The only purpose I can see for using heat is for quick setting, such as
electric rollers, curling irons and straightening irons. These
are all damaging, but if you need to style it a certain way fast they
are the quickest way to go. Since a blow dryer is blowing your
hair around, I don't see any advantage to using it on the hot setting
except that it may make the water evaporate off of your hair
faster. So, heat's great if you're in a hurry and not worried
about damage (and anyone who keeps somewhat short hair probably doesn't
need to be worried about this kind of damage, as its cumulative).
In general, cool should make hair more shiny (one reason to rinse hair
with cool water last in the shower), so the shinyness you get with heat
must solely be from the clay. There are other ways to get shine
without heat.
You are right, its all in what works for you and the style of hair you like to have.
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Hmm.. Thanks ladies! Are there any advantages that hte hot
setting has over the cool setting with styling? ... Or just
hte disadvantage that I'll have to hold onto that blue button?
One disadvantage is that it seems to melt the clay that I use in my
hair and it makes it shiny and easier to control until it hardens iwth
teh cool function. I guess I should just beware of heat overkill.
I answered your silicone question because you asked but like mentioned before, (1) it takes a long time to accumulate damage from them, therefore (2) the damage from them won't be great if you have relatively short hair (your hair will be a year old, maximum, before it is cut off).
It's not something to worry about, I just used a poor analogy that prompted a question.
Thanks for posting where you got that. Without reading it I would have said the heat was the real problem, and from that it looks like they say the same. Use your blow dryer on the cool setting and you should be fine.
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Great! Thanks for the advice and alleving some of my
apprehensions then Susan. You and AnaisSatin have been wonderful
:D.
Oh another thing, I was wondering how bad it is for your hair to
blow-dry it for like 15 mins everyday? I remember reading that
blowdrying yoru hair too often, causes damages to the follicles, thus
making your hair grow out thinner and less often. I suppose this only occurs with hot oil treatments.
"Hot
oil treatment conditioners are the latest marketing ploy from the
cosmetic companies. The idea dates back to the 1950's when hot oil treatments
were first marketed by Alberto Culver. The basic idea is that the application
of heat drives the conditioners - oils, peptides, etc. - deeper into the
hair shaft and the hair looks better for a short time. However, the high
heat - about 250 degree F. from a hot air dryer - will ultimately damage
the hair follicles - which cannot take heat much about 120 degrees F. -
and the follicles will produce less hair and thinner hair."
If you're only going to let your hair get 6-7 inches long before you cut the ends off, that's not really enough time to accumulate silicone damage. It takes a very long time for that kind of damage to appear. Thats something those of us who grow very long hair need to worry about. Likewise for the alcohol...6-7 inches isn't really long enough that you'll notice any damage from your hold products. Any damage you notice on hair that length will be from the dye you've put on it.
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Silicone is an ingredient in most conditioners,
and it basically forms a protective coating around each hair strand. It
covers the entire cuticle (outer layer of hair). It binds to the
cuticle, so sometimes the silicone will flake off and take some pieces
of cuticle with it.... the same way that hold products could
potentially do. But it's pretty microscopic and it takes a long time to
accumulate damage.
HTH Anais
Hm... SO I should probably purchase non sillicon condiitoners too, not
that it will matter hwen my cuticles are gone, but for the time being,
they're still here I believe, since I dont see any split ends.
So... Know any particular brands that are more affordable?
Silicone is an ingredient in most conditioners, and it basically forms a protective coating around each hair strand. It covers the entire cuticle (outer layer of hair). It binds to the cuticle, so sometimes the silicone will flake off and take some pieces of cuticle with it.... the same way that hold products could potentially do. But it's pretty microscopic and it takes a long time to accumulate damage.
I don't get hte silicon damage analogy so you'll have to explain thanks.
As for those alcohol hold products, my friend uses this loreal
mega-hold glue product(which is what I'm going to want to use often
times) for the crazy hairstyles I'm going to do. Spiked up and
out with 3-6 inch lengths, and in chunks. It's shown here:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?q=lor eal+studio+line+mega+glue&pid=1970634143409231982&oi d=18190923140712859570&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=&am p;addr=&scoring=p&hl=en
The problem is it has alcohol, although he says he likes this one best,
I was curious, how damaging is alcohol to the hair, and how does it
damage it? Do companies use it because has stronger hold or
what? I'm assuming it helps the product dry faster.
