If the hair is not dyed, does it mean that it cannot be considered damaged? And vice versa, if the hair is dyed, is it necessarily damaged? Does hair heat protection make sense? How long does it take to keep the mask on the hair? Let's figure it out!
Hair consists of three building blocks: proteins (amino acids) - 78-80%, moisture - 15%, lipids - 5-7%. All 100% never happens, but the ratio of the elements in proportion must be maintained. When one thing becomes significantly less or more, the hair loses either volume, or elasticity, or shine. For example, if the moisture is less than 15%, the hair shaft becomes stiff and brittle.
The elements are interconnected by three types of bonds - disulfide, hydrogen, and ionic. We are mainly interested in disulfide ones. They keep amino acids in the structure of the chain, similar to DNA, that is, they are responsible for the integrity of the hair shaft. Although disulfide bonds are the strongest and most stable, they are damaged by high temperature, mechanical stress (tight tails), and especially chemical (dyeing, discoloration, permanent waving).
The natural pigment of the hair is embedded in the protein. So that another pigment could penetrate in its place - some kind of "Natural chestnut" - the alkaline components of the dye stretch the disulfide bonds. At this moment, they are damaged, and some are torn and destroyed permanently. At the end of the procedure, a special conditioner is applied to the hair, the environment becomes acidic, and the disulfide bonds are reduced back. But the hair is already injured. The fewer disulfide bridges remain, the more fragile the hair shaft becomes. You may have noticed that the ends of the dyed hair break off. This is the result of breaking the bonds between amino acids.
Blond dyeing damages the hair more, since lightening powders and pastes destroy not only disulfide bonds, but also directly the protein. The porosity of the hair increases significantly: it becomes like a sponge. They easily absorb moisture and absorb useful substances - and they give them away just as easily. Therefore, the restoration of bleached hair is an ongoing process.
Even single dyeing damages the hair structure seriously enough. There are no completely safe dyes - there are less traumatic ones.
It is logical to ask: if I do not dye my hair and do not dry it with a hairdryer, is there anything to restore? Yes. The heating season, ultraviolet rays, sea salt, and a host of environmental factors evaporate moisture from the hair. Tap water has an alkaline pH, and see above - disulfide bonds stretch, which means they are damaged over time.
Considering that hair is a dead structure that cannot regenerate on its own...Hair cannot regenerate like skin, that's true. But we can bring in the missing components from the outside. Restoring products and treatments are divided into three types.
Protein care compensates for the lack of amino acids. In the composition of care products, keratin, collagen, and again amino acids are usually declared.
Moisturizing treatment keeps moisture inside the hair shaft and nourishes it with lipids. In general, lipids and moisture play the role of a binding agents in the hair structure. They form the so-called complex of cell membranes, which holds the amino acids together and thus makes the hair soft and elastic. Moisturizing lines are suitable for everyone regardless of hair type. The main ingredients here are hyaluronic acid, lecithin, ceramides and phospholipids, oils, and extracts of oil plants.
More recently, hair care products have emerged that protect and strengthen disulfide bonds. They are used not only for hair dyeing: there are salon procedures for restoration and home care.
No, they will never return to their original condition. They can only be grown and cut, and in the process, you can maintain their appearance with the help of masks, leave-in products, and salon procedures.
It is impossible to cure damaged hair. Cosmetic repairs are best carried out by silicones. Hair loves them so much that they greedily absorb them and do not want to give them back. As a result, silicones can accumulate on the surface of the cuticle and lead to breakage. Because of this, some people avoid them, but the problem is exaggerated. First, modern silicones are completely washed off or volatilized. Secondly, if you do not overdo it with the dosage, even old-generation dimethicone will not cause much harm.
In general, whichever product you use, it matters how much you apply - two peas or half a palm. And how often you wash your hair. Do not read the instructions for hair products as if it is an immutable law. If the label says “apply the mask twice a week and apply for five minutes”, it is not a fact that this will be better specifically for your hair. You might think they are all the same. Someone with badly damaged hair should use the product every day and leave it on for 10 minutes. In other cases, you should follow the instructions on the package.
Optimally - three hair care products. Firstly, a shampoo that is matched to the needs of the scalp (itching, seborrhea, hair loss) or the needs of the hair (preservation of color, volume, shine). Secondly, wash-off care. If you wash your hair often (every 1-2 days), it is enough to use a balm or conditioner. If it is rare (once every 3-5 days), you need a mask: it works deeper. It is also desirable to have an indelible product - spray, lotion, milk.
A lot of women make the same mistake - they don't use leave-in care. Tap water has a hard pH, and when you rinse off the conditioner or mask, the hair cuticle is exposed. Hair is vulnerable - and then you start combing it, drying it with a hairdryer, pulling it out with a styler ... in general, damaging it.
The golden rule: after washing your hair, apply indelible care so that it closes the hair cuticle, then styling, which contains useful ingredients and additionally protects against moisture evaporation during styling.
Some people use natural oil as a leave-in treatment - for example, coconut oil from Thailand. But it should never be applied to wet hair before styling. You will get the effect of a frying pan: it will heat up, and it is easy to guess what the hair will be like. Natural oil - only dosed on dry (in every sense) ends. This does not apply to water-soluble synthesized oils. They can be applied before hot styling, but preferably after an acidic pH leave-in conditioner.
In fact, everything that covers the cuticle from the outside can be considered thermal protection. A mask or balm is your first thermal protection layer. The Leave-in conditioner is the second. Styling products with care properties - the third. The more layers, the better the buffer, which protects the hair from thermal and other influences. But these water sprays, the so-called thermal protection, work very conditionally.
Keratin does not straighten hair by itself. It is added to the composition to partially compensate for the damage from the procedure. According to the principle of action, it resembles a perm: it destroys disulfide bonds and then assembles them in a different order. This can be done by formaldehyde. Its permissible concentration in cosmetics as a preservative is 0.2%. When straightened, it is used as an active ingredient, and this is already 5-8%. After such compositions were banned in the EU countries and some others, the manufacturers have chosen a replacement for formaldehyde. Substances that are its closest relatives and work in a similar way, or release formaldehyde when heated. You must understand: without the use of aggressive components, you will not be able to straighten your hair.
The hair shaft should consist of 78-80% protein, and after the procedure, it can be 90-95%. The tips are usually porous so more keratin can penetrate during the procedure. They become so tough that they simply break off.
Hair lamination is a relatively gentle procedure. The catch is that the effect quickly fades away and you want to repeat it. This is not worth doing, because substances that firmly cling to the surface of the hair are exfoliated along with the cuticular layer. They will fall off like plaster and rip amino acids from the protein chain. Lamination, "hair Botox" can be done before graduation, birthday, but these are not procedures for regular use.
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