Solutions - Hair Tips for Winter Weather

The dry and cold winter weather can be very damaging to your hair. The drop in temperature and increased use of central heating causes it to dry far more easily. Effective preventative measures are required during this season to ensure your hair is not damaged. Here are great tips to keep your hair healthy while enjoying the Winter season:


Replace Lost Moisture
Just like your skin, your hair needs more moisture in winter, so make sure you look after it properly and invest in a good shampoo and conditioner. Preventing moisture-loss will help you avoid frizz and static. Use a hydrating hairspray which will help to replace the moisture lost during styling, and hydrate the hair to give a soft, supple feel.

Try a Cool Shower
After using a moisturizing conditioner, lock in that moisture by running cool or lukewarm water through your hair.  The cool water will quickly close your hair cuticle, allowing it to keep the moisture inside.  This also gives your hair extra shine.

Make Sure Your Hair Is Dry
Don't go outside with your hair wet. If it's cold enough outside, your hair will freeze and may actually break!

Wear A Cashmere Hat
When you're out and about this winter, wear a hat, not only to keep you warm, but also to protect your hair from the cold weather. Invest in a hat made of cashmere rather than wool. Wool is very absorbent and will suck the moisture out of your hair, leaving it dry and prone to static. Also, the raw texture of wool is harsh on your hair, while cashmere will ensure that it stays looking beautiful and healthy when you go inside from the cold.  Treat yourself to a cashmere hat-----you're worth it!


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8 Things Your Hair Says About Your Health

8 Things Your Hair Says About Your Health

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Solutions - Protein For Your Hair

Protein is what gives the hair its strength and structure. Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature. There are a wide variety of proteins that serve different functions and roles in hair care. Some enhance elasticity, while others reduce it. These proteins bind to the hair cuticle and help temporarily rebuild any weakened areas. Protein-based products reinforce the hair shaft, and help it remain strong enough to fight breakage.

Some proteins are stronger than others, but daily or even weekly use of even the milder protein treatments may result in an imbalance between the protein and moisture levels within the hair strands in some people. This is where product percent composition really plays an important role. For example, every product that contains keratin protein is not going to feel the same way across the board, and every product that contains glycerin or water is not going to feel the same either! The protein in question could make up 30% of the product or 0.3%! Who knows! You have to play around with different products to know how strong they are on your particular hair. Your hair protein tolerance will vary from product to product, not necessarily protein to protein.

Protein is found most prevalently in products like instant conditioners (HipHopz' Deep N' Conditioner), leave-in conditioners, protein reconstructor conditioner treatments, and even some moisturizers.


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Soutions - All About Hair Oils

Let's get this false myth out of the way: Oils do NOT moisturize the hair. Oils nourish the outside of the hair strands.

Our hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping the moisture inside is a difficult task. Providing additional sources of outside moisture, or external moisture supplementation, is a must for black hair care. Water molecules and moisture from these supplemental moisturizing products easily pass into the hair shaft, but they pass out just as easily. We've got to seal that moisture in. The way to do it is by using oil.

Natural oils like jojoba, olive, carrot, or coconut oil seem to work best. The key is to use the oil to "lock in the moisture."

A light coating of oil after your daily moisturizer will help seal the moisture inside. Oils are made of large molecules. These molecules are too large to absorbed by the hair strand. Applying oils to the hair and scalp will coat them and trap the moisture that is inside on the inside and the moisture that is outside on the outside. If you use oils without a moisturizer or before one, the oil will seal the moisture OUT of the hair strand and lead to a coated feel and eventual dryness.

Oil alone will not and cannot moisturize within the hair shaft. An oil (grease) can only coat the outside of the strand, and give it shine- the illusion of moisture. Oil molecules are hydrophobic which means they repel and do not readily mix with water. Remember, if you apply an oil product to your hair before you have added a moisturizing product, you have created a seal on your hair strand that water and moisture cannot penetrate.

This technique of moisturizing and sealing has really been helpful to me and is the most important part of my haircare regimen. Fighting hair breakage and achieving moisturizing success is all about what order you apply your products.

The Dolle House has got you covered from inside out. For more info about any products or samples reviewed in this blog, please submit your email in the contact form found on this page. We do not tolerate SPAM.

