive to any and all treatments and products, including natural ones. Scalps that are losing hair may be more sensitive than scalps in which hair density is stable. This post has lots of links. Where I can link you to a full article, I did. Otherwise, I linked to abstracts, which contain a summary of the study's contents. Updated: September, 2018 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Androgenic alopecia is the clinical term of male and female pattern hair loss. It’s one of those diagnoses of exclusion. If you don’t have telogen effluvium (hair loss following an exposure t...

This is essentially a recycled and updated post from 2011. Recycling is good, right!? Build-up from hair products is usually 2 things: - Oily residues like actual oils and butters, creamy ingredients like Cetyl alcohol and other emollient ingredients. - Cationic ingredients that bond to the hair. When they're good, they're very good and when there is too much, you feel "build-up." Here I’m referring to 2 classes of chemicals: Quaternary cationic surfactants and cationic polymers. First off, cationic means something has a net positive charge (+). Hair has a net negative charge at the pH environment in which it usually exists (somewhere between pH 4.5 and 5 is average). Opposites attract (positive and negative) when it comes to hair and conditioner. More-damaged hair (the ends, heat-styled, sun-damaged, chemically relaxed, permed, highlighted) has more negative bonds and will bond with or "adsorb" more cationic ingredients. But it also loses them more quickl...

If you're not already aware of it, and I assume you are if you're reading this, some people avoid silicone-based ingredients in hair care products for various reasons. Some people get a slick, fake-hair feeling in their hair, or a heavy, limp feeling. Silicone build-up's feel (if your hair gets any at all) depends on which silicone you've been using. If you don't use shampoo - you wash your hair with conditioner for example - your hair is more likely to accumulate silicones because you are not washing them off with detergent between applications. If you used them very rarely though - would it matter? Don't avoid silicones if they don't cause problems for you. For real. Silicones are reversible. They wash out. You'd think they were permanent, based on some of the bad press they get. They can even be removed with non-detergent ingredients if you dare not let a single bubble near your hair (blog post about that is coming up soon). "Silicones" refe...

The only vegetarian protein recipe treatment I have listed on this blog is for beer, which you can find here  along with an explanation of why it works. I like that treatment because it gives you a very noticeable result with one treatment, whether you leave it in or rinse it out - no conditioners. The products in the list below may or may not meet your preferences for natural or organic or any particular ingredients or manufacturing practices you wish to avoid, but the protein sources are plant-based. How to make a protein-containing product (of any kind) MORE strong/intense: 1) Leave it on for more time (5, 15, or 30 minutes - if your hair really loves protein, maybe 60 minutes). More time allows small, penetrating-size proteins to soak in, medium-size proteins more time to bond with hair. 2) Use heat. Heat causes wet hair to swell slightly - creating more surface for proteins to bond with and allows more "soaking in" of small proteins How to make a protein-containing produ...

Do you have hard water? The best way to find out if you have municipal water is to check your annual water report, where hardness is frequently reported. Your water treatment facility may also have water quality data online. If you cannot find hardness, give them a call and ask - but not just about hardness - ask about the pH of the water also! Why? Read on. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2016 If you use well water, find your location and hardness on this map from the United States Geological Survey (or your state or country may have its own maps) or consult a "water hardness map" for your country or region.  Calcium and magnesium ions (an ion is a mineral with an electric charge) are the most common minerals in water. It is minerals that give water its hardness. Those minerals come from aquifers - porous stones through which water flows - or are picked up in streams and rivers. I did some digging into a 2011 article published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science 1  to find this informa...

I'm "herding" together some posts about various common causes of excess hair shedding because it had been on my mind (and my scalp) lately. Firstly, I updated the " Friction and Shedding " post, which could also be titled, "Are your hair products ripping out your hair?" Too graphic? Secondly, The post about iron, vitamin D and hair loss - these are common deficiencies and common causes of hair loss. Thirdly, bringing back the post about seasonal shedding . Not everybody notices this. And if you have the other two causes of shedding (above) this one might be more noticeable. This is not to leave out the other causes of hair loss that are significant (illness, medication, severe stress, scalp disease). But other sources have more information than I do on those things.