Did you know hair is weaker when its wet? It’s true. Water weakens the keratin (hair’s protein) causing the hair to be more fragile and prone to breakage.
Unfortunately, this is often when we’re roughest with our hair. Washing, scrubbing, towel drying, blow drying, hot tools, and the application of products all take their toll on our hair.
Thankfully, there are things you can do to protect your hair’s health in and out of the shower.
Washing – make sure you’re using a sulfate-free shampoo. Many of the cheaper shampoos contain sulfates which wreak havoc on our hair. Additionally, you should be gently massaging your scalp during each wash. This not only cleans hair effectively but stimulates blood flow to the follicles as well. Lastly, use luke-warm water when washing. Hot water damages the cuticle while cold damages the scalp. Luke-warm water is your best bet for healthy strands and follicles.
Conditioning – don’t skip it! Conditioner plays an important role in moisturizing your locks. If your hair isn’t moisturized your hair may overproduce oil causing buildup. No one wants that, so make sure to condition your hair after every wash.
Drying – vigorously rubbing our hair damages the fragile strands. Try gently patting dry instead. This will soak up any excess water. If blow-drying is a must that can’t be avoided, switch the heat setting to a warm or cool level. This will help to take the edge out of the harsh heat on your freshly washed hair.
Styling – use hot tools in moderation. Hot tools cause breakage. If you need to style your hair with hot tools, try applying a heat protecting serum first. Additionally, use a wide-tooth comb instead of fine brushes. Regarding styling and care products, always opt for organic. These products sit on our hair and scalp all day. Harsh chemicals cause build up and irritate the scalp.
Tag Archives: Damaged Hair
Sun Damaged Hair
Did you know the sun can damage your hair similar to how it can damage your skin? It’s true. Those pesky UVA and UVB rays harm the outside layer of the hair strand known as the cuticle. Symptoms of sun damaged hair include dry brittle strands, split ends, frizziness, thinning, and discoloration.
When the sun shines on our hair it acts similarly to bleach. Anyone who’s familiar with the hair dye process knows that dyes and bleaches lift up our cuticle and break up the proteins to change the color. The sun’s rays can similarly damage our hair’s cuticle and proteins.
Those most at risk for sun damaged hair are going to be those with fine, curly, and light colored hair. This is because this type of hair lacks natural barriers like thickness, oils, and pigment.
Important things to keep in mind: hot styling tools, chlorine, and artificially lightened hair will make your hair more prone to sun damage. These things damage the cuticle and proteins of your hair as well. Doubling up on them and the sun can mean trouble for your locks.
So… short of missing out on all the fun, how do we enjoy the sun but also protect our precious heads of hair? Luckily, we have options.
- Apply a hair product with SPF
- Many hair products now contain SPF. Try switching to a shampoo that contains SPF as well as a sun styling spray. These work similar to sun block.
- Avoid peak sun times
- The sun is harshest from 10am-2pm everyday. Avoiding the harsh rays during this time will protect your skin and hair.
- Wear a hat
- One of the simplest ways to protect your hair – cover it up!
- Rinse hair with plain water after going in the pool or ocean
- Don’t let the chlorine and salt sit on your strands. This can prolong the damaging effects.
Using the sauna to promote hair growth
Saunas offer many health benefits such as flushing toxins, boosting the immune system, and aiding in recovery post-work out. But did you know they can also stimulate and promote faster hair growth?
An additional benefit of saunas is that they increase blood flow to the skin. Increased blood flow to the skin also means to the hair follicles. Blood is known as a transporter, meaning it carries nutrients we need such as oxygen and minerals. When there is more blood flowing to our skin and hair providing the nutrients our bodies are craving, we see an increase in hair growth.
One downside saunas may have on our hair has to do with the heat. Extremely hot environments can cause our hair to lose moisture. This means the hair can feel brittle and dry and we can see an increase in breakage. If you are going to use to sauna regularly to stimulate hair growth, you will also want to make sure you’re taking care to retain your hair’s moisture.
