Lifestyle Choices

When Hair is too Fragile

You need to stop any processing you have been doing to it (such as coloring with permanent tints or permanent waving) for several weeks and go on to a pH-balanced protein shampoo plus a protein conditioner. You can use a heavy protein pack on the hair for twenty minutes twice a week. This will close the imbrications of the cuticle and help heal whatever damage you have done to the cortex, which is the cause of fragility. You should have split ends cut off and steer clear of very hot blow drying, overbrushing, and heated rollers. Wear your hair in a simple, easyto-care-for style until it has responded to the treatment and healthy hair is showing at the roots (usually about three months). Then you can consider having a gentle permanent (but it should be professionally done). Stay out of the sun.

If Your Hair is Dull, What are the Remedies?

This depends on the cause. Some hair has become dull as a result of pigment changes associated with age or illness. Some is dull because of raised cells in the cuticle, which poorly reflect light. Usually dull hair is dry hair, so much of the problem and advice for dryness goes for you, too. If the dullness is a color problem, it is best to seek professional advice, since correcting it is usually easy, provided you know how. The hot oil treatment can help dull hair, as can an intense protein treatment every two weeks.

Are Split Ends Inevitable?

Yes, everybody has them to some extent although on a normal head of hair they are few and far between and so go unnoticed. Split ends in large numbers are almost always the result of poor hair care such as blow drying with too hot a setting, sun damage, washing with a highly alkaline shampoo, too much brushing with a sharp-bristled brush, or overprocessing. If you have split ends, you are probably doing some of the wrong things to your hair. Don’t wash your hair more than once or twice a week, keep it away from heat and sunlight, don’t tease it or brush it with nylon bristles, and avoid chlorinated swimming pools. Have the ends cut.

When Hair Turns Gray

Gray hair is the result of loss of or changes in the melanin granules in the cortex. This can be the result of age—when the body is gradually losing its ability to produce melanin from enzymes and proteins—pernicious anemia, a vitamin or mineral deficiency (see section on nutrition), a thyroid condition, or prolonged stress. Sometimes graying hair can be halted or restored to its natural color by giving supplements of PABA, biotin, and pantothenic acid plus the other B-complex vitamins and zinc.

When hair turns gray, there are several things you can do for it. You can use a semipermanent rinse or highlighting shampoo to cover graying, provided no more than 30 percent of your hair is affected. You can have your hair tinted with an aniline dye, in which case you will want to opt for a color two or three shades lighter than was your original color, because as the hair ages and loses pigment, so does the skin. Too dark a tint will make it look artificial. Or you can leave it gray, and should you have any yellowing in it, simply treat it with a blue rinse to tone it down and turn it silvery. The natural beautiful silvery quality that some gray hair has depends on how the light hits it and on the condition of the cuticle. If your hair is not in the best of condition, put it through a series of protein treatments to improve the way the scales of the cuticle lie. If it seems coarser, it is probably the result of its being drier than it used to be. Use a hot oil treatment on it.

 

Two Kinds of Dandruff

Simple dandruff, which affects 60 percent of the population, is nothing more than a dry flaking of the scalp. A form of hyperkeratinization, it is the result of the scalp’s most superficial layer of cells drying out too fast as they move up from the reproductive layer to the skin’s surface. When they finally get there, they are so desiccated that they are rapidly shed, creating the flakes of skin we call dandruff. In most cases, the presence of dandruff indicates too little brushing (which will remove the offending flakes before they fall, unwanted, on their own); poor circulation of the scalp, which can be improved by daily massage; or the use of too many alkaline products, which have irritated the scalp and encouraged it to scale. If your scalp is dry, use a mild dandruff shampoo once a week to keep it under control—one containing zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide, which will remove the scales. Brush your hair well every day with a natural-bristle brush, and use pH-balanced products to condition hair and for “in between” washes.

If your dandruff is the other variety, which is far rarer, it will look like thick, rather greasy or crusty scales on your scalp. It is the result of the same hyperkeratinization but with the added ingredient of scalp irritation caused by a large amount of excess sebum. In the long run, the zinc pyrithione shampoos tend only to exacerbate the oily type of dandruff, by encouraging the head to become even oilier. Shampoos containing coal tars or selenium sulfide are usually better for this. Sulfur tends to quell the oil-producing effect of the glands, while it helps remove and eliminate the scales. Regular brushing and massage are important here, too. Sometimes dandruff can be the result of microorganisms, allergens, hormonal imbalances, and diet deficiencies, so if self- treatment doesn’t clear up the condition, it is a good idea to see your doctor about it. Dandruff shampoos are useful only in bringing the condition under control. If you use them every time you wash your hair, you can make matters worse. Sometimes it is helpful to own three different dandruff shampoos and alternate them, using a regular shampoo after each application of dandruff shampoo.

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