Damage done to Hair

HAIR FACTS

Hair carries its history

The hair shaft carries a unique historical record of everything that has happened to it during its long growth. As a hair grows, the year-on-year accumulation of the effects of drying, dyeing, coloring and so forth are

recorded in its structure, and the record can be 'read 'under the microscope.
One way of looking at how long this record stays on the hair is to measure the length of the hair (assuming that it grows by a centimetre a month) and marking past world events along its length.

The stump of a hair that has been badly cut

Unskilled razor cutting can leave a long 'tail' on the severed hair, which may lead to breakdown of the end of the hair

Careful blow drying on a moderate setting should not damage the hair - but if this dryer is set on maximum heat it may be too close to the hair

Damage from hair treatments

Shampooing should not in itself damage the hair, since modern shampoos do not lift the cuticle. In the past, when harsh shampoos were often used, acute and irreversible tangling or matting sometimes followed shampooing. The culprits were usually antiseptic shampoos, and they could turn hair into a mass that looked more like sheep's wool than human hair.
    This kind of matting is seldom seen nowadays, fortunately, since most modern shampoos contain conditioning agents and help to protect hair. Small amounts of tangling and occasionally matting are still quite common, however, especially in long weathered hair. It generally affects only small locks of hair or even a few adjacent hairs. It may be the result of wetting and drying hair without shampoo, since friction is higher in wet hair than in dry. It can happen when the hair is piled up on top of the head for shampooing -a recipe for tangling if ever there was one.
    Of the common cosmetic procedures, permanent waving, bleaching and dyeing all damage the hair to some extent. Permanent

Repeated bleaching and perming will significantly affect the hair's porosity and make it vulnerable to further damage

The cuticle of this hair has been significantly damaged by repeated and excessive perming

waving, by its nature, disrupts the structure of the hair: indeed, it has to do so for the perm to be successful. In order to change the shape of the hair, permanent waving agents first break the disulphide bonds that give the hair shaft its structure. The hair is then put into its new shape and 'neutralised'. Neutralisation is the name given to the re-forming of the chemical bonds in their new positions, a process that fixes the hair permanently into its new shape. The secrets of satisfactory perming lie in the manufacturer's formulation of the product and the stylist's expertise in applying the neutralising lotion after just the right length of time, so that the perm is fixed but the hair is damaged as little as possible. Permed hair should always look beautiful in spite of this deliberate 'damage'. (We shall discuss perms in more detail in the next chapter.)
    Bleaching and dyeing change hair structure too, because the dyes and the bleaches used have to penetrate the cuticle and get into the cortex where they have their effect. Some degree of chemical damage is unavoidable.
    Cosmetic procedures do not damage the hair follicle within the scalp, and so do not cause hair loss. Only a serious chemical burn to the skin of the scalp that destroys the follicle cells can do so. Burns like this can follow indiscriminate over-use of permanent waving or relaxing solutions, and therefore these solutions must be handled carefully at all times.

Damage from the sun

The ultraviolet light in direct sunlight affects the cuticle in a similar way to a bleach, and eventually the keratin protein of the hair breaks down. The result is than the hair is gradually weakened and becomes drier. The effect shows up as light streaks in the hair (sun bleaching). The reason is that sunlight breaks up some of the chemical links within the amino acid groups, in particular those between carbon atoms and sulphur atoms. It does not affect disulphide linkages or hydrogen bonds.

Mechanical damage

Though hair is so robust, it can still be damaged by over-enthusiastic brushing and combing, especially when it is wet and if there is some degree of tangling. Metal combs are particularly hard on the hair. Backbrushing and backcombing are extremely harmful, since they tug against the scales of the cuticle, which all lie pointing towards the tip of the shaft like tiles

Two views of damage to cuticles, both due to backcombing

on a roof. Once hair has been backcombed the delicate scales are lifted. The next time a comb passes over the scales they will be ripped off. There is no way of repairing this. The effects of these processes can build up over time and cause considerable damage: backcombing is one of the most damaging physical treatments that can be inflicted on hair.
    Hair that has been treated chemically (permed, colored or bleached) has, as we have seen, already been damaged to some extent. The result is that it is at greater risk of damage from the daily hair care routine. The surface of chemically treated hair is receptive to conditioners and other protective treatments, however, and if applied regularly these products can give real protection to the hair.

