It’s common knowledge that bleaching your hair will damage it, but did you know that hot showers can also take a toll on your hair’s natural strength and luster? There may be other ways you’re damaging your hair without even realizing it, so here’s a run-down of the things you should (and shouldn’t) be doing, using, and eating for thick, naturally beautiful locks.
What is Hair Made Of?
Understanding what your hair is made of will help you understand why certain foods or products will be good or bad for its strength and growth. So what are we working with here?
Anatomy
A single hair strand is made up of three parts: the bulb, the root, and the shaft. While hair masks and other products may help to fortify the hair shaft, nutrients are received at the bulb, where new cells are formed and hair growth takes place.
The root and bulb of the hair reside below the surface of the skin in the hair follicle, where the dermal papilla feeds blood (nutrients) to the bulb, the sebaceous gland produces the oil that keeps the hair lubricated at the root, and the arrector pili, a tiny muscle attached to each follicle, contracts as a response to fear or the cold, causing each hair to stand on end.
Material
You’ve heard that hair is made of a bunch of dead cells, and this is true. As new cells are formed at the bulb, they undergo a process called keratinization while moving up the root, which ends in the cell’s “death” with the loss of its nucleus. By the time the shaft emerges from the follicle, it is a strand of fiber comprised of keratinized proteins (amino acids) held together by peptide bonds and arranged in polypeptide chains.
The same amino acids that make up your hair are the building blocks of your skin and nails as well, and are joined together by three types of additional side bonds: salt bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bonds. Each bond is said to account for a third of the hair’s strength.
Salt and hydrogen bonds are more easily broken and are affected by heat and moisture. These bonds determine the effectiveness of wet or hot curlers and other styling products. Disulfide bonds are the strongest and require more intensive treatments like permanents or relaxers to be broken in order to change the natural curliness of the hair.
Natural Haircare
We’re not here to tell you not to have fun with your hair in the salon, but there’s a reason why each one has racks upon racks of haircare products to treat the damage your hair takes in the salon chair. But whatever your hair goals or condition, here are the things you can be doing now to improve the luster and strength of your hair naturally.
Habits
What is Hair Made Of?
Understanding what your hair is made of will help you understand why certain foods or products will be good or bad for its strength and growth. So what are we working with here?
Anatomy
A single hair strand is made up of three parts: the bulb, the root, and the shaft. While hair masks and other products may help to fortify the hair shaft, nutrients are received at the bulb, where new cells are formed and hair growth takes place.
The root and bulb of the hair reside below the surface of the skin in the hair follicle, where the dermal papilla feeds blood (nutrients) to the bulb, the sebaceous gland produces the oil that keeps the hair lubricated at the root, and the arrector pili, a tiny muscle attached to each follicle, contracts as a response to fear or the cold, causing each hair to stand on end.
Material
You’ve heard that hair is made of a bunch of dead cells, and this is true. As new cells are formed at the bulb, they undergo a process called keratinization while moving up the root, which ends in the cell’s “death” with the loss of its nucleus. By the time the shaft emerges from the follicle, it is a strand of fiber comprised of keratinized proteins (amino acids) held together by peptide bonds and arranged in polypeptide chains.
The same amino acids that make up your hair are the building blocks of your skin and nails as well, and are joined together by three types of additional side bonds: salt bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bonds. Each bond is said to account for a third of the hair’s strength.
Salt and hydrogen bonds are more easily broken and are affected by heat and moisture. These bonds determine the effectiveness of wet or hot curlers and other styling products. Disulfide bonds are the strongest and require more intensive treatments like permanents or relaxers to be broken in order to change the natural curliness of the hair.
Natural Haircare
We’re not here to tell you not to have fun with your hair in the salon, but there’s a reason why each one has racks upon racks of haircare products to treat the damage your hair takes in the salon chair. But whatever your hair goals or condition, here are the things you can be doing now to improve the luster and strength of your hair naturally.
Habits
- Get used to saying “Just a trim.” In between hairstyles, getting regular trims minimizes split ends and breakage, allowing you to gain consistent, healthy length.
- Pick a few days of the week to let your hair rest. This means letting it air dry and hang loose all day, free of pony tails, headbands, chemical products, and hot styling tools.
- Does your scalp itch? Find out why and treat it. Don’t ignore an itchy scalp. The irritation traumatizes the follicles and may lead to excess shedding and loss of hair density, not to mention dandruff.
- In the shower, save the hot water for your body, not your hair. Hot water will dehydrate your hair, overstimulate the follicles, and lead to more shedding.
- Brush your hair when it’s dry, not when it’s wet. After a shower, blot dry instead of wringing your hair, as it’s more susceptible to breakage when wet.
- Wear hats on sunny days. UV rays don’t only damage your skin. They break down your hair as well.
- Treat your hair to a weekly hair mask. For natural hair mask recipes, look at different combinations of these hair-enriching ingredients: eggs, banana, milk, lemon, olive oil, coconut oil, honey, and apple cider vinegar.
- Feed your hair with foods rich in iron and zinc, vitamin D, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and biotin.
- Biotin is naturally found in eggs, but supplements are popular for strengthening both hair and nails without side effects. Consider adding it to your daily vitamin intake.
- For an omega-3 boost, add ground flaxseed to your diet or take a fish oil supplement.
- Oils to try for a dry scalp treatment: using olive oil or coconut oil as a base, add several drops of tea tree oil or rosemary oil and massage the mixture into your scalp before bed.
- Avoid foods high in mercury, diet sodas, sugars, starchy whites, alcohol, and fast food, as all have been linked to poor nutrition and hair loss.
- Look for sulfate-free shampoos, as sulfate robs the hair of its natural moisture.