RSS

Part 3: Truly Natural Hair Care



B&B ON TWITTERB&B ON FACE BOOK

Bubble and Bee Logo

Hi!  Thanks for being a part of our special community!  This is part three of our three-part hair-care series.  If you've missed part one and two, you can find them here:
 
 
PART THREE
Truly Natural Hair Care
Hair is quite complex on a microscopic level. There are three parts of the hair strand--the cortex, the medulla and the cuticle. The cortex is the innermost layer of the hair, comprised of tiny coiled strands. The cortex is very important because it determines the shape and color of your hair. The shape of the tiny coils determine if your hair is straight, wavy or curly. When you style your hair through heat, you're temporarily re-shaping the molecular bonds of these coils within your hair. When you get your hair wet, it disrupts these molecular bonds and your hair goes back to it's normal texture. Perms and chemical straightening treatments permanently reconfigure these chemical bonds. The cortex is also the home of the pigment of your hair. When you get your hair colored, pigments are deposited in the hair's cortex.

The medulla is a hollow shaft that appears only in some hair strands. Scientists aren't quite sure of the function of the medulla, however, they do know that it does help determine how light and color reflect off the hair.

CuticleThe cuticle is probably the most important part of the hair--it's the part of the hair that you see and feel. It protects the cortex and determines the strength of the hair. The cuticle is set up in layers, almost like scales (see photo). When hair is damaged, these scales are broken or lifted up. The more lifted the scales of the cuticle are, the more prone your hair is to damage. When the scales are lifted, hair feels brittle, dull, dry, and hard to comb through. (This is where the concept of "dry" hair comes from.) But when the scales are laying flat, the cortex is protected and the hair is stronger. So the key to healthy hair is simply to make sure that the cuticle is laying flat and tight. Okay, I'll admit--there is some moisture content of both water and oil to healthy hair, but you don't need a deep conditioner to get it there. Dry hair problems rarely have to do with moisture content--the problem is the cuticle is raised or damaged. Just getting your hair wet saturates the hair shaft, and typically the scalp creates enough oil to give the hair an adequate amount of lipids. The real key to healthy hair is to tighten up the cuticle so the moisture stays there and the cortex is protected.  So, how do you get your cuticle to lay flat? It's actually quite simple.
 
It's all about pH.  Continue
 
Blog Header

Quick Links:
Home | Store | Deodorant | Shampoo | Body Butter | Lotion Sticks | Shower Gels |
Join Our Mailing List    Forward this email to a Friend
 

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

0 comments: