Getting to the root of great hair:
Shiny, silky hair begins with a healthy scalp
Author: Amy O'Connor
I was fresh out of journalism school and living in the Midwest when I was called to interview at a New York fashion magazine. I phoned in sick to my temp firm, hopped a plane to the East Coast and woke up the morning of the interview desperate: I just didn't look the part of the glamorous editorial assistant. So I doused my hair with spray and gel, set it in curlers, and ended up blowing it so dry one match would have sent me up in flames. I had been waiting for almost an hour when the editor's snooty assistant (whom I hoped to replace) glanced up from the latest Women's Wear Daily to make conversation: "Looks like you've been doing some painting," he remarked. Huh? "Painting. There are paint chips on your jacket." He pointed out,the white spots on the my shoulders. Those chips, of course, weren't paint. They were huge flakes of you-know-what.
When I relayed this incident to Claudio Lazo, scalp-manager-to-the-stars and a partner at Los Angeles' Tony Allen Edwards Salon, he wasn't surprised. He told me that while I didn't have true dandruff (a condition that almost always is associated with an oily scalp), a combination of factors had obviously contributed to a one-time-only snowdrift of dry flakes: "Stress is one of the main causes of dry scalp," he says. In fact, stress can not only compound an existing scalp problem, it can create one. So can an excess of styling products, a diet high in fat, sugar or salt and hormonal changes. In fact, the vagaries of modern life conspire to curse everyone with flakiness at some point or another, according to Dale Abadir, M.D., a New York City-based dermatologist. "Cells in the hair root are the most rapidly developing in the body and are extremely sensitive to changes in nutritional status, pregnancy, even weather," she says.
Unfortunately, mass-market scalp treatments and dandruff remedies invariably contain harsh detergents that can further irritate the scalp and worsen the problem. "Natural remedies can be much more gentle and effective than chemical-based products," says Kathryn Hamernik, a researcher at Aveda, a Minneapolis-based company that specializes in personal care products derived from flowers and plants.
Even if you don't need to watch your blazer lapels for telltale flakes, your scalp deserves special treatment because its health determines, in large part, what your hair looks like. Each strand is enveloped in an outer casing of overlapping shingles called the cuticle. When the cuticle lies flat, hair reflects light and looks shiny and healthy. But the more cuticles are roughed up by harsh chemicals, styling, sun or excess heat, the duller and drier hair appears. The key to keeping cuticles flat and well-lubricated is regular brushing, which distributes oils from--you guessed it--scalp to ends. "Brushing increases blood flow and coats each hair with protective oils," Lazo says. "Every time you do a brush stroke you're closing the cuticle scales along the hair shaft, which makes hair look smooth and shiny."
Gentle brushing with a long-bristled plastic brush also loosens dead skin
and won't make hair oilier or cause undo damage. The take-home message: Daily
cleansing and brushing once a week using an extra-strength or "clarifying"
shampoo (a bit stronger than regular shampoo--look for one that's free of oils
and fragrances) is a good beginning for keeping your hair and scalp in good
shape.
Other Pages
The Roots of beautiful Hair1
The Roots of beautiful Hair2
The Roots of beautiful Hair3