Thanks Susan With super strong hold products, they sometimes take parts of your cuticle with them when the product comes off. It works the same way as silicone damage, if that helps explain. ...but that's about as far as I know. The key thing is to handle the hair gently, wash out hold products at the end of the day, and use them only when needed.
Yes, the scalp does adjust how much oil it puts out, based on what it
needs (if you leave your hair oily for days without washing, it will
"think" - so to speak- that its got enough oil and doesn't produce as
much. If you wash every day, your scalp will produce more oil to
compensate. It may take a month or two of a routine change before
you notice that what your scalp does has changed.
I would think that shampooing the sticky stuff off would be okay, but
leaving it in and brushing through it would be where your cuticle
starts to get ripped? (Do correct me if I'm wrong Anais, you've
informed me of far more than I knew about this topic!)
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The cuticle covers your hairs like a "tube" and
prevents the strand from shredding into long fibers. This is what
happens when someone gets a split end- the covering is worn
off, and the inside of the hair is exposed.
Your hair is on the short side so it won't matter as much... but
super-strong hold products like glue will definitely take off cuticle.
You won't be able to really tell unless you get really intense tangles,
or if you see lots of ends that look like forked tongues. They look bad
if a person has a lot of them, and split ends have to be cut off, but
they're not deadly either.
The key is to choose your hold products wisely and wash them out when you're done.
Faery blessings Anais
Well I guess that explains how my hair looks all, forky unless I blow-dry it. Or maybe it doesn't...
Anyways, since I'm going to need some super-strong hold products for
the hair-styles i'm pulling off(since it's pretty chunked together and
gravity defying) I guess there's no alternative but for me to have
forky hair! It doesn't look so bad when it's combed and styled
without much hair product in it... yet I think.
But what strips it of the cuticle? The way you handle your hair
and how it sticks on to your hair while u move it around? I
would've thought shampoo's and what-not would gently cleanse it
off.
The cuticle covers your hairs like a "tube" and prevents the strand from shredding into long fibers. This is what happens when someone gets a split end- the covering is worn off, and the inside of the hair is exposed.
Your hair is on the short side so it won't matter as much... but super-strong hold products like glue will definitely take off cuticle. You won't be able to really tell unless you get really intense tangles, or if you see lots of ends that look like forked tongues. They look bad if a person has a lot of them, and split ends have to be cut off, but they're not deadly either.
The key is to choose your hold products wisely and wash them out when you're done.
Damn it my msged just got erased... Anyways back to square one I suppose.
Ya only got one layer of cuticle, and it never comes back Some people experience brittleness and some people don't. If you do, just be sure to clarify.
What would be the worst if I were to get my cuticle stripped? I have pretty thick hair and I've been using the product for about ... a couple of months now. Does hte intensity of the hold increase the chances of your cuticle's being stripped? And are there certain products like glue, as opposed to gel that strip it more? How would I know if the cuticle is stripped? Is there a change in appearance or texture? Is it noticable(although that may be a vague word since you pay a lot of attention to hair so lemme rephrase it). Is it noticable to most people :P?
I guess I would agree that it doesn't OVERcompensate, in the sense that its your natural scalp oil so can't be bad for your hair (though we don't usually let our scalps get oily enough that this oil gets on much of the hair these days). I find itchy heads and flakes are often caused by using the shampoo in its concentrated state so it overdries the scalp, and diluting it helps reduce the overdrying effect. So in that sense your scalp isn't the thing helping, its using a less drying form of shampoo. (And thats if you don't have flakes caused by a medical condition, like psoriasis or yeast overgrowth).
Your welcome Susan :D. But so it does compensate you're saying? Interesting thing about the itchy scalp, I'll try your advice.
Ya only got one layer of cuticle, and it never comes back Some people experience brittleness and some people don't. If you do, just be sure to clarify.
I remember reading that your scalp was the ONLY thing that doesn't
overcompensate for dryness, hence the reason for itchy heads and
flakes. Perhaps that was wrong, or I misread.
I guess I would agree that it doesn't OVERcompensate, in the sense that
its your natural scalp oil so can't be bad for your hair (though we
don't usually let our scalps get oily enough that this oil gets on much
of the hair these days). I find itchy heads and flakes are often
caused by using the shampoo in its concentrated state so it overdries
the scalp, and diluting it helps reduce the overdrying effect. So
in that sense your scalp isn't the thing helping, its using a less
drying form of shampoo. (And thats if you don't have flakes
caused by a medical condition, like psoriasis or yeast overgrowth).
