Preventing Hair Damage

Preventing hair damage before it starts!

Hey, my beauties! Ever wondered why your hair sometimes feels like it’s been through a battle? Well, guess what? It probably has! In this article, I’m diving into the wild world of hair care—because your locks deserve some serious love!

HEAT DAMAGE
First up, let’s talk about the Heat and what it does to your hair!

We all love that sleek, shiny look that comes from our trusty hot tools, but did you know that heat can be one of the biggest culprits in damaging your hair?"

While human hair can technically "melt" at high temperatures, it is not the same as melting in the traditional sense. When a substance melts, it undergoes a physical change from a solid to a liquid, such as ice turning into water. When hair is exposed to high temperatures, it does not turn into a liquid. When exposed to high temperatures, it undergoes a process called thermal degradation, and this ultimately causes hair to "melt". When discussing "melting" in regards to human hair, we are actually referring to "thermal damage".

I was shocked to hear, as a hair stylist, that hair begins to thermal degradation at temperatures as low as 392 degrees Fahrenheit!! Many hair tools don’t even have a digital temp gauge, only Low – Med- High settings….. and I can guarantee you that the High setting is probably at least 450 degrees!

It’s like cooking your hair on a high flame! Sure, it looks fabulous in the short term, but over time, those strands get crispy. And crispy hair is not cute.

So, what’s the fix?
Always, and I mean ALWAYS, use a heat protectant spray before going near any hot tools. Think of it as sunscreen for your hair!

HEAT PROTECTANTS
First pick, for everyone, would be Pureology 21 Benefits. It’s a leave in spray that is light weight and works on all hair types. Used on wet hair, it does all the things including protecting your hair from the heat of the blow dry.

2nd Pick, for people that I style curly, or if they are battling frizz is the Brazilian Blowout smoothing serum. IT detangles, adds shine, smooths out the crazy and protects against heat and environmental damage.
In addition to one of these, If you’re a hot tools type, I would suggest Bumble and Bumble Heat Shield Thermal Protection Hair Mist. This is sprayed onto DRY hair to protect your hair from heat as high as 450 degrees – but lets not push it! LOL

PRODUCT BUILD UP
Now, let’s chat about product overload. We’ve all been there—buying every new product that promises a miracle. But too much of a good thing can turn into a hair disaster.

Before I became a professional hair stylist, I would buy whatever was least expensive and that I could get easily at the drug store or grocery store. Save time, save money!

Even as a new hair dresser, I didn’t buy into the story that professional products were better than those in the drug store. But after being in the business for a while, I started looking into things more and realized that there really is a difference.

Many drug store products, because they are made with lesser quality ingredients, can build up on the hair. Some of them actually coat the hair, giving it shine and smoothness at first, but then damage down the road.

In the most simplest terms, What happens is that the build up of the lesser quality ingredients end up “choking the hair out” and not allowing moisture or anything good, for that matter, to get in. Unless you get that build up off, even the most expensive hair mask is not going to penetrate! The build up ends up causing your hair to get tangly, dry and brittle, which then can cause breakage.

I’m a minimalist when it comes to hair products, with maybe an exception with curly girls, because they all require their own unique cocktail! The trick is to find a few key products that work for you and stick with them. Less is more, my friends!

I know that professional products can be more expensive, but they are also concentrated so you use much less! Taking that into consideration and the benefit of healthier hair, it kind of makes sense.

However, I’m all for equal opportunity, if you just can’t do professional products for whatever reason, and you’re drug store products will continue to grace the counter of your bathroom’, then at the very least, use a good clarifying shampoo about every 3rd-4th wash. This will help keep the build up at a minimum, and also helps with the crazy minerals we have in our water here on the Peninsula, which brings me to my next subject! Malibu C offers a great Clarifying Shampoo that I recommend!

HARD WATER MINERAL BUILD UP
Last but definitely not least, let’s talk about well water, and the water in this area in general! Note that I live on a scenic peninsula in the Puget Sound of WA state. If you’re living the country dream, that well water might be doing a number on your hair as well.

The first few years of doing hair in this area, my daughter and I had no idea why our beautiful blondes would come back 6-8 weeks later with brassy dingee hair, but after I had a kidney stone,  and the doctor told me that they were common in this area because of the heavy minerals in our water, a light bulb went off and we started looking into that a bit more.

Our water here, and most Well water is often rich in minerals like calcium and magnesium, which can build up on your hair, leaving it dry, brittle, and harder to manage. There is that word BUILD UP AGAIN!
So even if you are using professional products, you may be in the same boat as those using drug store products!

So here are a couple of fixes, and actually could all be used together for the best results!

#1 A good clarifying shampoo once a week (or every 3rd to 4th shampoo)

#2 Filter for your shower head to help stop the minerals in their tracks

#3 Or, if you want to go all out, you can install a filtering system on your entire water system of your home.

You can also request having a mineral detox treatment when you visit your hair stylist to help. We have professional treatments that send minerals running back where they came from! It only takes a few minutes extra at your appointment, so be sure and ask about it!

So there you have it—your hair is a warrior, battling heat, the environment, product overload, and well water every day. But with a little love and care, you can keep it looking fabulous!

As always, take care of yourself, because you deserve it!

*Mickey

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