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Posts Tagged ‘hair shaft’

Is There A Safe Blow Dry Temperature?

June 29th, 2010

The FLHC

Daffodil asks…Based on one of your descriptions of heat damage, I am wondering if cool air will also do any damage by shocking the cuticle dry too quickly, and removing natural moisture. I thought cool air would be completely safe, now I’m not quite sure.

The Left Brain responds:

While it seems logical that cool air would be completely safe for your hair you have to understand that the problem is not just the temperature of the air used to dry your hair. It’s also the fact that you cycling your hair through wet and dry conditions.

Dry damaged

When hair is saturated with water the cortex (the inner protein bundles that give hair its strength) swells up. The outer protective layer of your hair, the cuticle, is not as “stretchy” as the cortex so it doesn’t swell as much. Therefore, as the inner part of the hair shaft swells it pushes the layers of cuticles outward and causes them to lift up. Then, as the hair dries, the inner part shrinks again but the cuticle doesn’t contract as much. That’s how cycling between wet and dry hair damages the cuticle. More rapid drying (i.e., hotter temperatures) stresses the cuticles even further but even cool blow drying can contribute to damage.

What do YOU think? Do you have any tricks for drying your hair with the least damage? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

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Posted in Beauty

Tags: air, beauty brains, Blow, cuticle, Daffodil, dry hair, hair, hair shaft, heat damage, left brain, natural moisture, safe, temperature, There

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Unwanted Hair? Try Licorice!

May 10th, 2010

The FLHC

Vdot wants to know…The Epilar System claims to be a topical product that, when used in a series of 8-12 treatments spaced 5-6 weeks apart, can inhibit hair regrowth. Looking at the ingredients, I think the jury is still out on whether Trypsin (it’s an enzyme, right?) is a hair growth inhibitor. Thoughts on the ingredient combo here, and is it junk or worth a try for those of us who have to keep up with our girl ’staches weekly?

The Right Brain responds:

We have an answer for you Vdot, sort of. While we haven’t had a chance to research Trypsin as a hair growth inhibitor we did just come across an article describing the discovery that licorice extract can effectively inhibit hair growth.

Hair growth inhibitor

According to the Dermatology Times, a study conducted at University Hospital, J. W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany has shown that an active compound extracted from licorice (glycyrrhizic acid) stopping hair growth in rats. Do you girls realize what this means??? That’s right, the garbage dumps and sewers in large urban areas will soon be over run by bald rats! And then they’ll need some sort of Mouse Minoxidil to counteract their rodential smoothness. And, oh yeah, it might also mean that Vdot can stop shaving her “girl ’stache.”

All kidding aside, this discovery could be a breakthrough in controlling unwanted hair. The researchers found that after only three days of treatment the rats showed some reduction in hair growth and after a week or two their skin was almost as smooth as a baby’s butt. Better still, there was no sign of skin irritation or other side effects that hair removal/growth inhibiting products can cause. The scientists theorize that licorice extract works by causing the hair shaft to detach from the follicular wall. Only time will tell if this discovery is better than the Epilar system. In the meantime, watch out for those hairless rats!

How do YOU deal with unwanted hair? Leave a comment and share your tricks and tips with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

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Posted in Beauty

Tags: Frankfurt, garbage dumps, Germany, glycyrrhizic acid, goethe university, growth, hair, hair growth inhibitor, hair shaft, hairless rats, hospital, j w goethe, J. W., Licorice, Unwanted, Vdot

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Does Infusium Weaken Hair?

March 7th, 2010

The FLHC

Berlina beckons…I had recently been using Infusium leave in treatment on my hair and it had been working fabulously. But, my little brother managed to spill the entire bottle on my floor. After thinking of buying another bottle, I bought a replacement conditioner for the time being for the rest of the week. I was wondering what it is in Infusium that works so well with my hair? I heard that it may cause your hair to weaken. Is this true?

The Right Brain Responds:
Infusium 23 has been around for many, many years (although now it’s owned by P&G) and it’s a very nice leave-in formula. What’s in it that makes it work so well? Let’s take a look at the ingredient list:

Water, Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11, Citric Acid, Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Tricontanyl PVP, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Threonine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG-8, Polysorbate 80, Amino Methylpropanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone

If we strip this list down to the basic, functional ingredients it looks like this:

Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11

Infusium action

Of these ingredients, two are really doing most of the work: amodimethicone (which is a water soluble silicone dispersion) and cetrimonium chloride (a very simple but very effective quaternary ammonium compound which sticks to damaged areas of the hair.)

Does it weaken hair? No. All conditioners work by smoothing the cuticle and lubricating the hair shaft to protect hair from damage. Infusium does that very nicely without weakening the hair.

The Beauty Brains bottom line:

If you like leave-in conditioners, you’ll probably like Infusium 23. Make your brother buy you a new bottle and don’t worry about weakening your hair.

How do YOU like to conditioner your hair? Leave in? Rinse out? Leave a comment and share your conditioning tips with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

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Posted in Beauty

Tags: acid, beauty brains, functional ingredients, hair, hair shaft, hydrogenated castor oil, Infusium, methylchloroisothiazolinone, quaternary ammonium compound, sodium pca, Weaken

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How Do Volumizing Treatments Work?

February 17th, 2010

The FLHC

Chrissy’s quote…After years of limp hair, I am seeking a hair routine that actually works. How do volumizing treatments work? What ingredients should I look for in a product like shampoo?

The Right Brain’s regrettable response:

Chrissy, allow us to put this delicately: Remember when your parents told you about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? And you thought that was SO AWESOME? And then you found out that they weren’t real, that they were just a made up fantasy? Remember that?

Turn down the volume

Well, volumizing shampoos and conditioners are kind of like that. There is no real ingredient technology that can volumize hair from a shampoo or a conditioner. At best, a shampoo or conditioner can help volumize hair a little bit by NOT weighing it down. That’s because some shampoos, and all conditioners, work by leaving a residue on hair. That’s great if you need conditioning, but this residue can weigh hair down and rob it of volume and body. “Volumizing” products are designed to leave less stuff on your hair so you keep more of the volume you have. Make sense?

Oh, it’s also possible that you could say shampoos volumize because they’re getting dirt and oil off your hair that is weighing it down. So if that’s all the volume you want, any clarifying shampoo will do that.

Pump it up

If you really need to ADD volume, your options are limited. You probably already know that mousses, gels, etc help you get the volume you want in your style and hairsprays and spritzs help lock in volume. But you might not know that coloring your hair is a good way to add volume too because the coloring process damages the hair shaft and causes it to swell. Many women comment that their hair feels fuller after they have it colored. It’s not a great solution because it is damaging, but you might like the end results.