Hair structural defects can be caused by a variety of reasons but mostly it’s due to some sort of assault to the hair shaft by chemical or mechanical damage. This means that the colour that you apply and the styling methods that you use degrade the structure of your hair leading to structural damage. Structural damage to the hair shaft is when the cuticle of the hair is damaged. The outermost layer of the hair is the cuticle and this sits like fish scales. If the cuticle doesn’t lay flat your hair won’t shine and your colour will fade. If this condition is then left untreated the hair will eventually break off at the fracture.
What can you do to preserve the cuticle of the hair? The first thing to understand is that the surface of the hair structure is regulated by ph. An example of this is shampoo is more alkaline lifting the cuticle to cleanse and conditioner is acidic to close the cuticle flat again. If you are not using conditioner your cuticle won’t close leaving your hair susceptible to damage from snags and tears. Plus you will experience excess colour fade. Another example is certain products such as dandruff shampoos and heavy cleaning supermarket shampoos may have a higher alkalinity leading to cuticle degradation.
When you colour your hair permanently the ammonia (or ammonia substitute) lifts open the cuticle to deposit colour. Semi permanent colour only pushes the colour into the gaps between the scales of the hair. Once the cuticle is opened by hair colour it never quite closes down again. This is why colour fades, the colour molecules slip out in between the cracks in the cuticle. An interesting fact is that black and darker colour have larger molecules and red is a tiny colour molecule, this is why red fades so quickly and you can never get black out. Solutions for colour fade is to seal over the cuticle, replace the lost molecules with a coloured conditioner or book for a colour refreshing service between colours. Make sure that your stylist protects your hair whilst colouring and takes care of the condition of your strands for manageable hair and colour durability..
Mechanical hair styling is defined by using any sort of heat too to l change the shape of your hair whilst drying. Our hair is made up of many cross linking bonds which help with structure and strength. Hydrogen bonds are broken when the hair is wet. Once the hair is dry these hydrogen bonds rejoin in whatever shape the hair has been manipulated into. Dry hair still has an element of water, this is how straightening irons and curling wands work. They dry out that invisible water in the hair to rejoin the hydrogen bonds in different places. When the hair is dehydrated the structure of the hair changes and it develops a dry touch and frizzy appearance.
I recommend ghd heat styling tools as their thermostat is so sophisticated it keeps the temperature to 185 degrees consistently. This is the perfect temperature. Anything hotter will burn the hair and anything cooler and the hair style won’t last. Another important hair condition to discover is Bubble Hair. This is when the hair suffers from air pockets internally cause by bad styling habits which creates a weakness in the stran and this will lead to breakage further down the track.
Keeping the ends of your hair regularly trimmed will also be enormously effective because as you can imagine general wear and tear on your hair will also degrade the cuticle. Think about it, the ends of your hair have been hanging around for quite some time and the ends if not trimmed will form Trichoptilosis, the formal name for split ends. Plus a great shape cut into your hair helps to reduce styling effort.
Taking care of the external structure of your hair is extremely important as for most of the time it’s the choices we make that affect the appearance of the hair. There are some genetic causes of hair fibre defects but this is another blog all together. Having a good relationship with a professional hairdresser will make all of the difference. They will guide you through your hair journey helping you to make the best decisions in regard to colour processing and styling techniques.
A professional stylist will be able to guide you through your home maintenance routine making sure that you address all of your hair issues correctly. This will improve the condition of your hair structure leading to healthy, shiny, strong hair that is a dream to manage.
Book a 15 minute online consultation with Emma Bayly Trichchologist WTS to discuss you hair and scalp care needs. The fee will be redeemable with any online purchase from salonapothecary.com.au.