new thread
MLHH's friends.
I haven't post in a while, I have been extremely busy, but still growing my hair :) I have good days and bad days, now I get what a bad-hair-day means ;). Will post pictures later.
I found a link when checking my mail account. I read it and found it interesting, I'm posting the info for everyone to read. I titled HAIR 101
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8 Hair Mistakes You May Be Making
Find out if you're guilty, then rinse, repeat -- and repent
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Always Fastening Your Ponytail in the Same Spot
Because strands tend to get caught — and broken — in bands, it's a good idea to alternate the fastening point. "Move it up a half inch one day, then down the next," says celebrity stylist Richard Marin. Using seamless elastic bands, like Goody Ouchless Elastics, will further minimize damage.
Combing Wet Hair from Roots to Ends
A comb is easier on fragile wet hair than a brush is, but tugging it from scalp to tips can cause breakage. First, smooth out knots with a leave-in detangler. Then, says Marin, start to comb at ends, working up in sections.
Brushing Your Hair for Shine
All you need is a few strokes to style hair and spread the natural oils from roots to ends. "Anything more than that is unnecessary friction, which can lead to breakage," says Amy J. McMichael, M.D., an associate professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Blow-Drying Hair That's Dripping Wet
Not only will this make it difficult to style your hair, it will cause a ton of heat damage. "A blow dryer should be used on damp — not wet — hair for 20 minutes, tops," says stylist Peter Coppola, creator of a QVC hair-care line. Before applying heat, wrap hair in a towel for five minutes, then let hair air-dry for another five.
Ignoring Your Scalp
To grow healthy hair, your scalp needs nourishment. "Massaging your head with your fingertips will stimulate blood flow," says Christopher Mackin, a trichologist (hair expert) at the Gil Ferrer Salon, in New York City. For extra care, use a leave-in scalp treatment.
Using the Wrong Brush
The incorrect brush can not only ruin your style, it can get snagged in your hair. Generally, the longer your locks, the larger in diameter your brush should be (basically, more hair, more brush). To create volume, use a round brush; to smooth hair, a paddle shape is best.
Avoiding Hair Spray
It's gotten a bad rap, but hair spray contains a polymer that actually locks out humidity, says Cheri McMaster, senior scientist for Pantene. And contrary to popular belief, it's not harmful. "It's the polymer, not the alcohol, that dries on your hair," she says. "The alcohol evaporates before it hits your head." Use just enough to hold your style.
Masking — Not Treating — Dandruff
Trying to nix flakes with moisturizing stylers like oils and pomades is only a temporary fix: Dandruff is actually an inflammatory scalp disease unrelated to dryness, says Dr. McMichael. The cure? A shampoo with salicylic acid, zinc, selenium sulfide or tar to eliminate flakes.
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10 Common Hair-Care Myths
Think brushing your hair 100 strokes each night is healthy? Will frequent trims really make your hair grow faster? Read on to discover the simple truths behind great hair.
By Melissa Foss
Photo by: Lucas Cornwell
Myth #1: Frequent trims make hair grow faster.
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Truth: "Hair grows a half-inch per month, whether you cut it or not," says John Barrett, owner of the John Barrett Salon in New York City. Hair may grow slightly faster in the summer, but that has nothing to do with the stylist's scissors and everything to do with hormones, which do speed growth a little. One thing a trim will do: Eliminate split ends, making hair look better.
Myth #2: Stress can make your hair fall out.
Truth: Although your hair is falling out all the time, to the tune of 50 to 120 strands per day, it's possible that you may lose a few more strands when you're "catastrophically" stressed, meaning you have had a major life change such as a divorce, lost job or surgery, says Gerome Litt, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. "Other culprits are pregnancy or antibiotics. After a few weeks, it will almost certainly grow back."
Myth #3: Switching shampoos can make hair look healthier.
Truth: It may seem so, but experts scoff. "Hair can't tell the difference between brands or buildup tolerance to any product," says London-based hair and scalp expert Philip Kingsley. "Your favorite shampoo will work the same every time you lather up, week after week, month after month." If you have very oily hair or favor a particularly sticky styling product that contains wax, it does pay to use a clarifying shampoo once every two weeks to wash away residue. Good Housekeeping's Beauty Department recommends Redken Hair Cleansing Cream and Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo.
Myth #4: If you pluck out one gray hair, two or three will sprout in its place.
Truth: While this isn't true, plucking out those gray strands is a bad habit. You can damage the roots, causing infection or leaving a scar.
Myth #5: You can't make flat, fine hair look full of body.
Truth: Five minutes with a set of large hot rollers will add life to straight hair.
Myth #6: To get really clean hair, you must "lather, rinse and repeat."
Truth: One thorough washing will do the trick.
