BAD HAIR usually elicits less than flattering comments. For both women and men, well-kept and beautiful hair can garner comments such as, “That hairstyle suits your face”; “Your hair styles makes you look more sophisticated”; or ”You are definitely someone who cares about your looks”.
In this way, beautiful hair allows a person’s personality to shine through since their confidence level rises when their hair looks good. When you choose a style that suits your face, you look more pleasing to the eye and you are perceived as being more attractive.
As a result, great consideration should be given to making sure your hair is healthy and looks good.
Hairstylist Monique Kinch, who has ten years’ experience in the field, explains what really causes bad hair and what can be done to correct it. She said: “In short, all roads lead back to damage and damaged hair happens as a result of a combination of mistreatment over time.” She explained that the hair cuticle goes through weathering, which is the gradual wearing away of the cuticle of the hair shaft. This exposes the inner layers and the degrading of these layers leads to visible damage, including hair breakage.
There are many forms of damaged hair, which include chemically damaged hair – a major problem for most people because the use of hair colour, perms and relaxers cause damage to hair by disrupting the hair structure. “Perms and relaxers change the shape of the hair through the chemical agents that are found in them because they break up specific bonds that gives hair its structure,” said Kinch.
Heat and excessive exposure to sunlight have also been noted as being very harmful to hair. “The ultraviolet light in direct sunlight affects the cuticle in a similar way to bleach, and this prolonged exposure leads to the breakdown of essential proteins
in the hair, and this is particularly so with colour-treated hair,” Kinch said.
Although hair may be fairly sturdy and capable of withstanding the rigours of daily styling, it can still be damaged by extreme brushing and combing, especially if it’s wet and or tangled. Therefore it is advised that after washing the hair one should gently massage the scalp and avoid pulling and tugging at the hair strands because hair is at its most vulnerable when it is wet, and Blacks’ hair is more vulnerable than other hair types. “When you are done washing your hair, remove excess water from your hair by blotting the water out instead of rubbing it with a towel. Lightly press your towel against your hair to capture the excess water,” the hairstylist said.
The stylist noted that it is much easier to treat hair before it was damaged, as opposed to treating damaged hair. Unfortunately for some people, once the hair cuticle is significantly damaged its structure cannot be completely repaired. Therefore it is necessary to take the best care of your hair to prevent damage rather than trying to repair it, which is a process that can last from months to years depending on the severity of the damage. “Conditioning allows re-establishment of the hydrogen bonds and improves the moisture content of damaged hair by improving the weatherproofing of the cuticle,” said Kinch.
In addition, diet can influence your hair’s health, Kinch said. “Protein is one of hair’s key building blocks. Insufficient protein in one’s diet can lead to a decrease in hair’s diameter, making hair less healthy and thick,” she said. The stylist warned against crash dieting as that could result in hair loss by impacting the hair’s growth cycle and causing a higher than normal number of hair follicles to shed their hair fibres. She advised: “If you want healthy hair and beautiful hair, eat healthy foods and include plenty protein.”
Tips to maintaining healthy hair:
• Get to know your hair structure and work with it to help avoid damaged hair.
• Infrequent conditioning can cause damage, so condition every time you wash your hair.
• Don’t wash your hair with hot water because if you do it will really dry off your scalp and your hair may fall out easily.
• If you do love dyeing your hair, try to do it every six months. If you do it too often, your hair will get really dry and damaged.
• Eat well, use lots of fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, sleep enough and try to stay away from stressful situations.
