Is Hard Water Bad For Your Hair?

WHAT IS HARD WATER?

This is a term to describe water with a high mineral content. This includes minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium, these minerals can be bad for your hair and skin leading to dryness and irritation. Think of that horrible white limescale that builds up in the shower, if you have bad limescale you most probably live in a hard water area.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOUR HAIR?

The harder the water area the more shampoo you will need to wash your hair. Shampooing opens up the cuticle making the scales on each hair stand up. Washing your hair in hard water can make your hair more tangled than rough than it should be. The soap becomes less effective due to the high mineral contents left on your hair. Conditioner will help close down the cuticles but your hair could feel limp or feel like you have a coating on your hair. Hard water also prevents moisture from entering your hair leading to tangled, dull and limp hair and cause breakage or dandruff. It can also cause your hair colour to fade faster or alter the shade of your hair.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT HARD WATER?

The most effective way is to get a shower filter to make the water soft. This will remove the Calcium, Magnesium and impurity's from the water. This is a cheaper option than getting a water system for the whole home.

DIY METHODS YOU COULD TRY TO REMOVE OR REDUCE HARD WATER

•  A vinegar rinse is a traditional method thought to give your hair more bounce and body to limp hair. It is recommended that you rinse off after use. This seems to slightly defeat the point as you do a final rinse in hard water , this would still/could leave a film on your hair. Also the pH levels would be different for each person depending on how much vinegar to water you use as a rinse.
•  Bottled spring water is another option but could be an expensive one particularly if you have very long hair.
• Using a swimmers shampoo or clarifying shampoo could be worth a go before you invest in a shower or water filter. The only downside is that using these shampoos regularly can be a little drying. 

Hair and Protein sensitivity?

Its a fact your hair is 91 percent protein! So how could you have a sensitivity to it? Good question.


ITS THE TYPE OF PROTEIN YOU USE 

If you think about protein in terms of food some people love chicken and find it a great source of easily digestible protein to help build and repair your body. Now if beans are also protein but can give undesirable side affects to other folks. This is the same with protein with your hair some hair just likes other sources of protein to others.

Adding the right protein to your hair will improve your hair ability to hold on to moisture. Some hair is more porous than other hair types. Protein helps trap moisture into the hair shaft. All lot of hair products contain hydrolyzed wheat protein as this increases the hair's ability to retain moisture , improves smoothness and reduces the hairs porosity.


SIDE AFFECTS OF PROTEIN ON THE HAIR

• Your hair feels lank and waxy.
• Hair feels straw like
• Brakes off easily when you detangle
• Dry hair
• The ends feel crunchy and dry.

ITS ABOUT HOW POROUS YOUR HAIR IS 

If your hair as low porosity it means that your hair cuticles are resistant to opening up to moisture and water. If the product just sits on top of your hair it means that the moisture has escaped and has not been sealed in. You can help this problem by avoiding products that are heavily oil based and applying products to damp hair to increase the chance of trapping in moisture. This could be why some oil products such coconut oil could not work for some people as the hair can have a lot of build up and can make the hair crunchy, or brake off due to lack of moisture in the hair cuticle. Washing your hair with a good clarifying shampoo will help open up the cuticle to then seal in as much moisture as possible.


So if your hair is made up of 91 percent protein it is just finding the right one for your hair, If your hair does not get on with certain proteins oils can help with the problem too. For example fine hair needs less protein than course hair it is finding the right products for you.

5 Quick Tips To Grow Your Hair Long

Ever wondered what it takes to grow super long hair besides patience? Read on for my 5 top tips and tricks.


GET A TRIM 

1. Yes I am afraid you will have to get a trim to rid yourself of split ends to stop your hair splitting up the hair shaft. Once your hair is cut you can get a micro trim ( just the very ends dusted) when needed. If your hair is in good condition you don't need to trim every 4-8 weeks. Cutting your hair every month is counter productive as you are cutting your growth . Hair grows on average 0.5 inches A month. I can trim my hair twice a year. 


PATIENCE IS THE KEY TO LONG HAIR

2. As your hair grows 0.5 inches a month that's 6 inches a year (or 15cm). It can take years to get long locks. Get busy and you will soon forget about wishing for long hair. you will reach your goal before you know it. 

CUT OUT THE BLEACH AND HEAT

3. Yes I am sorry but super long hair will be faster achieved if you can cut out the hair dye and heat styling. Avoiding chemical treatments and high heat on your hair will help prevent breakage and split ends. Try to use your hairdryer less and let your hair air dry once in A while

EAT YOUR GREENS

4. A good diet is not only key to A healthy body but also your hair. If your diet is lacking your hair will be the last place to get the nutrients. A balanced diet in vegetables, fruit, fats, proteins  and whole grains is A great start.

CONDITION AND OIL

5. Moisture is your best friend. Invest in A good conditioner and oil. You don't have to spend a fortune I love brands from the drug stores. Using oil on the mid lengths to ends will really help with sealing in the moisture helping to prevent spit ends, I find using oil on damp hair gives great results.

Wearing  A Beanie is A great way to Cover up roots if you want to stop the bleach to grow long hair.

What Make's Dandruff Shampoo Work?

Dandruff is a condition that affects a lots of people and there are a lot of choices out there to help clear up the problem but have you ever wondered what makes your anti dandruff shampoo work?




Pumpkin seeds contain Zinc

ITS THE ZINC IN YOUR SHAMPOO

 

Our scalps are constantly renews its skin cells so the old cells die and flake away. When you suffer from dandruff it takes days rather than months for your skin to shed. The faster rate of shedding skin cells is what causes these annoying white flakes.