Myth #7: Rinsing with ice-cold water after a shampoo will give you shinier hair.
Truth: It might wake you up, but a dousing of cold water will have no effect on the shininess of your tresses.
Myth #8: Coloring your hair causes major damage.
Truth: Products today -- both at home and in the salon -- are gentle enough not to weaken hair. In fact, some contain extra conditioners that may leave hair more manageable than before. Although it's not necessary, "it can't hurt to consult a professional stylist the first time you do anything permanent to your hair or scalp," Kingsley counsels.
Myth #9: You can mend split ends with the right products.
Truth: Once they're split, that's it. The only thing you can do then is cut them off. Celebrity stylist Jimmy Paul suggests making split ends less noticeable by applying a product containing silicone or beeswax. It will temporarily seal ends together, making hair softer and more manageable. Try: John Paul Mitchell Gloss Drops and John Barrett Bee Hold.
Myth #10: You should brush your hair 100 strokes every day.
Truth: "Brush it only to style it, because brushing pulls hairs out of their follicles and possibly weakens individual strands," says Kingsley.
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Bring Your Hair Back to Life!
In your quest for hair that's shinier, straighter, prettier, have you been guilty of doing a little damage? How to minimize the harm — and still get the look you love.
Photo by: Johann Helgason
You Love Your: Hair Coloring
* But the problem is: Chemicals have to be used to open your hair shaft. Ammonia-free formulas exist, but industry studies have found that they're just as harmful (you have to use more and leave them on longer).
* You're in trouble when: After showering, your hair dries almost instantly. That shows just how porous those color chemicals have made it, says Katherine Polite, a colorist at Zanos Salon and Day Spa in Chicago.
* Damage-control plan: Many new dyes are infused with moisturizers, but to further diminish the risk: Get a precolor trim (your ends are prone to soaking up excess color); for gray coverage, go semi- or demi-permanent — it'll fade faster but is less harsh than a permanent dye (try Clairol Natural Instincts); to highlight at home, avoid pull-through caps, which often result in damaging color overlap (L'Oréal and Clairol make capless kits). Done wrong, major color changes can cause major harm, so leave those to the pros.
You Love Your: Hairbrush
* But the problem is: The wrong tool or the wrong technique can tangle or, worse, tear your hair.
* You're in trouble when: With your back to a lamp, you look in a mirror and see tiny hairs sticking up along your part and hairline. These aren't "baby hairs" growing in, says Cheri McMaster, senior scientist for Pantene; they're hairs that have broken.
* Damage-control plan: Bristles are the key to preventing breakage. They should be soft, smooth — avoid those with plastic balls on the ends — and spaced out, as on a comb. Don't brush wet hair (it's too fragile) and work in inch-long sections, from ends up to roots.
You Love Your: Heat Styler
* But the problem is: Blow-drying, flat-ironing and curling can all cause hair's outer layer — the cuticle — to lift up, releasing valuable moisture and leaving shafts brittle.
* You're in trouble when: You pull out a hair, run your fingernail from root to end (as if curling a ribbon), drop the strand into a glass of water — and it doesn't uncurl. Translation: Your hair has lost elasticity, says McMaster.
* Damage-control plan: Throw out any heat-styling tool that you've had for more than five years: The older the appliance, the higher the chance that the temperature gauge has gone kaput, says Beverly Hills celebrity stylist Cristophe. Use your blow-dryer's nozzle attachment; it cuts down on cuticle ruffling. Buying a flat iron? Pick one that has ceramic plates: Since ceramic heats up evenly, it straightens hair faster and won't stick to — or singe — any one spot. (Try Rusk's Ceramic Str8 Iron.) Before ironing or drying your hair, says McMaster, use a spray or serum that contains dimethicone. It will melt in the heat, creating a protective barrier.
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4 Conditioner "Musts" from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute
1. Check the ingredients. You can't reverse damage, but you can restore shine and mask split ends with the right conditioner. Look for a mix of: silicones, to smooth; polyquaternium or amino acids, to strengthen; provitamins or panthenol, to moisturize; and mineral oil or petrolatum, to protect.
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2. Try it dry. Removing product gunk from haggard hair is tricky, since clarifying shampoos — the usual fix — tend to strip away color and moisture. Instead, apply conditioner to dry roots to loosen buildup. Wet your hair, shampoo, rinse and condition again.
3. Finish up frigid. No, cold water won't "close" a hair shaft's cuticle, as you may have heard before. (Why not? Because hair isn't alive.) A cold rinse will help because it doesn't strip away as many of the conditioning agents as hot water does, says McMaster.
4. Once a week, go deep. Rejuvenate your strands with an oil treatment or with a hair mask containing a fatty alcohol (such as stearyl or cetyl alcohol) — both are great at rehydrating damaged hair. (Try Neutrogena Triple Moisture Pure Strength Oil Therapy or Sellecca Shine 3-Minute Intense Moisture Treatment.)