Heat damage

We have seen the importance of the moisture content of hair to the hair's condition. Processes like blow drying reduce the moisture content below its normal level and can in themselves be harmful. Hair dryers and other heated appliances first soften the keratin of the hair. If they are too hot, they can actually cause the water in the hair to boil, and tiny bubbles of steam then form inside the softened hair shaft. The hair is thereby weakened, and may break altogether. This condition of 'bubble hair' is discussed more fully in Chapter 4.
    There is no treatment for seriously heat-damaged hair, although trimming the damaged hair can reduce the formation of split ends.

HAIR FACTS

Summary of hair damage

Usually hair damage takes place gradually, stage by stage, as follows:

the hair is weakened

the cuticle begins to break down

the cuticle disappears, layer by layer

the cortex is exposed

split ends appear

the hair breaks.

Bubbles formed within hair as a result of water boiling within the cortex

Minimising damage

Once it has been significantly damaged, the cuticle cannot be repaired. So hair care must be aimed at preventing injury in the first place. Obviously, all procedures should therefore be carried out as gently as possible. Apart from this, the best way to keep damage to a minimum is to condition regularly and thoroughly. This helps to keep the cuticle intact, lower friction and reduce static charge on the hair.
    Conditioners that contain dimethicone (a silicone compound, made from silica which is one of the commonest substances on earth) deposit mainly at the edges of the cuticle scales - just where the damage happens most easily. Micro-fine droplets make the hair surface

This is African hair (as indicated by the groove along its length): this type of hair, more than any other, needs the protection of conditioning

smooth and shiny (less 'fly-away')- Dimethicone protects the hair from damage by reducing its resistance to brushing, combing and styling, when wet as well as when dry.
    Other ingredients in conditioners and other hair care preparations also work to smooth the outer layers of the cuticle. These may include protein extracts (collagen, and the amino acids obtained from silk) and panthenol and similar compounds, which are related to vitamin B5. Some of these are known to penetrate hair and to help to increase its moisture content. Well-conditioned hair is quite easy to de-tangle. Use a large-toothed comb or brush with rounded ends.
    The only way to avoid split ends altogether is to use preventive conditioning and to avoid all chemical treatments. Split ends, if they do develop, can never be repaired 'like new'. The so-called 'split end repair fluids' are applied

A split end that has been temporarily repaired

directly to the hair tips. They contain high-density silicone fluids which draw the splayed ends of the fibres together and hide their ragged appearance. The fluid is removed at the next shampoo, however.

Severe cosmetic damage

Hair that has been badly damaged by cosmetic treatments is surprisingly common. Of course, stylists and technicians are trained to examine hair before carrying out chemical treatment to determine its porosity, and whether there is any possibility of serious damage. But take an enthusiastic amateur embarking on bleaching and perming at home without any basic knowledge or experience, and combine this with a hair dryer used on its hottest setting: you have a recipe for disaster.
    Here are a couple of all-too-familiar examples of severe cosmetic damage. Both of them can be avoided by treating the care with the care it deserves.

Trichorrhexis nodosa
This is an explosion of the cortex at a single point on the hair. It looks like a tiny white bead on the hair, and can lead to hair breakage. It is a classic sign of cosmetic and chemical over-treatment of the hair. So its appearance should always prompt the thought, 'What is this person doing to the hair more than the rest of us are doing?

A case of trichorrhexis nodosa, where the cortex was disrupted by an overheated hair dryer

The hair has literally been fried by heat, and then burst open



A heat-damaged hair seen under the microscope

Perm damage
A permanent wave process inexpertly applied is probably the most damaging chemical treatment that hairdressers see. This photograph (top right) shows the effect of excessive waving treatment. The cuticle scales on the hair have been lifted up and separated from each other. They will never return to normal, and as soon as a comb passes over them they may break off. The cuticle may be completely stripped off, revealing the cortex underneath. This too is now exposed to weathering, and will probably not survive unbroken for long.
   When a new client walks into a salon, the hairdresser never knows what problems are going to face them. A quick assessment reveals whether the client is Caucasian, African, or Asian descent: all these different racial types have different hair qualities and different hair structures. Is this client's hair curly or straight? Dry, greasy or normal? or perhaps of a mixed type? Is it long or short? Thick or thin, in terms of its density on the head? Are the fibres coarse, medium or fine? All these characteristics interact with each other.