To prevent damage to your hair as a result of loss of moisture, consider applying a deep conditioner prior to entering the sauna. The conditioner acts a barrier to the heat while also giving your hair a deep conditioning treatment. When you’re finished with your sauna session, simply rinse out the conditioner.
While saunas may be a great natural way to stimulate hair growth, they are not a miracle cure for hair loss. When we experience progressing or sustained hair loss, our follicles actually die off. Unfortunately, there is not yet a cure to revive dead follicles. When our hair loss gets to this more advanced stage, our options turn to surgical and nonsurgical methods of hair restoration, such as PRP therapy and laser therapy.
If you are experiencing hair loss and would like to learn more about the surgical and nonsurgical options available to you, give us a call. We have over ten years of experience in advanced hair restoration techniques.
PRP – Who benefits from it?
Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP Therapy has been gaining popularity recently. For those who are unfamiliar with the therapy, Platelet Rich Plasma is derived from your own blood. This plasma contains growth factors and healing agents. Using a small amount of blood, the doctor separates the platelets and activates them. These platelets are then injected into the scalp and get to work decreasing inflammation and promoting healing and hair growth.
We know PRP is an effective treatment for hair loss, but who is it most effective on? The great thing about PRP Therapy is that it is effective on both men and women. Unlike certain prescription medications that are reserved only for men, PRP does not discriminate. We have seen amazing results on both our male and female patients. PRP also works on people of all ages. Some of you may have seen Dr. Yazdan on the Doctors TV show performing PRP on an eight year old patient with trauma scarring.
While PRP Therapy can be used in conjunction with hair transplant surgery, it is also a great solo tool for those who may not be ideal surgery candidates. You are an ideal PRP candidate if you are experiencing ANY thinning or hair loss, even if just a small amount. PRP decreases inflammation around thinning hair follicles which leads to thicker and denser hair. In addition, it prevents the dying off of follicles, which means PRP can actually save your hair and stop hair loss in its tracks, thus making it an ideal treatment for anyone who is just beginning to notice hair loss and thinning.
So, what can you expect after starting your PRP Therapy at Modena Hair Institute? Results begin to be visible after about three weeks and gradually increase over the following months. Dr. Yazdan recommends patients do at least four sessions to see desirable results. You can also increase results at home by utilizing dermal rolling.
Dr. Yazdan believes the best defense in fighting hair loss is preventing it. So start fighting back against your hair loss and give us a call, today!
Does hair coloring damage men’s hair?
Hair dying is extremely popular among both men and women. In fact, the Huffington Post states “it drives the beauty industry.” But what is hair dye really doing to our hair?
In order for hair dye to effectively color your hair, ammonia is used to lift up the hair’s cuticle (the protective covering around your hair’s shaft). Peroxide is then used to destroy the current color of the hair. This is when the damage begins. You’ve lost your protective covering and harmed the hair. Then the dye is placed. Once it’s been placed your hair begins absorbing it and the cuticle seals again.
But for most people, the damage has been done. The longer the cuticle is lifted the more dried out the hair becomes. The peroxide actually strips your hair of its nutrients. When someone has hair that feels brittle and straw like, it is often the result of a bad dye job. Not as common, but still a situation that happens to some individuals who dye their hair, is hair thinning and hair loss. This can occur when the chemicals come in contact with the scalp and cause a reaction.
So what is the solution? If you are concerned about your hair and are sensitive to treatments and dyes, it may be best to avoid hair coloring all together. For those who don’t want to give up hair coloring just yet, there are some things you can do to ensure the health of your hair through the hair coloring process. Many salons now offer options to add protein treatments to the hair coloring process. These proteins (often keratin) work to add nutrients back into the hair while the cuticle is open. This reduces the amount of harm hair coloring can have and can leave your hair feeling nourished, soft, and shiny.
It is important to take care of and protect our hair to the best of our ability. Dr. Yazdan believes the best way to treat hair loss is to prevent it. The things you do now to take care of your hair will influence your future hair’s health and appearance.