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I think that answers many of the recurrent questions of the board.
Hope that help newcomers and those like me still going through the growing phase
Restav.-
Hi Restav,
I really appreciate this "Hair 101" info, --- and I certainly agree w/ most of what was said in there. Probably the one biggest disagreement I have with that writer is re. the hair-brushing ritual when my hair when dry, --- which I absolutely LOVE to do (and have done all of my life). While I never have literally counted "100 strokes", I do indeed brush fairly close to that # (I've tested myself, and usually stop somewhere around 70 - lol).... For me, the brushing ritual does the same thing as the scalp massage, --- it stimulates blood flow to the scalp (which nourishes the hair roots). And it also helps to transfer the scalp's natural oils (sebum) down the hair shaft towards the ends.
But hey, if the "experts" that wrote that article advise against my hair-brushing ritual, so be it... I guess I'll just admit to being a rebel sometimes (lol)!!
- Ken
I 100% agree on the brushing and do it at least once per day. My boar bristle brush really helps to distribute the oil from the scalp nicely.
I do try to finger detangle as much as possible before brushing through the length.
I also don't agree that rotating products isn't benefical. My hair loves it when I change things up.
I also don't agree that cool/cold water doesn't leave hair more shiny. In my experience it does.
I agree with you, Jason. This is especially important for those of us who wash in water only. Hot water breaks down the oil, leaving one's hair dull instead of shiny. Dulled hair also is more tangly and is more resistant to combing.
When I shower, I'll use hot water on my body but I'll mostly keep my mane and beard dry. Oil can build up on my shoulders and upper chest (under my mane and beard) so I have to lift my hair up when doing the hot water thing and be sure I get hot water on the skin in those two places. At the end of the shower, when my body is good and warm, I'll turn the water down to cool (not necessary to go with "cold"!) and douse my mane and beard. Then I'll turn off the water and massage my scalp and chin to help the cool water draw the oil off my scalp and chin and into my hair. Oil can build up under my chin (because I have a beard) and behind my ears, so I have to make sure I massage those places well, otherwise these places in time will itch.
The first thing I do after drying off my body is comb out my hair. I want to distribute the oil throughout my hair before it begins to dry.
Bill
Well Ken, your hair is beautiful (ditto for you Jason) so I say continue being a rebel and do what works for you...I can imagine with hair like you two brushing would work wonders...and would feel great when either you brush it or a Special Someone brushes it for you!
It seems like every year there's some article about hair that loves to debunk everything that has ever been written before.
From your pictures you are doing just dandy!
Well, I never brush my hair at all, and I comb it wet, root to tip!!! With a wide-tooth comb, very gently of course...Funny that I never even snag a hair. I have a system whereby I comb individual sections one at a time and work out any tangles. Actually, I hardly even have tangles since my hair "locks" into locks and just stay like that. Curly hair isn't so bad after all, I guess.
"You Love Your: Hairbrush
* But the problem is: The wrong tool or the wrong technique can tangle or, worse, tear your hair.
* You're in trouble when: With your back to a lamp, you look in a mirror and see tiny hairs sticking up along your part and hairline. These aren't "baby hairs" growing in, says Cheri McMaster, senior scientist for Pantene; they're hairs that have broken.
* Damage-control plan: Bristles are the key to preventing breakage. They should be soft, smooth — avoid those with plastic balls on the ends — and spaced out, as on a comb. Don't brush wet hair (it's too fragile) and work in inch-long sections, from ends up to roots."
This worries me a bit. I have several of those "baby-hairs" both in front ant along my part. I always thought that was hairs that grew back after shedding? I indeed use one of those bad brushes with plastic balls at the tip. But my hair isn´t that long yet so I didn´t think there would be a problem. What type of brush am I supposed to use for very straight and thin hair?
And also, after shower I use a comb instead of my brush. What kind of comb am I supposed to use?
Thanks for replies!
I use something simular to this. It's called a wet comb or detangler comb. I don't even use a brush just this.
Bruce
Är precis samma för mig också, har många babyhår just uppe på skallen och hjässan, jag borstar nästan aldrig utan använder mig av en vanlig kam, bredtandad när håret är blött.
Förhoppningsvis så blir dom hårstråna också längre.
Antar att vi har lite liknande hårtyp, dvs ganska så tunt.
Wow great post and with a few bits I didn't know about.
I use a bit of hair spray on the sides to glue down the wings so I
don't look like Bozo the clown. This I do when I put it in a pony
usually for work As the sides wont grow long anyway no problem
there and of course no spray gets to the length except a few stray
dropets floating around in the air.
Thanks
Kevin