Blow drying your hair

BLOG: サロンブログ

2020.10.09Hair care

Blow drying your hair

Before you understand how to do the perfect drying, you need to understand some of the science behind hair structure. The hair is made from the proteins keratin; same material as nails, feathers and claws. It is a very complex structure; every single torso is like a rope in a rope. There is a protective outer layer known as the cuticles, which is calcified keratin, which makes it hard as nails. In the middle is the cerebral cortex, which is also made of keratin, but is more flexible as it is not calcified. The cerebral cortex gives the hair its strength and elasticity. We each have between 100,000 and 150,000 hairs on our heads. Asian hair is the thickest and strongest, measuring between 80 and 100 microns (millionths of a meter) and is completely circular in diameter. African hair is oval or oval and is also the thinnest – around 50 microns. Cascading hair falls between these two; measures between 50 and 80 microns and is only oval. On average, we lose 50 – 100 hairs every day.

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE YOUR HAIR TO DRY NATURALLY

You might imagine that leaving your hair to air dry, without the heat of a hairdryer, would be best for it. Wrong! In fact, this is possibly the most damaging thing you can do to your hair.

How? Well, it all starts the moment you wet your hair. It changes the molecular structure of the strand straight away. Because when water is applied to hair, it is absorbed through the hard outer layer of cuticle into the cortex, which then swells up. This means it’s instantly weakened. The cuticle acts like a bit like roof tiles, with water going in between the gaps.

Leaving hair to dry naturally can be more damaging than intense heat. Hair can absorb up to 30 per cent of its own weight in water. The longer it stays wet, the worse things get, as it continues to swell. This is because repeated swelling followed by slow drying of hair causes something called the cell membrane complex (essentially the glue holding the cuticle together) to crack, permanently damaging the hair. You’d be better off drying your locks quickly with heat, rather than going au natural.

AVOID BUDGET SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONERS (BUT SUPER-EXPENSIVE ONES WON’T HELP EITHER)

We’ve looked at all sorts of different shampoos and conditioners, from basic to high end, and despite what you might hope, there was no question that price made a difference. Fascinatingly, though, it was the most luxuriously expensive bottles that weren’t worth the price-tag. Once you start paying £30 or more, the results plateau.

But very cheap products aren’t much cop either.

Instead, choose a mid-tier brand who specialise in hair care. And up to the £30 a bottle mark, the more you can spend, the better the result.

Despite the promises on the side of the bottle; no product, no matter how high end, will actually strengthen your hair.

Certainly though, any post-shampoo slosh of conditioner will reduce friction between the hair by making it more slippery and therefore less likely to break.