Solutions - Moisture and Protein

The balance of protein and moisture in hair is a fine art. Hair needs water to maintain its elasticity, or ability to stretch. Since water is the ultimate moisturizer, water-based products are best for really getting the greatest moisture benefit.

Moisturizers are simply products that are water-based and nourish your hair deep within the strand. Products with moisturizing properties tend to be your conditioners and other specific moisturizer sprays or creams. Moisturizers may also contain large amounts of protein, but these protein based moisturizers do not have the moisturizing benefit that moisture-based moisturizers have. Check labels to gauge protein content. Good moisturizers will not contain cheap, filler ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. Avoid products that claim moisturizing benefits and contain these ingredients. There is nothing moisturizing about them! Petrolatum and mineral oil are sealants that seal out the precious moisture our hair needs.

The Dolle House has got you covered from inside out. For more info about any products or samples reviewed in this blog, please submit your email in the contact form found on this page. We do not tolerate SPAM.

Solutions - Hair Breakage and Shedding

It is normal to lose 100-150 hairs a day. However, if you are experiencing abnormal hair loss, you should consider being evaluated by a licensed Trichologist or Dermatologist. If your hair only grows to a particular length and then breaks off, then you might work with your hair stylist and try to address the cause. Dryness could be the cause, so you might have to use a wetting agent, or if it breaks because you are rough in brushing it, use a thicker wide-tooth comb and be more gentle. At Healthy Hair Source, we advice combing wet hair only after applying your conditioner! The conditioner serves to soften the hair, and pretty much eliminating tangles so that the hair shaft is not under the stress it would be while damp. Try various shampoos and conditioners, as there are many out there that may help.

Breakage
If your problem is hair breakage, you must pinpoint the cause of the breakage and treat the hair accordingly. You'll simply need to increase the moisture you give your hair if your breakage is from an overuse of protein, or increase the protein if your breakage is a result of over-conditioning.

The most common cause of breakage is damage to the hair shaft from straightening and chemicals used on the hair. Dyes are also in that category. The easiest approach is to stopping doing those things that will damage the hair. It may mean going back to your original color if your hair cannot take the dye. Dry and damaged hair comes from over-processing and lack of conditioning, so using a good conditioner will help by returning the natural oils to your hair.

Try a few different ones and look for those that claim to stop breakage. Check with your stylist, as he/she will likely know what is best on the market. Be sure that your diet is good, that your protein intake is adequate, and that you keep yourself hydrated. The dry hair shaft brakes easier — and the longer you let your hair grow, the more it is exposed to air and heat, which may make the ends more fragile.


Shedding
If your problem is shedding, don't worry because shedding is a natural process. Be patient and let nature do what it needs to do first. Some have had success with garlic shampoo treatments for shedding problems, but because shedding is a response to natural, hormonal processes, topical treatments may not work.

The Dolle House has got you covered from inside out. For more info about any products or samples reviewed in this blog, please submit your email in the contact form found on this page. We do not tolerate SPAM.

Solutions

For the next few weeks, we'll be publishing posts related to solutions for hair issues...we're calling it "The Solution Series". This series is applicable to both chemically-altered hair and natural hair. It also fits well with our main objective as a vibrant and effective Healthy Hair Source. Feel free to comment and add your own pros/cons and solutions related to these posts. Here we go!

Let's begin with the obvious: chemical hair relaxing is a very stressful process on the hair. Because of the aggressive nature of these straightening chemicals and the extreme consequences that may arise from improper usage, careful thought and consideration should be given to preparing the hair for this process. After much trial, error, destruction of and transition back to my natural hair pattern, my bottom line is this: Never relax your hair to "solve" a hair problem. You should always correct the problem first with the proper treatment.

Only when your hair and scalp have returned to normal should you proceed with your relaxer service. Relaxing your hair will only aggravate the condition you are facing by making your hair weaker and more vulnerable to damage. These strong chemicals could cause you even more breakage, shedding, or permanent hair loss if done to fix an existing hair problem. Again, relaxing is never the "answer" to correct any hair issue. We MUST solve the problems of shedding, dryness, or breakage BEFORE relaxing our hair. Stay tuned for our Solutions Series!

The Dolle House has got you covered from inside out. For more info about any products or samples reviewed in this blog, please submit your email in the contact form found on this page. We do not tolerate SPAM.