Hair stylists often say that moisturizing the hair is just as important as moisturizing the skin. Keep a good hair conditioner handy to hydrate your strands.
Well, we Indian girls are naturally endowed with beautiful hair. Our hair type is strong, and easily mould able. The texture is rich. "Indian women have naturally beautiful hair which can be styled into numerous coiffeurs, both for the day and evening wear. The texture of their hair is rich and luxurious because of the great care they take in conditioning it. Their hair quality is also very good and it is easily manageable. I have also noticed that Indian hair is more soft and vivid than Asian hair type. Therefore it is easier to do diverse hairstyles and cuts on Indian hair than on Asian hair type," says Sven Ewald, Chief Trainer, Pivot Point International, Germany during his styling show at Lakme India Fashion Week.
But we should not take this beauty for granted. What with the environment becoming harsher, and we girls trying our latest colors and going for chemical treatments, our strands are getting weaker , and we are in the danger of losing the famous luster. "There only one solution to retaining our tresses natural beauty is to give it the right conditioner. A well-conditioned hair looks and feels great. The sign of a well conditioned hair is one that does not break easily and feels smooth to touch," says Najeed Ur Rahman, Education Manager, Schwarzkopf India.
While you are scrupulous about cleaning your hair with shampoo twice or even thrice a week, but you often tend to give the conditioner a miss. "We often hear girls complaining of hair becoming greasier or increased hair fall due to application of conditioner. But that’s not true. Most women don’t apply the conditioner the right way which leads to misconception," says celeb stylist, and Pantene’s hair consultant Dilshad Pastakia.
Actually conditioners are a must have in every girl’s hair care kit even if you have thinnest of hair or fine hair quality. You just have to know the right ones to pick to give you maximum benefit. "Conditioners are important because they protect the hair cuticles, and smoothen them down. In fact if you use conditioners in the right manner, you will notice less split ends as well," says Shweta Sodhi, Training Manager, Kerastase Institute.
Conditioners are moisturizers "A conditioner is to hair what a moisturizer is to the skin and it is used after shampooing like a skin moisturizer is used after cleansing. All types of hair have to be conditioned to keep it shiny and flexible. Conditioning is especially useful for dry hair. It adds to the natural oil supply and gives dry hair, shine as well as bounce and strength, For oily hair, use conditioner only on the ends of your hair," says hair expert Coleen Khan Afonso.
Many people may not realize the mechanics of a good hair conditioner. In all honesty, conditioners are far more complex than most hair products, such as shampoo. First, you must realize that conditioners are there to treat the hair after shampooing occurs. Conditioners often help replenish the look and feel of the hair after shampooing.
The basic composition of a conditioner is very similar to a moisturizer. The key ingredients include lubricants like dimethicone, panthenol, and fatty acids; reconstructions hydrolyzed proteins that penetrate shafts and strengthen through polymer cross linking; acidifier to maintain the pH balance help in tightening the scaly hair surface; antistatic agents; detangles which are polymers that smoothen the cuticles, and add gloss; oil especially essential fatty acids to mimic the scalp’s natural sebum. The most popular and essential type of conditioner is the rinse out version. Most come in basic three variations to meet your specific strand quality needs. So you have
Moisturizing Conditioners: They replace the oils removed by the detergents in shampoos. They contain humectants. These are compounds that hold moisture into the hair. There are some oil based conditioners that mimic you scalp’s natural sebum and restore oils to the strands. The best hair types to use this is dry, curly, often frizzy, porous, and coarse hair, Look for products that contain cetyl or stearyl alcohol, panthenol and methicones, silicone or dimethicone, or essential oils and botanicals such as avocado, jojobba oil, or shea butter.
Protein or Volumising Conditioners: They give body and temporarily help the appearance of the hair. They are often labeled as re constructors. Protein conditioner simply coat the hair shafts and ends with a layer of protein that gives the appearance of thicker hair. It can fill in gaps if the outer cuticle is damaged, giving the hair a smoother look and adding shine, but contrary to popular belief, they don’t reconstruct or strengthen the hair, as mentioned earlier. These types of conditioners can be applied to fine and limp hair or hair that is damaged.
Anti Frizz, Detangling or Smoothing Conditioners: They reduce static and create manageability of the hair. After shampooing, the hair is usually tangled and unmanageable. These conditioners have a low pH of 2.5 to 3.5 This type of conditioner basically closes the cuticle layer of the hair, which in turn allows each individual strand of hair to remain separate form others. This helps the hair not tangle and creates more body. These type of conditioners can be used by all hair types, but work significantly well on fine hair. They have polymers added like silicone that will coat the hair shaft, making it look fuller.
