The Fundamentals of Healthy Hair In order to understand the fundamentals of healthy hair we first need to define it! What exactly is Health Hair? The simple answer is that it doesn’t exist. In essence, all hair has damage to a certain extent; scrutinizing hair under a microscope will corroborate this. For one, hair is technically dead to begin with, thus “Healthy Hair” is only an assumption based on a visual assessment that’s aesthetically pleasing. Ideally, hair that resembles silky, glossy, frizz-free locks similar to that in the latest (CGI enhanced) hair commercials can be termed healthy. In the real world though, hair must meet two basic requirements in order to qualify as healthy in a practical sense. These are porosity and elasticity. …show more content…
Many things contribute to damage; some are more obvious than others. For example, it’s much easier to foresee hair being damaged from chemicals, like bleach, than it is from the friction created by a Saturday shopping marathon in your favourite cotton Tee. Hair damage can be divided into four main categories, namely; Chemical, Heat, Mechanical, and Environmental. If you do not have the financial means to maintain your hair before and after a chemical service with the correct in-salon treatments, as well as, homecare products, I would advise against it. Heat Styling should ALWAYS be accompanied by the correct heat protector, various conditioning agents, and should be limited to once a week. Mechanical damage can be minimized by a combination of things like using a wide tooth comb on wet hair, using non-damaging hair ties, limiting brushing to twice a day, using the correct hair brush and just being very gentle with your hair in general. Environmental damage prevention tactics involve wearing a hat or swimming cap when necessary, leaving some conditioner in your hair before taking a dip in the pool. Hair products have come a long way with some even able to provide SPF