Meredith

If humidity makes you want to hide under your bed, you are not alone! The biggest feat with humidity is CHANGES in humidity. Say, for example, you style your hair inside which may have a relativity low humidity level but then you step outside and your perfectly set hair balloons. 🎈🎈🎈Water molecules inside your hair provide needed moisture but they have weak chemical bonds. (Water allows your hair to try to reshape, swell, or shrink so it’s not all bad.) When you go into a place with a different humidity level the bonds break and water moves either into or out of the hair. One way to fight humidity and prevent water movement into and out of your hair is by applying a sealing oil after you have properly moisturized. Remember what you learned in school: water and oil do not mix! The right oil will seal the hair and provide a barrier so you can maintain consistent styling. (And a microscopic hair analysis can help you know which oils will work best for your hair 😉)

Swimming is good for the body and the soul. 💦😁💦Not always so great for your mane, though. 😩 Want to know why??? When chlorinated water gets into the hair strand it can cause damage and swelling of the cuticle layer. (The higher the chlorine level, the worse the damage.) A thin layer of moisturizing oil can be applied prior to entering the pool. This will minimize water absorption from the pool. While swimming 🏊, you could also wear a swim cap lined with oil. What tricks do you use to protect your locks from chlorine?

Did you know that not all alcohols are bad for your hair? Cetyl Alcohol is known as a “fatty alcohol” and is actually solid at room temperature. Because of its unique properties it keeps the water and oil in your products from separating, helps in product distribution, and helps soften hair. This is an alcohol that is totally safe in your products.

Hormones play a big role in determining when and how much hair we shed. So a lot of women get thicker, longer hair during pregnancy 🤰 because the amount of hair they shed decreases drastically. However, some women report thinning hair during pregnancy 🤷‍♀️ which just shows the unpredictably of hormones!

Did you know a strand of human hair has four main layers? The cuticle (outermost layer), the cortex (protein-rich layer), the medulla (innermost), and a cell membrane complex that glues the layers together. And you gotta take good care of every layer!

Your hair’s porosity is determined by your cuticle layer which is made up of “shingles” that overlap like a roof or pinecomb.  When the shingles are close together, evenly layered and flat your hair is considered “low porosity”.  When the cuticle is chipped, uneven, raised or missing your hair is considered “high porosity”.

 

Did you know that a single strand of hair can hold 3 ounces of weight? 💪 (Yes, that’s the same amount that TSA allows in your carry-on containers!) Strength in your hair comes from a protein called keratin. It’s the same protein that is found in our fingernails.