   Hair that has been repeatedly permed



  The effects of repeated bleaching, together with unfortunately   poor styling

   And then, what is the past history of this hair? Has it been permed or bleached, or possibly both?
    No two clients are the same. Life in a salon is never dull!

What the eye doesn't see - the good, the bad and the ugly - is made plain by the electron microscope

Knotting, associated with African hair...

... leads to breakdown

A perfect hair, its cuticle intact, taken from a newborn baby


  Damaged cuticle, due to backcombing heavily   sprayed hair
                                                                       A hair shattered after severe perm
                                                                       damage

Hair damage caused by hair bands

This is the kind of damage that is caused to African hair by the use of chemical relaxants

Kalista Salon & Day Spa - We want everyone to know this information to educate yourselves when getting your hair done by just any hairdresser. We are well awair of the risks in styling, cutting, coloring hair and that is why even though you want to have these services done anyway, it is wise to go to the ones that are aware that your hair can be damaged so we can work hard to avoid the least possible damage.

More fun facts-- my fav!!! Now why don't you use a flat iron on wet hair! You know the commercials that talk about using a flat iron on your hair Wet or Dry. DON'T DO IT, Here is why.

A classical case of bubble hair

Bubble hair

People will tell you that their bubble hair 'just happened', quite suddenly, after they had been doing the same things to their hair for a long time. Then all at once they noticed tiny 'bubbles' in the ends of their hair.
Invariably, bubble hair is caused by some kind of heating appliance, most often curling irons.

These operate somewhere between 120 and 180 °C, roughly speaking. Water boils at 100 °C. If a hot curling iron is put on to wet hair, it boils the water inside the hair. The boiling water softens the keratin of the cortex; then the steam from the boiling water expands and forms tiny bubbles inside the hair. Eventually the hair breaks off, either at or somewhere near a bubble.
Every woman who has used curling irons knows that they work better on some days than others. One day she may have them just a little hotter than usual: that might be just enough to cause bubble hair, and for the affected hair to break off.
Although the sufferer usually claims that her hair was perfectly normal until she changed the hair product she was using, further enquiry always uncovers a history of increased or excessive cosmetic treatments. Usually bubble hair happens to people who are doing a lot of styling to their hair at home. And it is always, always associated with the use of heated appliances on damp hair.

~You can use a flat iron and curling irons Just make sure your hair is all the way dry. I always tell my clients if its too much effort to wake up and shower, dry your hair then style it. Simply shower at night, do your hair in the morning.

Product build-up

Hair spray accumulation

This photograph was - quite wrongly - diagnosed as head lice!

A spot weld between two hairs produced by a droplet of a modern hair spray

In this photo you can see a perfect replica of the cuticle of the second hair, here.

This kind of replica may be seen in heavily sprayed hair which is not washed often enough

What has happened here was that the lady concerned was washing her hair about once a week, and applying hair spray frequently and generously between shampoos. By the end of each week, significant amounts of hair spray had built up on her hair. Fortunately, modern shampoo technology is excellent at removing even a week's accumulation of hair spray, grease and dirt.

A good clarifying shampoo will help with this problem.

Matting and tangling: bird's nest hair

Tangled hair is very common. It is made worse by combing or brushing wet hair, since there is always more friction in wet hair because water raises the cuticle scales.
    'Bird's nest hair' is the vivid term used to describe hair that has all at once become a severely tangled mat. One very bad attack of this kind happened to a lady with long black hair whose religion forbade her to treat her hair cosmetically in any way. She had just used a conditioning product on it, she said, and now her hair had matted into a disastrous 'bird's nest'.
    When scientists examined the hair closely, however, they found that it showed all the signs of damage due to over-perming. Eventually the unfortunate lady admitted that she had tried to make her hair more interesting by perming it but she had had it done secretly and unprofessionally at home, so as not to flout the rules of her religion publicly.
    Bird's nest hair always happens suddenly, and there is invariably a history of chemical

severely matted hair

Severe matting, resulting in bird's nest hair

treatment. The treatment speeds up weathering and the hair rapidly starts to break down. As it does so the friction within it rises and the hairs begin to tangle together (though normally they don't form knots). This liability of wet hair to tangle is the reason why people with long hair should never pile it on top of their heads to shampoo it.

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