Hair Care GuideGo to the topic you want to study today, click the link to jumpIntro to Hair Structure ~ Healthy Hair ~ Game Designer Links ~ | |
Introduction to Hair StructureUnderstanding Hair
The next part is the Cortex layer. This one you can’t see (you’re in trouble if you can). This is the inner part of the hair that gives it strength. It’s made up of every thing good or bad in your body, and can actually show us good or bad health, because it has been produced by the follicle. You should never strip the hair with a shampoo and crème rinse that contains harsh chemicals. It needs it’s natural oils and it’s natural moisture in order to maintain elasticity. These items also give hair it’s body, it’s ability to curl, and help it to grow long. I like to think of my hair as a result of what I’ve put into my body. The third part is the cuticle. This is the outer layer of the hair, and the most mistreated part of all. It is constantly exposed to weather, pollutants, chemicals, as well as heat from blow dryers, tongs, and brushes. The list is endless what this poor part has to endure. Unfortunately, it’s also the most delicate. When you use a shampoo that contains chemicals that strip the hair, they open the cuticle, which robs the cortex layer of it’s nutrients. The more the cuticle gets opened, the harder it is to shut it down. This results in more tangles, which then means more product is needed to eliminate those tangles, which means the more clogged it gets. Over time, the cuticle becomes weak, and can no longer protect the cortex. Then, the cortex weakens because it can no longer hold onto it’s strength qualities, and that’s when it breaks. Now, take that hair you pulled out earlier and hold it between your thumb and fore finger. Then, with your other hand, slide your finger from the follicle end down the closed cuticle. Now, go in the other direction. That’s the roughness of an open cuticle. It is made up of hard, transparent cells that overlap each other like the scales of a fish. Then, hold it at both ends and gently pull it, as if you are stretching a rubber band. If you have healthy hair, you will actually see it stretch, because it has maintained a healthy balance of oils and moisture. The more damage, the less it will stretch. Severely damaged hair will just snap with no stretch at all, and that is why hair breaks off. Once you reach that point, there is no way to repair the damage. You can’t repair a cuticle that is not there, no matter what. This is why the shampoo and crème rinse that you use is so important. If you’re not stripping the hair in the first place, you won’t have the need to spend hundreds of dollars trying to replace and repair it. Your hair has a natural balance, and it only makes sense to use a naturally balanced product to enhance it.
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Healthy Hair TipsCharacteristics of Healthy Hair
Long hair brings with it a lot of problems like breakage, splits, tangles etc. Hence,
long hair needs more intense care than short hair. Before moving on to long hair care,
let’s understand the characteristics of healthy hair:
Health and length of your hair depend on your diet and hair care. Your hair is composed of a-keratin, a protein. Five amino acids that work towards building a-keratin are: cystine, cysteine, methionine, arginine and lysine. Take a diet that contains balanced amount of vitamins and minerals. Eating adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrates while controlling the dietary fats is a very good long hair care practice. Much can be done to improve the look of your hair, except for controlling the factors related to hereditary genetics. From inception our hair is predetermined - the size of hair follicles, number of roots, diameter of strands and all. This predetermined hair structure becomes affected by malnutrition and lifestyle. It leads to hair loss at a premature age. Long hair stands for better hair health. The major problems affecting long hair are breakage, fly-away strands and split ends. One of the most common causes of hair loss is poor maintenance like improper brushing, improper washing and infrequent trimming. Lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition, stress and even restless sleeping also contribute to hair damage. The do’s and dont's of diet for better hair growth are:
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Hair CareHair Washing It may seem like common sense to wash long hair just as you would any other hair, but washing long hair properly takes some extra consideration in order for it to look its best. Follow these steps to have clean, manageable and beautiful long hair.
Instructions
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Hair has 3 very important parts. There are many more, but these are the ones that I think are most important for you,
the consumer, to know about. I’ll start with the most important part, the follicle. Pull out a strand of
hair and look at it closely. The end that came from the scalp has a little bulb on it. That’s the follicle. It’s
like the feeding tube for the hair itself. It needs blood circulation to deliver nutrients.
A lot of male baldness is caused by a loss of circulation to the scalp. I have personally seen new hair
growth start to appear on a balding head through massaging the scalp. It also needs the nutrients from your body
in order to grow healthy hair. This is why people with poor diets have thinning, dull hair, and why people
with eating disorders lose theirs.
Step One