Conditioners have variants: Besides the popular rinse out conditioners, you have the two other types the masque and the leave in. "All the types of conditioners work to moisturize your strands but each variant offers different level of conditioning," says Sodhi. The difference between leave in and pack conditioners is similar to the difference between fats and oils.
Masques: They are heavy and thick, with a high content of surfactants able to bind to the hair structure and "glue" the hair surface scales together. The molecules have a tendency to crystallize easily, giving the conditioner higher viscosity, and they tend to form thicker layers on the hair surface. These are usually applied to the hair for a longer time, as a treatment. Masques are often used to repair very dry, and damaged hair or to add volume to thin hair. They offer deep conditioning benefits.
Leave in: They are thinner and have different surfactants which add only a little material to the hair. They are based on unsaturated chains, which are bent rather than straight. This makes them a lighter, less viscous mixture and providing significantly thinner layer on the hair. Unlike conditioners, leave in conditioner is applied after you shower, and is great of people with thin flyaway hair.
Way to condition: Sunsilk Hair Expert Jawed Habib says, "Conditioning is way of giving the hair a more intense kind of nourishing treatment. It helps to protect hair from acting dryness, making it smooth and easier to manage. Conditioners should be applied on the shampoo. One should never apply conditioner on the scalp". A conditioner should only be applied to the hair shaft and the ends, especially, the ends. Never apply a hair conditioner to the scalp, it will buildup and create a limp look. Because the hair at the shaft and ends are "dead", it is chemically inert and insoluble’ therefore, many conditioners may claim to change the structure of the hair, but it’s purely form a superficial standpoint. Protein conditioner coat the hair and improve the internal fiber structure.
So in order to choose the right conditioner for you, you must consider the type of hair you have dry, oily, or normal. You must also consider your hair density, texture, and quality before buying a product. Says Coleen Khan, "Preferably use a separate shampoo and conditioner. Therefore you can regulate the quantity of the conditioner according to the quality of your hair. Rinse the conditioner well Different kind of hair need different kind of conditioning, Dry hair needs extra and specific conditioner, Curly or coarse hair need strong conditioners that open the cuticle and thin, silky hair need light leave in conditioners. Besides this egg, yoghurt, or a beer wash is great conditioning for one’s hair".
Pastakia also warns against putting a conditioners near the root. She says, "For the scalp we have the shampoo, a conditioner is for the hair strands. Always work half an inch away form the root, and smooth over your strands with your palms. If you have very fine hair or cropped hair then use a serum or a leave in rather than a rinse out."
TOP TIPS AT A GLANCE (1) After shampooing gently squeeze the excess water (2) Comb the hair with the fingers or with wide toothed comb from to the ends gently. Remove tangles. (3) Take a coin sized amount of condition in your palms and smooth the conditioner through the length of hair. Never rub on the scalp. Take more if needed (4) Keep it on the hair for 5 minutes (5) Now gently galvanise conditioner on the strands by massaging strands in a long, downward strokes with your palms. (6) Rinse well to remove all traces of conditioner.
APPLYING APPLICATION (1) First wash hair normally with a shampoo then wash them with cold water so that open pores close. (2) Then take 4-5 drops of the hair serum on the palm of the hand and apply them on the hair and let the hair dry normally. (3) After applying the serum there is no need to wash the hair with water again as the serum does not have any harmful chemicals. Serum is basically silicon oil that is non sticky in nature. And because of its non sticky nature it protects the hair from dust, pollution and sun.
FACTS ABOUT HAIR SERUM Hair serum makes the hair shiner and does not allow them to entangle. It protects the hair from the damages done by over exposure to sun and hair styling products. The effect of the serum application remains till the next wash. It should be applied after a hair wash. The hair serum from a thin protective layer on the hair strands. It returns the moisture lost due to exposure to sun, heat generated from the hair styling gadgets. It is used to set broken and frizzy hair. It is available in the form of a spray in the market. It is primarily used for dry and frizzy hair, which breaks easily, or hairs that have under gone excessive chemical treatments like perming, coloring. The hair serum provides strength to the strands so they don’t break away easily. It also conditions the hair, which makes them healthy, silky and shiny.
APPLYING APPLICATION
(1) First wash your hair normally with a shampoo then wash them with cold water so the open pores close.
(2) Then take 4-5 drops of the hair serum on the palm of the hand and apply them on the hair and let the hair dry normally.
(3) After applying the serum there is no need to wash the hair with water again as the serum does not have any harmful chemicals. Serum is basically silicon oil that is non sticky in nature. And because of its non sticky nature it protects the hair from dust, pollution and sun.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Nice tips to moisturize hair. Thanks for sharing.