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This hasn't been mentioned in this thread so I just wanted to add.. these products that stick to hair will not only flake off eventually, but they might take parts of your cuticle with it. This means the natural covering of the hair shaft might come off if it is stuck to any 'hold products' such as mousse and hair cement. WIth more products used, it can also potentially make hair more brittle than usual... which would feel weird after awhile, but little else.
Other than that, Susan's advice is gospel!
by the way Susan, I've been looking at your website and your hair is just FABULOUS
Happy holidays Anais
I see... so that's the catch to constantly using hair products... Well you said it feels wierd after a while? Meaning that the cuticle comes back? Or... just that your hair feels wierd and brittle? *touches hair* Feels fine so far... So what about the use of hair-products being a cause to hair-loss? Any facts to that or is it just a myth?
This hasn't been mentioned in this thread so I just wanted to add.. these products that stick to hair will not only flake off eventually, but they might take parts of your cuticle with it. This means the natural covering of the hair shaft might come off if it is stuck to any 'hold products' such as mousse and hair cement. WIth more products used, it can also potentially make hair more brittle than usual... which would feel weird after awhile, but little else.
Other than that, Susan's advice is gospel!
by the way Susan, I've been looking at your website and your hair is just FABULOUS
I use Avalon, which is sulfate free, but its 7 bucks a bottle so if you
don't want expensive, its kind of high for shampoo. Try searching
the net for the name of the shampoo +ingredients and often you can find
what's in them. Usually the sulfates are a major component in
them (high up on the list).
That's a bit difficult since I did try. I actually called pantene
and uh... I think the company that makes pert plus and tehy said
that their products contain a little bit of it, but not enough
SLS(sodium lauryl sulfate or that other one ALS I thinK?) to be
listed.
Products like hair sprays or gels (or anything sticky) will damage your
hair a little if they have damaging ingredients (best to avoid ones
with lots of alcohol). And shampooing everyday isn't neccessarily
the best thing for your scalp, because your scalp will adjust to try to
compensate for the dryness by producing more oil (so that eventually,
you will HAVE to wash your hair every day to remove excess oil).
This can be reversed of course by washing your hair less frequently and
your scalp will readjust however.
I remember reading that your scalp was the ONLY thing that doesn't
overcompensate for dryness, hence the reason for itchy heads and
flakes. Perhaps that was wrong, or I misread.
You don't say how long your hair is, but for any hair shorter than
shoulder blades you may not notice any bad effects from shampooing
every day or using hair products like that. (For people growing
their hair a lot longer, it may be more of an issue because they keep
their ends around longer). If your hair is very fine (each hair thin
enough to be almost invisible) you may also want to watch and make sure
you aren't damaging it, and stop if you notice you are (fine hair can
be more delicate). Any damage from those kinds of products should be
less, and will likely be trimmed off before it really gets
noticeable. The real causes of major damage are chemicals like
dyes, perms or relaxers, and heat styling.
No problems there for me then, I'm a guy so my hair is 5 inches long
max. Probably will grow it out to 6-7 in a few areas.
Yes, I meant diluting your shampoo 50/50 with water. This would
have the effect of making it more gentle if you don't want to spend
more money on different shampoo. (A few tips: Use a small
bottle and only make the amount you'll need per wash so its not sitting
around dilute where it could potentially grow things in it...you are
also diluting its preservatives. After adding shampoo to the
water, roll the bottle slowly to mix, don't shake it or it will foam
too much).
If you want a good clarifying treatment to get rid of any residual
product build up, you can also mix your shampoo 50/50 with baking
soda. This makes it a clarifying shampoo and will strip off
residual product. (Condition really well after using, it will
strip off all the hair's moisture...also, don't use
on dyed hair as it may remove some of the color too). You may
want to use clarifying shampoo once every 2 weeks or so - not more (and
only if your hair isn't dyed) because I think those got2b products have
ingredients that can build up over time and dull hair.
I guess I can't do that since my hair is dyed and will be dyed a
slight more. I will take that shampoo tip though
thanks!
Just another question though, would combining hair products such as
mouse, cement hair-spray and wax be excessively damaging?
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but like mentioned before, (1) it takes a long time to accumulate damage from them, therefore (2) the damage from them won't be great if you have relatively short hair (your hair will be a year old, maximum, before it is cut off). 
my LJ
AnaisSatin wrote:
Some people experience brittleness and some people don't. If you do, just be sure to clarify. 
Some people experience brittleness and some people don't. If you do, just be sure to clarify. 