 

 

 

Dandruff is a type fungus only found on the scalp everyone has this and it is a yeast called pityrosporum ovale. 

 

Zinc Pyrithione is the active ingredient in your your anti dandruff shampoo, this inhibits the fungal cells from dividing and causing you a flaky scalp. Zinc Pyrithione soothes the scalp helping slow down the fast turnover of cells.

 

 

 

IS YOUR DIET CAUSING YOU DANDRUFF?

 

Could be that you have a Zinc deficiency. As Zinc Pyrithione is the active ingredient in anti dandruff shampoo it will only soothe the scalp. If you suffer from a Zinc deficiency. 

 

Foods rich in Zinc are in Pork, Beef and Poultry ,chickpeas and peanuts to name a few. A healthy diet will promote a healthy scalp. If considering Zinc vitamins always consult your Doctor first.

 

 

 

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

 

Your scalp could also be irritated by products that you use on your scalp from hairsprays to essential oils. Stress and yeast infections can also contribute to dandruff problems. If you are worried its best to contact your doctor. 

 

 

 

OTHER ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

Zinc Pyrithione is not only the active ingredient found in products, they work in the same way by slowing down the shedding skin cells;

• Coal Tar- shampoos with a coal tar base
• Selenium sulfide shampoos- this can discolour bleached blond or coloured hair
• Salicylic acid- this can cause a dry scalp and possibly make your dandruff worse.

 

 

Citric Acid for Hair?

So admit it we have all tried it right, wanting your hair colour A little lighter in the Summer by adding some pure lemon juice in our hair.





This is how I like to use my Lemon!

Pure Lemon juice (Citric Acid ) will dry out your hair as it opens up the hair cuticle and can leach any minerals out of your hair leading to breakage stripping out moisture and changing your natural hair colour . This works by the acid in the lemons and the UV rays and acid oxidation.

But Citric Acid isn't all bad it does have some purpose too. Citric acid is used in shampoos to bring the pH levels down in shampoo and helps remove soap scum . This helps to the hair follicles lay flat giving your hair a smooth and shiny appearance. Citric acid also hinders bacterial growth in your favorite shampoo.

• So the pH levels of Lemon and your hair and shampoo and water are;

• pH levels are as follows 7 being neutral. Any number before 7 is Alkaline and any number before 7 is an Acid.

• Shampoo pH of 5.5


• Lemon (Citric acid) pH of 2


• Hair and skin as a pH level between 4.5 and 5.5


• Water pH level of  7

Mixing lemon juice in water will bring the pH balance down but this depends on how much water to lemon juice is used.

So to conclude should you use Lemon in your hair as a rinse? This is up to you but I would water it down a lot. Citric acid is used in shampoos and will give the the same results / similar results as a Lemon or Vinegar rinse helping the cuticles lie flat. But the shampoos have been tried and tested. As for putting on pure Lemon juice to lighten hair is a risk I would not want to take.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate how much so you use?

So what is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate? 

(SLS), SLS is an inexpensive chemcical added to shampoo and cosmetics to generate lots of bubbles and lather. This a cheap chemical is also found in your toothpaste, engine degreasers and house hold cleaning products. But does this mean that this product is bad?

SlS is a surfactant which means that it is a cleaner that sticks to a surface and cleans it. The molcules in SLS are hydrophilc (loves water) and hydropobic (hates water). This two forces work together, this is why it makes it such a good degreaser, as these two forces the water hating (hydrophilc) and water loving (hydropobic  plus the act of washing your hair loosens the dirt and grease and gets suspended it in water, which rinses out down your drain. 


But have you thought about this? Could you be washing your hair too much? SLS is  good at removing dirt and grease. The shampoo adds will always encourage you to wash your hair daily. Have you read on the back of shampoos most bottles say suitable for frequent use. But have you questioned what is frequent use to the individual consumer? Some people will wash their hair every day, some once a week or some people every other day (such as myself). So could your reaction to SLS just be that you are washing your hair too much?


So how much SLS is in your shampoo? it could be as much as 15% , this is depending on different brands and different laws and guidelines. Does this 15% pose a risk to your skin ?  Firstly the concentration of of SLS is a lot less than what would be in floor cleaner. This product will irritate your eyes and skin and some people will have a genuine reaction to SLS, this could be due SLS's high alkalinity and to foam heavily. Foam is not needed at all to clean your hair it just is makes the product more appealing. 

Traction Alopecia

Traction Alopecia is a condition that causes hair loss this is caused by excessive pulling and tension on the hair and scalp. If the problem is not addressed it can lead to irreversible hair loss.

This is a preventable condition if you look after your hair and scalp properly and follow these tips;

• Avoid: Wearing very tight hair styles such as ponytails , cornrows and tight braids can cause damage over time by the constant tension  and tugging that is put on the hair and scalp. If it feels too tight or uncomfortable this could lead  the development Traction Alopeica.

• Avoid using hair extensions, this leads to pulling of the hair due to the weight of the extensions, These extensions if applied with glue are removed with acetone!  This not only will damage your hair but can also damage the follicle .

• Avoid regularly colouring your hair, the reason being that the chemicals used will dry out your hair leaving it dry and brittle and prone to breakage. For example if you were to bleach your hair and add in extensions with glue your hair and scalp will have more stress put upon it, this could lead to unwanted bald spots on your scalp.

The best thing for your hair and scalp is to just learn to love your hair as it is. This will give your hair a chance to recover and repair itself. So no bleaching , use of heat tools or extensions are needed. The less you do to your hair the longer your hair will be in the end ,and the less chance of permanent hair loss.