Keeping The Luster In Your Locks: The Four Most Common Hair Concerns
NEW ORLEANS (February 25, 2002) – Having a good hair day doesn’t just happen by chance. It happens when taking care of your hair becomes just as important as taking care of your skin. But what do you do when your hair has been damaged by every day styling, and chemical processing, dyeing or perming? Is there any solution for fly-away hair, dullness and faded color? Understanding how hair damage can occur is the best defense against both preventing it and repairing it.
Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 2002 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, dermatologist Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, spoke about how to get and maintain the strength, shine and softness of healthy hair.
"Hair damage results from both mechanical and chemical trauma that alters the physical structures of the hair," said Dr. Draelos. "There is no easy fix for hair that has become dull, brittle and porous, but there are certainly products and tips that can help individuals minimize the damage that occurs to the hair every day."
The hair has three basic layers, the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. The cuticle is the outer layer of protective scales. It is the main hair structure and is responsible for the strength, shine, smoothness, softness and manageability of healthy hair. There is also a layer of sebum, an oily substance secreted by the hair follicles, which coats the cuticles and adds shine and manageability to the hair. The cortex provides strength to the hair shaft, and determines the color and texture of hair. The medulla is the innermost core of the hair where the body and strength of the hair is determined.
The cuticle can be damaged by chemical or mechanical means, such as dyeing or blow-drying. Environmental factors, such as exposure to sunlight, air pollution, wind, seawater and chlorinated swimming pool water can also cause damage to occur. When the cuticle is damaged by such means, the protective scales are peeled away and the rest of the hair shaft is exposed. In some cases, even the innermost layer--the medulla--is exposed for further damage.
"The best way to improve the cosmetic value of the damaged or weathered hair shaft is to use conditioners, which cannot repair the hair shaft, but can increase shine, decrease static electricity, improve hair strength and provide ultraviolet (UV) radiation protection," stated Dr. Draelos. "These are four factors which are very important for a healthy head of hair."
Hair Shine
Shiny hair has always been equated with healthy hair, even though the health of a hair follicle cannot be determined due to its location deep within the scalp. The shine is due to light reflected by the smooth surface of the individual hair shafts. Conditioners containing polymer film-forming agents can increase hair shine by helping the cuticle "scales" lie flat against the hair shaft for a smoother appearance.
Hair and Static Electricity
Combing or brushing the hair allows the individual hair shaft to become negatively charged, creating static electricity and preventing the hair from lying smoothly in a given style. Fine hair is more susceptible to static electricity than coarse hair due to the greater surface area of the cuticle. Conditioners with the ingredient quaternary ammonium can minimize static electricity by imparting cationic properties, or positively charged ions, to the hair to neutralize the static.
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